June 9th, 2016 at 6:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka When the Dodgers signed Cuban defector Alex Guerrero to a four-year / $28 million contract on October 21, 2013, they did so believing that he would be the heir apparent to (then) 36-year-old veteran Mark Ellis as their everyday second baseman.
It never happened.
In fact, Guerrero – a former shortstop with the Lenadores de Las Tunas of the Cuban National Series – never played even one major league game at second base. Instead, he became a part-time back-up third baseman and a very part-time back-up left fielder for the Dodgers, appearing in a combined 117 games over parts of the 2014 and 2015 seasons.
Although Guerrero and his agent – baseball’s Antichrist Scott Boras – probably thought that the contract with the Dodgers was a stroke of pure genius (and perhaps it was at the time), it contained a clause that has now forced the now 29-year-old Las Tunas, Cuba native out of the game. That clause in the Ned Colletti-approved contract said that Guerrero could not be optioned back to the minor leagues without his permission after the 2014 season. In other words, Guerrero had to remain on the Dodgers 25-man roster after 2014 regardless of how well or how poorly he played.
He did not play well.
In his 243 total plate appearances with the Dodgers, Guerrero posted a slash-line of .224 / .251 / .424 for rather dismal .665 OPS – not exactly a good return on their investment, to say the least.
Regardless of what you think of Alex Guerrero, his exciting game-winning, pinch-hit grand slam home run against the Colorado Rockies on June 2, 2015 remains one of the greatest home runs in Dodgers history. (Photo credit – Isaiah J. Downing)
With the Dodgers in a catch-22 situation, they placed Guerrero on the disabled list for a so-called calf injury to begin the 2016 season. And while this kept the troubled utility infielder / outfielder at extended spring training when the season began, they were eventually forced to send Guerrero out on a rehab assignment when his supposed injured calf eventually “healed.” The problem with this was that per the MLB – MLBPA Collective Bargaining Agreement, Guerrero’s minor league rehab assignment could not exceed 20 days, after which he would have to be returned to the Dodgers 25-man roster.
On May 31, 2016, that 20-day period was up, thus forcing the Dodgers to make a decision. That decision was to officially designate Guerrero for assignment.
To the surprise of absolutely no one, no other team expressed even a slight interest in Guerrero; and why would they? In addition to that ‘can’t be optioned back to the minor leagues’ clause, Boras also included a clause in Guerrero’s contract that said that if the Dodgers traded Guerrero to any team, he would become a free agent with that team at the conclusion of the season in which he was traded. There was no way on earth any team would go anywhere near that radioactive contract.
Sure enough, without so much as a nibble from any other MLB team willing to take on Guerrero’s Boras-crafted contract and even before the allotted 10-day waiver period had expired, the Dodgers announced on Wednesday afternoon that they had outright released Guerrero, thus immediately making him a free agent.
Whether Guerrero eventually signs with another MLB team or not remains to be seen, but if he does, it’s probably safe to say that Scott Boras will not be able to pull the wool over their eyes like he did with former Dodgers GM Ned Colletti.
But don’t feel too bad for Alex Guerrero – at least not financially. He is guaranteed $3.2 million for the remainder of this season (even if he signs with another team for the MLB minimum of $507,500) and is guaranteed another $5 million for 2017.
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That is an excellent point, Ron. If he had some time to develop as a 2B he may still be in the majors. Boras is The Devil! 😉
Sometimes we out smart ourselves. Guerrero and his agent could have agreed to amend the contract but they took the money. A waste of talent
Not a fan of Boras, but no one held a gun to Colletti’s head forcing him to agree to that ridiculous contract clause. Boras did a terrific job for his client as Guerrero and his family are set for life financially. I think Mattingly deserves some of the blame as well. He made up his mind about Guerrero early in ST then Olivo went Hannibal Lechter on Guerrero’s ear just at the time when Guerrero was hitting extremely well in AAA. Before this season this FO announced that it was shopping Guerrero sending the message that he was not going to be part of the team. Interestingly, I believe Guerrero is the only Dodgers player to be publicly singled out by this FO as being shopped (FO did say it was listening to offers on its crowded OF before Kemp was traded). Too bad, this could have turned out much better for team and Guerrero but it turned into the perfect storm.
Certainly echos my sentiments re: Boras but the fault is as much with the Dodgers as it is with him. Colletti did not have to sign that contract. He had a tendency to panic and not think beyond tomorrow. It was/is Boras’ job to get the best deal he can for his clients (money wise). He did but and probably didn’t care about the repercussions of those strangling clauses for Guerrero. It was Colletti’s job to get the best deal he could for the Dodgers. He failed to do so. He, and others, overestimated Guerrero’s talents, in my opinion, as they have done with other Cuban prospects.
Other teams would wait until he is a free agent before taking a chance. No need to claim him off waivers or trade for him. I would not be surprised to see some team take a MLB minimum rider on him. An American League team might be a good option.
If he still wants to play and increase his chances of returning to MLB there are many independent leagues, Australia, Cuba, winter ball. The Dodgers paying him handsomely for 2016 and 2017 makes his return to MLB at least a bit more likely.
You’re correct–any team that might be interested in Guerrero just had to wait until someone came off the DL because it was obvious the Dodgers would have to DL him. Everyone in baseball seems to fear crossing Boras since he has so many of the top players (including, alas, Julio Urias.) I wish it were possible for the Dodgers to stop dealing with him entirely.
For a period of time during the McCourt – Colletti era the Dodgers actually did refuse to deal with Boras.
At one point the only Boras client on their roster was Derek Lowe, but over time, Boras – a Dodgers season ticket holder – reestablished a decent working relationship with the McCourt-led Dodgers; the Dodgers had no choice but to when he represents some of the best in the game.
I most certainly do not blame Boras for getting the best deals possible for his clients but in doing so with Guerrero, he absolutely brought an abrupt end to Alex’s short MLB career.
I will be shocked if there is a team out there willing to give Guerrero a MLB contract right now; a MiLB contract maybe, but not a MLB contract.
“I most certainly do not blame Boras for getting the best deals possible for his clients but in doing so with Guerrero, he absolutely brought an abrupt end to Alex’s short MLB career.”
And, IMO, Scott Boras could hardly care less about Alex’s future. The snake only cares for himself. Why else would a team allow such absurd contingencies be made on Guerrero’s contract unless Boras thought he could subject more of his power on an MLB team and press the envelope that much further? Don’t even get me started on his Opt-Out crap… which only exists for the protection of the player if he under-performs or gets injured. The team is powerless and loses the player if he does well.
This jackass is ruining the business of baseball.
A day late, so maybe nobody will read this, but:
“Guerrero and his agent could have agreed…..”
Actually his agent didn’t have to agree to anything. Agents are employees of the players. They can advise, but not direct. Look at the Matt Harvey thing last year. Boras got shot down good on that one. He never should have said anything without talking to Harvey first.
I can understanding his not wanting to waive the minor league clause, though it would have benefited him in the long run. But he had to see he was going nowhere with the Dodgers and a trade would be a good thing for him. Boras should have been advising that too.
Regarding that $8.2 million still owed to him, don’t forget a chunk of that (probably a large chunk) goes to a bank account under the name of Scott Boras.
The part Guerrero does get will just be a reminder that he failed at his chosen profession.
You are right about that RR but I think it is less likely for a Cuban player to be a Matt Harvey. I expect when they sign on with an agent out of Cuba they really trust their agent.
Right also that Boras should have advised him about the value of a trade or minor league assignment. That’s the point of the article that Boras really put his client in an untenable position with that contract and didn’t help him through it.
Ned Colletti was brain dead in signing a contract like that.
I do think Guerrero will resurface somewhere.
That was indeed the point of the article, Harold. Thank you for noting that.
Although I only interviewed Alex twice, I found him to be extremely polite and quite stoic. He never made excuses about anything, nor did he ever speak out publicly against Miguel Olivo – even though he certainly had every right to.
While there are a number of Guerrero-haters out there, I am definitely not among them and I wish him nothing but the best.
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