For club executives, the question of whether to manipulate the service time of young players has been like the steroid quandary was for players in the 1990s. Teams have the option of making decisions based entirely in good faith. Some clubs have operated this way. Fernando Tatis Jr. was on the Padres' Opening Day roster in 2019, for example.
But teams that take this path also run the risk of sacrificing a competitive advantage that most of their opponents have. Other teams get to maintain control over their best young players for longer, gleaning financial benefit along the way.