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Magic Johnson's comments about Robinson Cano being investigated by MLB

By Jason Cohen
Scott Cunningham

Major League Baseball is unhappy with Magic Johnson's seemingly harmless comments about Robinson Cano from last week. By talking about the Dodgers' plans on whether or not to sign the star second basemen, Johnson broke the MLB's rule that prohibits team executives from publicly discussing other teams' players before they officially become free agents.

Cano won't be on the open market until after the World Series, so by stating "You know that guy in New York is going to get paid. Probably not by us, but he's going to get paid. Hey, when you're a superstar, you get paid." he could potentially be altering his value before he's a free agent.

Johnson's comments were likely harmless, considering his reasoning:

When you've got to pay Clayton...I can't say anything, because that's on them. We leave that to Ned (Colletti, the Dodgers' GM) and Stan (Kasten, the president and CEO). But you can't have two guys. I mean, come on, anybody who knows numbers. A year from now, two, here comes Hanley (Ramirez). We've got guys we need to keep. When it's said and done, the numbers probably don't add up.

Still, you can't negotiate with a player while they are still under contract and you can't address their status until after they have declared free agency, even if it's to say "we don't want you." MLB says they will follow up appropriately on the Dodgers part-owner, which could mean anything from a fine to a slap on the wrist.

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