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09/11/2008 11:27 AM ET
Hosmer left to wait after grievance hearing
Eligibility for Arizona Instructional League uncertain for Royals' top pick
By Dick Kaegel / MLB.com
Eric Hosmer, the third overall pick in the June Draft, played three games in the Pioneer League this season. (Aflac)

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KANSAS CITY -- Eric Hosmer, the Royals' first-round pick in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft, remains in limbo after the first round of a grievance hearing involving Major League Baseball and the Players Association on Wednesday in New York City. The hearing was scheduled to resume Sept. 23.

Royals general manager Dayton Moore said Thursday morning that he has heard nothing regarding Hosmer's eligibility to play in the Arizona Instructional League, which begins Sept. 22. The Commissioner's Office pulled Hosmer from the Idaho Falls roster in the Rookie Pioneer League after three games when the grievance was filed by the Players Association on Aug. 27.

"They know we want him to play, but I don't have any control over that," Moore said.

Hosmer, a first baseman who signed with the Royals for a $6 million bonus, was drawn into a dispute between the Pittsburgh Pirates, their top pick, Pedro Alvarez, and agent Scott Boras. Hosmer also is represented by Boras.

Commissioner Bud Selig and Dan Halem, a labor lawyer for MLB, were the only people to testify Wednesday before arbitrator Shyam Das. A resumption was set for Sept. 23 with the possibility that further testimony could be heard in October.

Dick Kaegel is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.