Scott Boras wants panels of experts to determine what rookies are ready to be called up

Scott Boras is a smart guy. But even smart guys have dumb ideas sometimes. This, my friends, is a dumb idea. From Patrick Mooney of CSNChicago.com, who was at the Cubs-Pirates game yesterday when baseball’s most famous agent offered this suggestion about how to avoid Kris Bryant-style callup controversies:

“For example, I would say that the union or somebody may come in and say that they’ve made a claim that this player is major-league ready,” Boras said. “And that to place him in the minor leagues would not be appropriate from a skills standpoint. And then all of a sudden, it’s subject to review by a panel of former managers or baseball experts . . . It’s objective in the sense that they’re neutral,” Boras said. “The only way subjective turns objective is that you’ve got the best-known experts who are going to make an evaluation of what they do.”

Because, obviously, panels of experts such as former players and managers always make sound, objective decisions.

Really, though, I don’t think this goes far enough. I think a panel of experts should -- objectively, mind you -- decided which players should start and how often. Which ones should be called in for save situations and the like. In the name of objectivity, you see, since managers, scouts and general managers can’t be trusted to make the wise decisions about their baseball players, as Boras says.

But we could go further! We could take the subjectivity out of player contracts too! Instead of having an agent cause teams to bid against one another for free agents -- a process that can get emotional! -- let’s have a panel of experts decide what the player should make.

Such a system would be eminently fair. And it might make Scott Boras’ life a lot easier, no?