With Pitchers and catchers reporting for 2024 Spring Training, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred was asked to address some of the biggest topics and issues facing the game today. The one that is perhaps most noticeable at the current moment is the potential need for a free agency deadline, which Manfred discussed, per Bleacher Report's Zach Bachar.

Conspicuous by their absence, left-handed starters Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery have yet to sign contracts and are thus dampening the excitement of some fans with Opening Day just six weeks away. This standstill is becoming more of a concern in recent years, with this free agency period moving shockingly slow.

Scott Boras poses firm rebuttal to free agency deadline idea

Super sports agent Scott Boras unsurprisingly disagrees with the league's endorsement of a deadline, deeming it to be a direct infringement on an athlete's ability to leverage the market to his advantage. “Deadlines are death lines to the players,” he said, per Evan Drellich of The Athletic. “It’s a death of their right. … It’s an artificial reason not to get your value.”

Boras' pun usage will only make him more polarizing to the public. Though, he does raise a vitally important point that explains why an MLB free agency deadline will probably not be installed. The Players Association is vehemently against the concept since it will take power away from them and transfer it to the owners.

Of course, Boras is not championing for players' rights merely out of the goodness of his heart. No agency benefits more from the lack of a deadline than his massive corporation. The biggest names still available— Blake Snell, Cody Bellinger, Jordan Montgomery, Matt Chapman and J.D. Martinez– just so happen to be Scott Boras' clients.

Rosters should be set by now. Any of these guys could be hindered by early-season rust if they arrive late to Spring Training, especially pitchers. There doesn't seem to be an easy fix to this growing problem, but objectively this is not an ideal situation for the sport as a whole.