Scott Boras Is Still On His Crusade To Get Kris Bryant On Opening Day Roster

(CBS) You may not like big-time agent Scott Boras, but you have to respect his persistence.

Continuing his one-man crusade to get Cubs top prospect Kris Bryant on the big league team's Opening Day roster, Boras on Wednesday called baseball "injured" if Bryant isn't playing on April 5 against the Cardinals at Wrigley Field.

"Every fan will look at the Cubs differently, and every opponent will look at the Cubs differently," Boras said in an interview on the Dan Patrick Show. "And that's not what we want. We want to know when we go to a ballpark that the greatest players in the world are on that field, and I think that brand is something owners, unions and everybody involved has to protect."

If the Cubs delay Bryant's promotion by two weeks, they'll retain another year of contract control on him, through 2021 instead of 2020. For that reason, it's widely believed the Cubs will start him at Triple-A Iowa.

The debate over Bryant's promotional timeline has intensified as he's hammered nine homers in spring training to go along with a .464 average, 15 RBIs and 2.031 OPS through Tuesday's games.

"I assure you that the drafters of the collective bargaining agreement, when they put these rules in place, I don't think anyone in that room said to one another, 'This gives the unilateral right to teams to go out and do something for an individual club that is injurious to the best interest of players and Major League Baseball by not having the best talent in the league,'" Boras said.

"The integrity of the game requires that we do not let advantages to individual clubs get in the way of the overall scope of what Major League Baseball stands for. It's that principle -- the best players play in the big leagues."

Boras and Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein have taken shots at each other in the media recently. Boras questioned whether Cubs ownership really wants to win. Epstein responded by saying outsiders' takes like those from Boras will be "ignored" and that Cubs ownership has nothing to do with Bryant's promotional timeline.

All signs point to Boras continuing his crusade up until the day.

"Joe Maddon should write his lineup card every day as he sees fit," Boras said, indicating management should provide him with the best players.