On Monday, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet reported that, after an unusual two week break following the end of the Buffalo Bisons season, outfielder Anthony Alford was going to be called up by the Blue Jays in order to finish the season in the major leagues. The public-facing explanation for the delay, as given by GM Ross Atkins, is that there simply wasn’t going to be enough playing time for Alford because of the numerous other outfielders currently on the team’s roster, but that the club still wanted to do what they could to “honour his commitment to being an elite teammate and our belief in him moving forward.” Davidi, however, hits on another explanation that does a much better job of passing the smell test: service time manipulation.



As Davidi explains it, were Alford to break camp with the Blue Jays next April and stay in the major leagues for good, a full September of big league service here in 2018 would have pushed him dangerously close to being a...