Barry Bonds' Agent Surprised By Lack Of Offers

Apparently, Barry Bonds and the players association feel strongly enough about the lack of interest in his skills that the issue of collusion has come up. It's been inferred that the San Francisco Giants front office may have made a concerted effort to keep Bonds from playing this season.

The players' association has expressed concern to the baseball commissioner's office over the lack of offers to Barry Bonds, asking for additional information about the offseason's free-agent market.

The union did not go as far as to file a collusion grievance on behalf of the 43-year-old outfielder, who remains unsigned since the San Francisco Giants decided not to make him an offer last year and he became a free agent.

"We've raised both general concerns and some player specific concerns," Michael Weiner, the union's general counsel, said Tuesday.

Weiner said the only player the union specifically brought up in its discussions with the commissioner's office was Bonds, who repeatedly has said he wants to play a 23rd major league season.

"I haven't received any offers on Barry since he became a free agent," said Bonds' agent, Jeff Borris.

Management has repeatedly said there has been no concerted effort against Bonds.

"The union notified us that it was investigating potential collusion regarding Barry Bonds and asked for information, and we told them that there was absolutely no collusion with respect to Barry Bonds or any other free agent," said Dan Halem, MLB senior vice president and general labor counsel. "We are aware of no facts which would support a collusion claim regarding Bonds or any other free agents."

Collusion? What about BALCO? Or that Bonds is a player that many feel has put together a tainted record? Certainly, those have nothing to do with it.

Actually, while I would love to believe that the other MLB franchises are freezing Bonds out because of his past actions, I'm also smart enough to realize that at the end of the day professional baseball is a business. Eventually, some team will come calling whether it's because of his power hitting, or because he will draw some fans to the stadium. Bonds will sign on the dotted line, and continue adding to his legacy, for better or worse.