Eno Sarris of FanGraphs/Fox reports that the MLBPA will be tightening up the rules which must be followed in order to be certified as a player agent:
The revised process will ask new agents to complete an in-person test, available twice a year. Fees may be raised (sources conflicted on this issue). Background checks will be beefed up. And the more informal rule governing having a player on the forty-man will be relaxed in one way and strengthened in another: agents must have a player on the forty-man once every three years, but presumably this will be enforced more often than it has been in the past.
We hear about Scott Boras and guys at his level all the time, but rarely do we hear about the host of agents who only have a couple of clients and operate below the radar. Anecdotally you hear about some bad practices among these folks. Sometimes unethical but more often just some straightforward malpractice when it comes to the day-to-day management of their clients’ affairs. Presumably the new rules are aimed at that.
Of course, oftentimes, such professional certification measures are also aimed at reducing the number of new people entering a given field too.
