Scott Boras, the agent for unsigned free agents Stephen Drew and Kendrys Morales, claims his clients have been "damaged" by comments from the anonymous executives quoted in a recent ESPN story, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Boras' remarks come two days after the MLBPA requested the Commissioner's Office to investigate those comments made to ESPN's Buster Olney, which appeared in a column he penned Wednesday.
"It's a clear violation of the CBA," Boras told Heyman. "As many as five executives continue to use ESPN as a conduit to violate the collective bargaining agreement. Kendrys Morales and Stephen Drew were damaged by these comments."
Boras also warns, "The integrity of the game is challenged when players of this stature have yet to have a negotiation due to the system," adding there needs to be a "remedy" for the pair, which could take the form of monetary damages or relief from a future qualifying offer. Boras points out not only does the CBA disallow negative comments from MLB team officials, which could depress player markets, but also provides for the possibility of monetary damages in such circumstances. Boras says the issue is about the "conduct" of the executives, not the timing suggesting a grievance procedure needs to be implemented where all concerned parties are placed under oath.
The only thing hurting Drew & Morales is Boras.
I was going to say the same but you beat me to it
Your comment is damaging to Scott Boras. He should seek compensatory relief in the form of cash considerations.
I completely agree. I don’t think players realize that Boras is a detriment unless they are a top tier player seeking a mega-contract.
The owners will fight tooth and nail to keep the QO system in place since they compromised a lot on abandoning the arbitration system. Maybe the compromise is the same team can’t QO a player in back to back years.
Agreed, if a team could not give a QO to a player in consecutive years it would solve alot of problems. Players would be more willing to take the offer and remain with the team knowing they could become a free agent the following season with no draft pick compensation attached. The player if traded midseason by that team would still be a free agent with no pick compensation attached again the following season. Top free agents obviously have no problem in this system because they are worth giving up a pick to sign. But these mid tier players need to come back to Earth and realize their true value on the open market with a comp pick attached to them. If they still misjudge their market and turn down the QO they only have themselves and/or their agents to blame. Knowing that if they just accepted the offer they would get paid very well for one season, then be set to reach the open market unhindered and be able to secure a multi year deal based on their true value.
Def agree with that. There needs to be SOME incentive for players to take that one year offer. A lot of fans complain that players shouldn’t be complaining about the QO since it’s so much money and they should be lucky to be making so much playing a game, blah blah blah…I see the QO as a hindrance towards these mid-tier players who want to just leave some where. I mean honestly, would you take a one year extension with a company you don’t like when you were looking FORWARD to leaving them in the first place? If they can limit the QO to one year, it would definitely lessen this problem that we have.
Would I take a 15 million dollar one year extention to do the same job I would be doing elsewhere, even if I didn’t like my employer? Is this even a serious question?
It actually is when you put into factors such as the short lifespan of professional athletes (these guys are done with their careers when a majority of us are just stabilizing or just finished carving a place into our careers) and the lack of mobility and choice a QO actually does for players.
Also I’ve asked this before in another post, but why is it that the MLB is the only league that has compensation for losing out on FAs?? I mean, this is a league where one player DOESNT make that big of a difference in comparison to others in the other sports (one superstar in NBA, a QB in NFL, a goaltender in NHL). No where else is there such a thing as FA compensation, so why here??
At least in the MLB, players are allowed to follow the poor advice of thier agents. The franchise tag takes the choice entirely out of the player’s hands…
What a moot argument if I ever heard one. We’re “carving out” our careers at that point with the hope that someday we’ll establush our careers and finances to such a point that our families will be taken care of. Once again, if I could retire BEYOND comfortably for not only myself but at least the next generation for less than one year’s worth of work in my early to mid thirties, I certainly wouldn’t be complaining about anything. Moreover, if my only contribution to a sport that I was so worried about the integrity of was to siphon money from the pockets of my far more talented clientele, I would have even LESS to say. I don’t think anyone will argue that the QO system is beyond flawed, and at a minimum there needs to be a “not for consecutive years” rule for it, but having people worried about the financial well-being of people who took a $14.1 million guaranteed paycheck, gamble it on the open market and lose is ludicrous.
Scott — hush. Tony Clark had the right of it, and he can get something done. You interjecting yourself and making it all about you and your clients helps nobody.
I disagree. It’s Boras’s job to get his clients paid. Since the CBA has clearly hindered these players from getting a deal, I see nothing wrong with Boras advocating for compensatory damages. Tony Clark’s role in all of this is becoming involved in the cases of Drew and Morales for the good of all the players, as is his job as MLBPA Exec Director. Scott Boras’s role is to advocate directly for Drew and Morales.
Furthermore, I find it really rich that Manfred is poo-pooing the CBA in this case after being in the news for the last few years as the PED hammer. I guess the CBA only matters when violations of it hurt or embarrass the Commissioner’s Office.
Then Boras failed, and he failed long before anyone had any comments on the matter.
I don’t think Scott Boras is exactly well-known for failing to get his players paid. Say all you want about how Drew and Morales could have taken their QOs, but never forget that it’s not the agent who makes that decision, it’s the player.
At the end of the day, both Drew and Morales simply would have been worth more than $14MM this past off-season had it not been for the asinine QO rule currently in effect. It was not Boras who failed Drew and Morales. It was the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
It is actually up to Boras to see what the market will or will not bring. Boras failed these two, if they wanted to play on opening day.
Wrong. Boras’s job is to advise his client, and then to do what his client tells him to do. An agent does not exercise hegemony over his players, he takes orders from his players.
You do not know how this played out. Boras could have told his clients to take the QO, and they may have wanted to test the market. He could have told them to accept any of the offers they received over the offseason, but the players felt they were too low. Blame Boras is really easy to say, but it reflects a pitiful knowledge of how the agent-player relationship actually works.
Do you really think Boras didn’t say let’s go for the long term contract? Knowing Boras and his track record, i would be shocked if he advised the one year deal.
I’ll never understand why Drew rejected that 14mill q-offer. Arizona basically gave up on him and played decently well for BOS, but 14mill well? Now way. No one in their right mind would have given him the 50-mill deal Boras was asking for plus a draft pick comp. This is Boras’ mess up for sure.
50 million? Knowing Boras he wanted at least 75.
You’re probably right, 50 was just my guess. Either way, it’s a ridiculous amount.
I thought that he would be able to get a Lohse type contract. Maybe $36MM/3. I didn’t get the Morales one though.
You are right and had Drew not been represented by Boras? I imagine the cardinals would have approached him over defensivly challenged and PED tainted Peralta, but they knew that Drew and Boras would never have settled early on for anywhere near 36-40m, maybe even 50m and that is why they chased Peralta, not because peralta is even close to the player Drew is.
This is another case of Boras hurting a player getting a job and Boras blaming the system.
The defensively challenged Peralta has been above average defensively the last few years. The Cardinals went after the player they wanted. They never went after Drew.
Defensively challenged as compared to a real SS, like Drew.
It’s not like Peralta is any better at SS than is Jeter. 0.7, 0.6 I guess would make him passable in the mathematics system, yet I wonder how many who watch his 2 step range think his defense at SS is close to be average?
The Cardinals know what they’re doing. If you watched him and saw his range, then you would also see he fields,throws and hits better than Drew.
Peralta also doesn’t choke in the playoffs, he ups his game.
“Peralta also doesn’t choke in the playoffs, he ups his game”
That is actually quite funny.
Check their stats.Peralta 832 OPS career in the playoffs. Drew 611.
Tangentially related, MLB should put an amendment in the current CBA that doesn’t allow a team to make a QO to the same player in consecutive years.
The part that I find hilarious is Scott Boras speaking about the integrity of the game.
Break out the popcorn, chaps…
“…have yet to have a negotiation due to the system.”
Now, who is really responsible for that lack of negotiation? The system? Or, could it possibly be the overinflated ‘mega-agent’ broadcasting ludicrous expected contract terms ahead of any possible negotiation? Do they not have mirrors in Boras’s world?
The only thing damaging them is Boras’ gross misinterpretation of their market value.
They hurt themselves by not accepting 14.1 million for a one year deal. Come on Boras there was clearly better players on the market. The Sox are fine without Drew.
Their market was hurt by turning down $14.1M. Maybe next time they won’t overvalue themselves(and by “they” I mean Boras)
what’s wrong with taking a 1yr 14 mil contract? i think boras is the reason they’re not signed.
thats what happens when you gamble some times you lose
I simply want all parties to an agreement to comply with the terms of the agreement.
There needs to be a remedy? There already is one. It’s called accepting the QO.
Was the CBA violated? It sure seems that way but Scott Boras showing concern for the “integrity of the game” is akin to Bernie Madoff saying “I made an honest living”.
Do not buy any snake oil from Boras…….
… or from any baseball executives who violated the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
At this point the blame isn’t solely on Boras though. You’ve gotta put some of the blame on the players, one whose brother had a reputation for taking his ball and going home.
It’s amazing how Tony Clark can raise this point and receive at least acknowledgement and a sympathetic ear, but Scott Boras can say the same thing and be roundly panned or ignored.
Wait, scratch that… It’s actually not amazing at all. It actually makes perfect sense is a karma sort of way.
People lash out when they are scared and Boras is seriously running scared on this. he knows Drew and Morales should be playing by now and that it is he and no other reason why they are not. At this point there can be no single reason Drew and Morales should not to be playing except the ask price is still too high and no matter how much you feel you are worth the market will be the final say. At some point we cannot say it is a coincidence the last two players to sign in 2013 and 2014 are Boras clients.
I didn’t read the ESPN article in question. Were there names attached to the quotes, or were they “anonymous” sources? I know that a few of their NBA writers have a lot of sources, but they’re all just multiple personalities of the writers.
“The integrity of the game is challenged when players of this stature have yet to have a negotiation due to the system.” Who are we talking about here? Boras is speaking as if he’s representing a pair of all-star regulars or constant lineup threats to the opposition. The bottom line is that both of these players received qualifying offers that were slightly above their market value. Now they regret not taking the deals and their agent is trying to save face. Plain and simple.
I have a great idea supported by facts that would fix this problem of players like drew, morales, and kyle lohse not getting contracts…Just dont know where to share it where someone important would see it.
We need to separate the issue from Boras. There is a principle at stake, which is the MLB execs should not be opining at this stage of what Morales and Drew are worth. If you can penalize the Yankees for “tampering” with Trout when Trout was years away from FA, then you can fine those Execs and team for doing this. Tony Clark is correctly focused on this. However, I don’t see the damages. These two players, out of dozens of useful to star quality FAs aren’t signed because teams have not been willing to pay the price Boras has demanded. Boras just wants what he hasn’t been able to get through negotiation.
I agree that exec’s have no right to throw numbers out and yes if true that would be a violation of the CBA (as I understand from others), however, If those exec’s ( I have reservations an mlb team exec would be that dumb) exist do you think Olney would give them up?
No, I don’t think Olney would give them up, unless the subpoena power extends to journalists, which would be interesting, to say the least. I suppose every FO could be questioned under oath. I read the Heyman story, and there is one quote in there I find remarkable: “The integrity of the game is challenged when players of this stature
have yet to have a negotiation due to the system,” Boras said.
Is Boras actually saying that neither Drew nor Morales have received any offers? Because that’s pretty extraordinary. What I think he’s getting at is that no one has made an offer to their liking, so they can jump start the bidding. That’s Heyman’s interpretation (while of course boosting the two players, as he is wont to do)
“Is Boras actually saying that neither Drew nor Morales have received any offers?”
He may have fielded or made preliminary calls where teams asked what he was looking for and if he would be interested in such and such a deal. However, by negotiation he probably means a discussion beyond the initial contact, where he visits the team and is allowed to present his players credentials (much like in RE where you have a showing for interested qualified buyers) beyond that which is already known, and further discussion on salary and terms are had .
Now its possible he scared folks away with his initial demands, however, since he have no idea what those are we can’t say.
But given the combined WAR of these 2 players are about 6.3, it does seem strange no serious discussion took place.
Personally, I feel after the Peralta signing and the GM/owners meetings in December, teams were told to get a grip and restrain themselves in the best interests of the game (their profits), and the market for FA in this class (3 WAR players) dried up
It’s more likely that teams simply didn’t want to pay both the pick and his excessive demands for players who had perceived flaws. Boras’ asking was too high for these two, and he was continuously signaling new ones. Boras had other players who got their money, so his approach for the top tier FA’s generally has worked quite well. Where he’s fallen short is on players like these two. I don’t see the collusion here. I see teams looking at values and deciding to spend money elsewhere. If you have a budget, and you have positions to fill, you can’t always wait around for the last round of bidding for a Boras client. Particularly when that client isn’t a premier talent.
Nobody knows what price Boras is asking. In fact Boras just said he has not had a single negotiation for either player, which I find bizarre for 2 players who combined had a WAR equal to Cano, and more than Ellsbury and Choo (both Boras clients).
What WAR numbers are you looking at? Over at baseball reference, Cano was 7.6 in 2013, Morales was 2.8, Drew 3.1, Ellsbury 5.7, and Choo 4.2. None of what you’re describing is accurate. Even if you look at career numbers it still doesn’t match up with your statements: Cano 45.2, Morales 10.6, Drew 16.2, Ellsbury 21.6, and Choo 25.8.
“It is ludicrous, absurd, that one [Internet] report somehow alters the market for players who have been out there for months,” Manfred told Heyman.
I concur!
Shocking that this only happens to his clients.
Boras is really having a hard time adjusting to the new CBA now that he can’t bend teams over backwards in both FA and the draft. He’s like an old man yelling at the neighborhood kids playing on his front lawn, its really pathetic.
He is still doing pretty good. Most of his players have signed good deals under the CBA (Ellsbury, Choo, etc) and he still has a bunch of young players like Boegarts signed up
Boras is running scared – and he should be. While he is sitting on average clients like Drew and Morales to get ridiculous contracts they haven’t earned, teams are locking up their young superstars to long-term deals that buy out many of their free agent years. All of the talent that has been taken off the open market from 2016-2019, its starting to frighten these agents. And its about time.
Between Ellsbury and Choo he earned himself 15 million in commissions this year. Drew and Morales even at his ideal price (say 40 million a player) would not have made him more than 4 million.
Obviously, he wants to do well for them in the end since his reputation is important, but I don’t think we can say at this point he won’t end up getting a decent deal. If not this year then next year w/o draft pick compensation attached to either player.
They were hurt more by taking Boras’ advice
I still don’t understand how players pass up short term (1-2 year) deals. Could easily re-establish their value in that time.
The thing that has really hurt their market is having an agent who doesn’t understand their value or how to market them.
You mean: Just show me the Money! Isn’t an effective strategy?
When you only get one offer, and you turn it down, you don’t get to complain about not having offers. The Mets offered Drew a deal, rumors have it that the Yankees offered him a deal early in the winter, maybe other teams offered him a deal. He said no to everything, and now he is unemployed.
The Red Sox also technically offered him a deal, a 14 million dollar one.
Only in the world of big time professional sports do people thing they’ve been slandered when somebody says they’re worth $5-10M per year.
“Leave Boras Alone! I’m sure he is very concerned for the integrity of the game.”
Signed ~ ARod
I find it hilarious that a man known for getting teams to essentially bid against themselves is talking about integrity. His problem is he’s trying to build up two slightly above average players and make it look like they’re All-Stars. Even the QO’s offers they both rejected would’ve been overpays.
Clark should obviously initiate a grievance on the players behalf, but he is too nice.
Boras should just be done with it and start calling it for what it really is, and thats Collusion. Its a limited form of collusion granted, as MLB has gotten smart enough after being caught several times to not make it too obvious.
At one time MLBPA players got 56% of revenue, now its declined to under 43%
The flaw in the split of revenue isn’t at the top end. It’s at the bottom, where artificially low salaries and service clock time games create a system where performance isn’t linked to pay.
Clark can’t “initiate a grievance. Grievances have to be filed by the members.
Boras: “The integrity of the game is challenged when players of this stature have yet to have a negotiation due to the system”. Just a week ago Boras was quoted by Rosenthal that both could land a deal soon. How can both statements be true?
I think the real problem here is that Boras is their agent.
Just another excuse from Boras to cover up the fact that Drew and Morales should have accepted their QO. If they would have accepted the more than fair $14 M offer, then there would be no talk from Boras trying to cover up the fact that they got greedy, gambled, and lost.
Its all about Boras. He practices ego over economics.
What about the comments Boras has made throughout the season towards the Blue Jays and how they should manage their team and sign them to fix their problems? Get real and don’t moan when others comment on your players as you do to others.
There is nothing in the CBA prohibiting an agent getting a fanbase excited about a particular free agent. There is however items preventing front office personel from commenting on players not currently signed to the team they work for.
It may not be fair but it is against the terms that were collectively bargained by the teams and the players.
I understand that, but his comments were not an attempt to get a fanbase excited, they were to try to make Toronto look bad by using his media connections to call them cheap.
You are right as far as I can see that Boras can back bite teams. In addition to the Jays he also called the Mets out. Having said that I think he forfeits his right to talk about integrity of the game with his snarky behavior. On a second note we do not know where Olney got the quotes from so attributing them to a front office person might be premature.
This is just another of the continuing Boras spin stories, cry me a river! Also he’s not going to let them sign before the draft, so he can circumvent the compensation rule! Boras= poison to baseball.
This is just another of the continuing Boras spin stories, cry me a river! Also he’s not going to let them sign before the draft, so he can circumvent the compensation rule! Boras= poison to baseball.
Of course, it’s impossible to consider that maybe Boras just priced these players out of the market, right? Plain and simple, Boras overplayed his hand with these guys. Held out for big contracts that were not coming, and could not work his usual game of conning some team into a bad contract. It’s no coincidence that a lot of the worst contracts in MLB history are with Boras clients. The teams are finally figuring that out. This is not about the comments of anonymous executives, but the overestimation of an agent and what his demands, plain and simple. Good for the teams who finally figured out it is best to not dance with the devil.
It’s funny to hear Boras moan about anonymous comments to ESPN when he uses Heyman as his personal spokesman.