George Springer is Screwed After MLB and MLBPA's Reported Service-Time Agreement

If anyone needs a full year of untainted service time under his belt to help bolster his value, it's George Springer.

The Astros' slugging speed threat is coming off an exemplary 6.4-WAR season at age 29, his third consecutive MVP-caliber campaign. Only one problem, though: after a controversy-filled offseason, most fans would agree we're not sure how much of his production was genuine.

Fans, and likely MLB GMs, have levied judgment on Springer and his teammates, who've spent several years mired in a sign-stealing scheme for the ages. And now, thanks to MLB and the MLBPA's reported agreement regarding service time, he'll only have a partial season, at best, to assert his value before hitting free agency at 31.

Per MLB and the MLBPA, players will receive a full year of service time, as long as even a partial season is played in 2020 (far from a certainty, but they've agreed not to cross that more complex bridge yet). Therefore, everyone scheduled to hit free agency after the season will still do so -- and likely with a shorter negotiating window at their disposal, too, considering any season that's played will likely stretch into November (or December).

Springer, at 31 years old, will only have had 80-100 games to make the case that he's got plenty in the tank without any advanced audio aids at his disposal. If he gets off to a slow start, his chances of earning the security of a five- or six-year deal greatly diminish. Sure, he's got plenty of tape, but when no one believes the tape, then what does he have?

Any way you slice it, Springer is now certainly under added pressure, as the Astros look to avenge an entire offseason of scrutiny.