Scott Boras talks Bryce Harper grievance, Rays move

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Bryce Harper's agent is having talks with the Washington Nationals ahead of a possible grievance hearing to decide whether the outfielder should be eligible for salary arbitration.

Harper has 2 years, 159 days of major league service, 26 above the cutoff for arbitration eligibility this offseason. Agent Scott Boras contends because the All-Star has sufficient service time, he should be able to void the 2015 terms in the final season of his $9.9 million, five-year contract. Harper is scheduled to have a $1 million salary and the chance to earn four $125,000 bonuses for 30, 60, 90 and 120 days on the active 25-man roster.

The Major League Baseball Players Association filed a grievance. If the case doesn't settle, it would be heard by arbitrator Fredric Horowitz.

Boras says "I'm in discussions with the Nationals on that subject."

Given the struggles of the Tampa Bay Rays to draw fans in Florida, Boras said he thinks the franchise should move to Canada.

"Everyone always wonders why they're not playing in Montreal," Boras said. "We have a generation of families that grew up with Major League Baseball that are now wage earners, so I think it has a chance to be far more successful than some of the other cities that we have baseball in now."

The Expos joined the National League ahead of 1969 season, remained in the big leagues through 2004 and then moved to Washington and became the Nationals.

Montreal failed to draw 1 million spectators to Olympic Stadium in any of its final seven seasons. A total of 96,350 fans attended a pair of exhibition games there in March between the New York Mets and Blue Jays, and Toronto and Cincinnati are scheduled to play a pair of spring training games in Montreal on April 3-4.

"I've always felt that Montreal was a tremendous major league city, and I think it's a town that if you put a ballpark there, particularly with the communications, broadcasting rights and such that are there, that it would be a tremendous success and a very valued point for baseball," Boras said. "The value of the media rights in Montreal would be completely different because you have the ability to sell nationally baseball to Canada."