FORT MYERS, FLA. – There are 183 days in a major league baseball season. Once a player reaches 172 days, he is credited with a full season of service time. That is also the maximum number of days — 172 — that a player can compile in a season.
A player needs six full seasons to become a free agent. For instance:
Reliever Kevin Jepsen had five years, 163 days of service time at the end of last season, meaning the Twins still controlled his contract rights. Third baseman Trevor Plouffe will have five years, 162 days of service time at the end of this season, meaning he could not hit the free-agent market until after the 2017 season.
The 12-day difference between an actual season and the requirement for a year of service time will be a point of contention as the Major League Baseball Players Association and the Commissioner's Office negotiate the labor contract that expires at the end of this season.
It became a much-publicized issue last spring, when slugging prospect Kris Bryant tore up the Cactus League for the Chicago Cubs, then was sent to the minor leagues for just long enough to avoid being with the Cubs for 172 days.
Bryant's agent, Scott Boras, screamed about this to the point that Commissioner Rob Manfred told him to butt out … that it was none of his business as to how the Cubs decided to handle Bryant.
The Cubs' strategy of trying to guarantee themselves a seventh year of Bryant — the 171 days of 2015, plus six full seasons to follow — caused followers of the Twins to speculate that the team would follow a similar strategy with pitcher Jose Berrios.
This speculation was coming from people who turned on the Twins during the four woeful seasons from the 2011 to 2014 and reached the conclusion that all of the team's personnel decisions were intended to keep the payroll under tight control.