Brady Aiken hires agent; Eligibility questioned; Deadspin blames Astros

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Damnit Astros

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In addition to revealing the Astros as shitty jerks, the Brady Aiken saga has also reminded the world of the existence of one of the NCAA's silliest and most farcical rules: players like Aiken aren't allowed to hire agents for MLB negotiating purposes if they want to retain collegiate eligibility. Thanks to the Astros' frickery—and, of course, the greater and more persistent frickery of the NCAA—there is a real chance that this rule could prevent Aiken from pitching at UCLA, where he committed before the draft.

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Throughout his negotiations with the Astros, Aiken was assisted by Casey Close, a high-powered agent—he represents Clayton Kershaw and Derek Jeter—masquerading as an "adviser" for the sake of keeping up appearances. (In situations like this, everyone agrees to pretend that operators like Close are well-meaning friends of the family, something like an uncle who happens to have a background in negotiating nine-figure contracts with major league teams.) This is a charade in which almost every draft pick participates, and nobody gets in trouble unless someone goes tattling to the NCAA, as the Phillies despicably did after they failed to sign Ben Wetzler.

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