Yesterday we learned from Scott Boras that "there's a lot of passengers on the PF Flyer," and Prince Fielder is best described as a combination of Henry Kissinger and Frank Howard (courtesy of Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post). The latest on the PF Flyer…
- The Nationals' ownership recently met with Boras in Washington, D.C. to discuss Fielder, reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson. As you might expect, the Lerners will make the final decision on Fielder.
- Many in the industry believe Boras seeks an opt-out clause for Fielder, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal's source notes that opt-outs clearly favor players, in that the team assumes the risk of keeping him if he's underperforming and losing him if not. Still, I think there are scenarios where a player can opt out and the team can avoid the worst part of a long-term contract. If Fielder rakes for three years and a team pays him $75MM, quitting while they're ahead at that point can work, even if Fielder has a few more good years in him.
I’ve been saying all along that he would seek an opt out clause ala CC…..
Why not throw in $10 mil in personal services, a Bugatti, and solid gold toilet. Hey Boras, you available next time I’m up for a raise?
Boras services people in the upper echelon of 800 or so of the top talents on the planet in their field. Are you one of those people in your field?
No? Well then everything you just said is irrelevant to your life.
As a die hard Brewers fan… Good riddance Scott Boras. If it were up to me the brewers would never draft, or sign another Boras client. Bottom line, Prince will decline at some point in the next 5 years. How many 5’10” 250 lb players have been productive into their 30’s? For that matter how many players at that weight have remained productive in 30’s? I hope the Nats give him his 10 years, give us their first round pick, and are stuck for the next 10 years with 2 albatross contracts that will cripple them 5-7 years down the road. How will they be able to resign Harper, Stras, or any of their young players when they will have 50 million in 2 players? Good luck Nats, and good riddance Boras.
His father declined so rapidly and their bodies are identical. I read he is a vegetarian. I can only imagine the junk he eats to maintain that weight. An opt out clause just seems like one more reason to opt out of negotiating with Portly Prince.
He is not and hasn’t been since about 2 months after he started.
any team that signs him should have the right to demand a weight clause. Vegetrian, my eye
He’s publicly stated he IS NOT a vegetarian… Seriously dude, you are not making yourself look real bright right now. Get you facts straight and then come talk to me.
Speaking of weight clauses, what is up with all those chins on Jeter? It is the offseason, but he looks heavy.
I stand corrected. Tubby would still be a bad investment. Get over yourself. One correction would suffice.
I only corrected you once.
Who were you correcting then? If you were correcting Jeter then you were correcting someone who was agreeing with you. I did see the vegetarian story a few years ago when he looked fatter than ever. Never saw a follow up that said he gave it up. We don’t get a lot of Brewers news here in New England.
His father still hit 39 HR and had a .350 OBP as a 32 yo. If they aged the same, it would give Prince another 5 years of production. If that was the case, you could feel comfortable with a 6 or maybe even 7 year contract.
Fielder Seeking Opt-Out Clause?
It Should say Fielder Opts to Eat Out!
Also, he needs an option to Eat-In.
Prince Eats Anywhere and Everywhere!
Options for all Options Boras should call it!
The “Big” Orca strikes again!
I appreciate the effort, but I think this is the worst “joke” I’ve ever heard on MLBTR
The Nats played the fool to Boras last offseason with Werth. Odds are they are the fool again.
This whole “Blame Boras” thing is ridiculous. His job is not to accommodate teams, it’s to make as much money as he can for his clients. He does his job and does well by his top clients.
People, it’s business and Boras is good at what he does.
Yankees should have torn up Cano’s contract 2 years ago. God knows what that snake is going to demand from the Yankees after 2013 for Cano.
And exactly what good would that have done for the Yanks. Boras would’ve LOVED for the Yanks to do that since he won’t make a dime from Cano until he signs his next deal.
I just want him to sign to see his contract to be honest. How much money? Opt out? Years? Boras has been working on this one for awhile.
This must be a fat guy thing, first C.C and now Fielder 🙂
and jd drew and aj burnett and arod…they’re all borderline obese
Boras just said last week that a short term deal wouldn’t work because a franchise is built around players like Prince. They would change their entire marketing program (which includes some long-term commitments) to make Prince the face of the franchise. Now to see him suggesting that Prince needs an opt-out is very strange.
Boras is a genius at what he does. I just hate the guy for being such a manipulative liar.
It isn’t strange. Even if every word he said was true (and I am not necessarily granting him that), all of that is the team’s problem and leaving them in the lurch might not be very nice but it is an option in the business of baseball. It should alter the TEAM’s thinking, for sure, but it isn’t strange to hear him suggest; it is very much consistent with his goal of getting everything he possibly can for his clients.
As far as the opt-out itself (not a direct reply to you, by the way), I typically agree with the “bad for teams” interpretation. But thinking about it today, it is a negotiating tool like anything else. Fielder wants an opt-out? Okay. What does the team get in return? If a smart GM can turn that into lower-valued post-opt-out years, it might be a good gamble. From their perspective, they assume the risk of the player going bad but do so for a lower cost than sans opt-out; from the player’s, they have the option to leave and make more money but take less of a guarantee if they do decline.
If the GM is essentially paying full price and awarding an opt-out, well, that’s just really poor negotiating or desperation to make a move regardless of whether or not it is sound. In other words, smart negotiation of an opt-out makes the player declining suck for both sides. If the GM assumes the risk of decline and grants an opt-out without making the player assume some of the risk too, he has simply failed at his job.
because he is trying to save face….nobody imho wants to go past 4, maybe 5 tops…he knows it….he is laying the groundwork for a 4 or 5 year deal and saying that prince would want an opt out anyway…..that is my guess
This whole defending Boras and saying “he’s just good at his job” thing makes me sick. Kegs face it. The guy just lies and scams and cheats the system to get contracts for his players.
In this system the advantage 100% goes to the agent. Blaming the gms for making stupid decisions is not fair. Boras can lie and tell them whatever he wants to tell them and they have no choice but to believe it. It’s not like the teams can just call each other up and say “hey I’m giving fielder this much money. Is it true you offered him more than that?”
Imagine if everybody at their job just lied and screwed over their customers how messed up this world would be. But its ok because Boras is just good at his job right?
” they have no choice but to believe it”..really? They have no choice? Let’s see, you just wrote 3 paragraphs about how Boras lies. So you know not to believe him, but the GMs don’t? He negotiates and uses what info he has to, the teams and GMs most certainly DO have a choice. They can choose not to sign a Boras client, they can choose to offer a contract they deem fair and move on if not accepted, or they can believe what Boras says.
Defending Boras “makes you sick” but the players that allow him to do this ON THER BEHALF, don’t? Once again, he works for them. They sign on with him knowing how he operates.BTW…many corporations and CEO’s lie to maximize profit and many customers get screwed over..and the world is indeed messed up.
The GM’s don’t have to believe him nor do they have to match his offer. It’s called negotiation, Boras is apparently good at it and most GMs are not.
Most B-Schools will teach you that screwing over a partner is never the best thing, but ultimately I don’t think Boras screws these teams over. If they pay too much for his client they just cut back elsewhere.
The GMs who engage him and lose are the ones at whom you should direct your anger.
If Scott Boras “lies and scams and cheats the system,” the agent would be open to civil suits. But he does and he isn’t.
In an attempt to drive down the price, a general manager could tell the agent for a desired free agent that the team is inclined to go with a better value with another free agent (named or unnamed) even though the team has little interest in the second free agent. Does that mean the general manager “lies and scams and cheats” the system?
“The guy just lies and scams and cheats the system to get contracts for his players.” That’s why he’s good at his job.
You do realize that the players, and not the teams/GMs, are his customers, right? And yes, the teams/GMs absolutely can call their colleagues at other teams to verify information. Also, what kind of lies do you think he’s telling GMs that they themselves cannot cross-check? You make GMs out to be a bunch of doofuses that Boras is blindfolding and hand-over-hand signing a contract. Elite players command elite contracts and the going rate as of late has been $20-25MM AAV for such players.
Your line of thinking is based on some really, really, really dumb logic.
Which is why a smart business man, including a GM, goes into a negotiation with a number in mind. No CEO is going to walk into a negotiation thinking an acquisition is worth $30MM and have the other guy go “ZOMG! Bill just offered me a billion dollars, do you want to beat it?!” and go “SIGN ME THE !@#* UP!” Why should a GM?
You decide what Fielder is worth to your team and you stay near it. If you really, really want the player you can give yourself a little leeway, say 5-10% or so, to play with. Nobody is going to quibble much about walking in thinking 7/$140MM and signing at 7/$150MM unless 7/140 was a bad idea to begin with.
It has a wonderful benefit in that you don’t actually have to believe Boras when he says he got another offer that just blows your out of the water, because it doesn’t matter if he did or not. If it’s a lie, you don’t want to be caught with your pants down believing it. And if it is not, well, to steal a quote from Napoleon, “never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.”
what i’m getting out of this is that Fielder does not want to be in Chicago, DC, Seattle, or Baltimore, but very much wants a job next year that pays him lots of money.
That sums it up in one sentence.
Prince Fielder may be interested in all four destinations, but why would the slugger sign today if Scott Boras can keep at least two teams bidding against each other?
Dude, I don’t even care how much he makes for how long and what it involves, just get the guy signed, he’s holding up the rest of the Boras FA’s which is basically the whole FA group left.
So basically Boras wants a team to make a long-term commitment to his client, but doesn’t think his client should make a long-term commitment to the team. Sounds like the beginning of a beautiful relationship.
that is hilarious hahaha
The whole issue is Milwaukee offered a competitive contract for Fielder. He turned it down, in hopes of obtaining a 10-year 200M dollar contract. Boras misjudged the market and without all the big teams involved, he is now having to become creative to obtain that contract for his client. Yes, sign Prince for 10 years, 25M a year and Prince can opt out after five years. It should be the other way around. Yes, a team will sign Prince for that amount and years, but the team has the option of opting out after five years if his production falls off the table. That takes the power out of the hands of the agent and leaves it with the team where it belongs.
As long as he continues to earn his keep, he makes money. If he doesn’t, he is fired, just like 99.9 percent of real workers in the world. Employers dictate the terms, not the employee they hire. Boras also has the option of putting his client on the market for five years, ensuring a higher AAS, instead of long-term financial security that cripples the salary structure of the team. If Fielder is greedy and wants money for nothing, this was the worst year he could have to obtain it, up against Pujols who was signed with little difficulty. Once you remove the big teams, players should expect to lower their demands dramatically to accommodate the small to medium market teams.
Boras gets clients because he’s been consistently successful at maximizing their compensation. He’s had some notable failures (Damon a couple of years ago, Madson probably this year) but by and large he’s done a terrific job. That doesn’t mean he’s likeable. As to Fielder, this is the point of his maximum leverage and I don’t blame him for trying to get the most out of it. These guys are not comparable to the average worker-they have difficult to replace skills that can be monetized by ownership. Otherwise they wouldn’t get paid this much. Let’s face it-if we were being recruited by a number of employers, how many of us would say “oh, no, that’s way too generous.”
Watch out . The Fish might get in this one.
Fish don’t sign baseball players MVP. Jeez
out of the top 4 likely destinations for fielder, nats are the only one with even a remote chance of getting into the playoffs if they had him. seems like a good reason
i.e. nats, cubs, orioles, mariners
Pretty short sighted view on a player who will be around 5+ seasons.
all i have to do to disprove your comment is list the other teams again. no work needed. it’s the orioles, cubs, and mariners for gods sake
Proving anything in baseball is a fool’s endeavor my friend.
absolutely, but you see a snowballs chance in hell for either of the other 3 teams getting in the playoffs in the next 8 years?
edited
Cecil Fielder career at age 27 – 126 hr over 6 yrs 21 hr per yr
Prince Fielder career at age 27 – 230 hr over 7 yrs 32.8 hr per yr
Cecil Fielder age 28 to 32 163 hr 32.6 hr per yr for 5 yrs and after age 32 sucked
Prince is better than his father was. Even if Prince sucks after age 32, there is 5 yrs of likely high production before he hits 33yrs old.
A 7 yr deal at $25 mil per yr is a relatively safe bet for any team with the budget available compared to other deals in recent history.
If Boras wasn’t his agent, he’d have more teams willing to pay for his services in my opinion.
I wish my team the Brewers could resign him, but the reality is the budget won’t allow it.
I’ve watched him for 7 yrs. He plays the game the way it is supposed to be played, with effort, and passion. Wherever he goes, the fans will not be disappointed in that respect.
How beast would the NL East be if he came!
How beast would the NL East be if he came!
Why do I see this playing out like Mo Vaughn did when he signed with the Mets?