Agent Scott Boras held court in Dallas tonight, providing updates on his many free agent clients and entertaining reporters with quips along the way. Here are the details:
- Boras made it clear that Prince Fielder has drawn lots of interest this offseason. The agent explained that Fielder compares favorably to all-time greats such as Jimmie Foxx and suggested teams will look to lock Fielder up for as long as possible if they recognize his potential as someone who can produce at the plate for the better part of a decade while boosting TV ratings and attendance (Boras' arguments, not mine). He played down concerns about Fielder's body, suggested he's just entering his prime and argued that comparable free agent power hitters won't be available any time soon.
- Fielder doesn't have any geographical preference as to where he signs, tweets Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star. Boras quipped that the distance from home plate to the outfield fence is the only geography concerning Fielder. For more on Fielder, click here.
- Generally speaking, Boras explained that Seattle and Milwaukee are desirable places to play because they have the potential to draw substantial crowds. He also said "the city [of Los Angeles] is waiting for the return of the Dodgers" and praised the Dodgers as a storied franchise in American sports.
- Johnny Damon played "very well" in 2011, according to Boras. He joked that 38-year-old is in line for a five-year deal, though a one-year contract is probable in reality. Boras half-jokingly suggested the Rays "have lots of money" despite their perennially low payrolls.
- Carlos Pena will likely have multiyear offers, Boras said.
- Asked if Kyle Lohse could waive his no-trade clause, Boras replied that he thinks Lohse is happy in St. Louis, tweets B.J. Rains of Fox Sports Midwest.
- The market for Ivan Rodriguez is narrowing, tweets Amanda Comak of the Washington Times. The Nationals aren't in on Pudge, tweets Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.
- The Nats have some interest in bringing back Rick Ankiel, tweets Comak.
- Boras expects Daisuke Matsuzaka to be healthy and return "sometime this summer," tweets Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal.
- J.D. Drew is undecided on whether he'll play in 2012. It would have to be the right situation.
- Andruw Jones would've liked more playing time in 2011, but understands he won't be a full-time player, tweets MLB.com's Bryan Hoch. A deal with the Yankees is likely in the coming weeks, tweets Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News.
- The Braves haven't progressed toward an extension for Michael Bourn, tweets Stephen Goff of Examiner.com.
MLBTR's Luke Adams co-wrote this post.
id love fielder in LA, but cmon, everyone knows that won’t happen unless Fielder somehow waits out the courts in January…
“and suggested teams will look to lock Fielder up for as long as possible if they recognize his potential as someone who can produce at the plate for the better part of a decade while boosting TV ratings and attendance”
That’s definitely aimed at the Dodgers….
yep. you almost have to wonder if Boras is really gonna wait for at least the first round of bids, and hope that the highest bidder can put his 2 cents in
I think it is not aimed at any team at all, it is just a ruse to try to get Fielder signed for a long contract knowing that his type of body is risky for an everyday player, and as you know, Boras will even compare him to Babe Ruth if needed, as long as a team commits a high amount of money for a player that might not even be playing in 4-5 years more.
275 lbs? Come on! well… Bengie Molina says he weights 190 lbs LMAO!!!
Well, José Molina says he weights 290 lbs, is 3 inches taller than Fielder and yet he looks waaay slimmmmmmer than Fielder at 275 lbs.
They haven’t progressed because they haven’t started, how many times does Frank Wren have to say that?
Pudge can come back to Texas and take Teagarden’s place! That way he can retire as a Ranger like he ought.
Teagarden is on the Orioles now… just an FYI
hence why pudge would take his place
The best part of this update was “(Boras’ arguments, not mine)”.
AHAHAH, I felt like i was in a comedy club!
Pudge to the Jays.
” Distance from home plate to the outfield fence is the only geography concerning fielder.”
Totally a shot at Seattle. Hilarious.
Right field really isn’t all that deep
As a Seattle fan I know, but half of his home runs did go to left and center last year. Ball players constantly complain about how it is too big.
Ah, didn’t know where most of his homeruns ended up. Well that makes sense then haha
It’s dimensions don’t seem overly big, yeah they run on the large side, but why does it play so big? I rarely get to see west coast baseball, I’m genuinely curious.
Left center is pretty big, but I guess one of the problems is that there’s this wind that blows in from left.
Baseball players, not just Mariners players, have this perception of the field that it is hard to hit the ball out of the park going to left field. All the talking heads want to move the fences in so if Fielder comes he can hit more homeruns.
Definitely not a shot at Seattle. Fielder’s average home run distance was 408 feet, and only six of his home runs to center or left field were shorter than 400 feet. Fielder is one of the guys that wouldn’t be affected by Safeco, it seems.
Did he compare Foxx and Prince??? Together?!?
Foxx: .324/.430/.609u
Prince: .282/.390/.540
Even for Boras it’s a stretch… His slugging percent shows that they weren’t that close in power with.
Maybe he was thinking of Jamie Fox… or Red Foxx… of Fox Sports… or Sports… wait, what was the question again? LOL
Andrew needs to come back to the Bravos and finish his career here. It’d be nice to see him again
Fielder through 27:4210 PA .282/.390/.540 143 OPS+ (as a lefty hitter)
Foxx through 27: 5239 PA .339/.440/.640 174 OPS+ (as a righty hitter)
Boras should be fined for comparing these 2
“Boras says teams would be smart to lock Fielder up for as long as possible, eh? I wish I had a team so I could offer him $400 million for 20 years!”
– Tony Reagins
LOL Boras is such a shyster, comparing to Jimmie Fox. Laughable. They seriously need to make a movie about Scott Boras in the next few years, i think it would be awesome. Think about all of his techniques he uses when pursuing teams to pay top dollar for his clients i.e. Alex Rodriguez, Barry Zito, etc. I think his life from start to finish would be a movie worth watching. Of course there would have to be some cinematic twists to make it that more interesting.
Instead of “Moneyball” it will be called “Low-Ball”.
Boras compares *everyone* to an all-time great, the guy is almost hilarious now.
I really don’t find him funny.
Fielder’s not going to the dodgers. Boras is using them as a possible mystery team when the market develops more to surprise an increased offer out of more desperate gm’s.
Fielder’s not going to the dodgers. Boras is using them as a possible mystery team when the market develops more to surprise an increased offer out of more desperate gm’s.