Arrieta’s agent: System is ‘non-competitive cancer’ ruining baseball

Teams have seen the way the Cubs and Astros have found success by tanking, and now they want to emulate it.

The only problem? It’s having a direct impact on this year’s free-agency market.

The only thing colder than Chicago’s winters is this offseason market, and it could only get worse in years to come.

Big name free-agents like Jake Arrieta, Yu Darvish, J.D. Martinez and Eric Hosmer among others remain unsigned despite spring training starting in less than one month.

With the clock ticking, Arrieta’s agent Scott Boras is dumbfounded by the amount of talent still left on the market.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Boras told USA Today Sports, “not like this.”

With many teams rebuilding, there’s less interest in signing veterans to big contracts. Most teams are focusing on adding depth to their prospect pool, according to USA Today Sports.

Boras had some strong words for this philosophy.

“We have a non-competitive cancer that’s ruining the fabric of this sport,” Boras said. “And until we change the system, this is going to continue.”

Next year’s free-agency market will be loaded with even more depth with Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Clayton Kershaw and David Price up for new contracts.