Orioles executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette is scheduled to meet with agent Scott Boras about a possible extension for catcher Matt Wieters, according to Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com. The 30-year-old is slated to qualify for free agency after the season.
Boras suggests to Connolly that there is at least some level of mutual interest in a new contract for Wieters, who has spent his entire career with the Baltimore organization. Most recently, he accepted a $15.8MM qualifying offer to stay with the club rather than going onto the open market last winter.
Things haven’t gone quite as team or player hoped in 2016. He has been healthy, appearing in 110 games, but hasn’t produced to his typical levels at the plate. Over 412 plate appearances, Wieters owns a .243/.299/.402 triple-slash, though he has hit 14 long balls.
According to Boras, those offensive woes aren’t a long-term concern. The agent is famed for his analogies, of course, and chose a somewhat odd one to describe the veteran backstop.
“This guy is General Jackson and General Lee,” said Boras. “He is the North and the South. He can do it all. He is all-around.”
It is certainly notable that the sides are set to discuss a new contract, as Wieters was expected to play an interesting role on the upcoming free agent market. He may still do so, but if not, he’d join Francisco Cervelli among catchers who signed new deals rather than testing the open waters — considerably thinning the overall crop and perhaps boosting the stock of top options like Wilson Ramos and Jason Castro.
It seems unlikely that the O’s will again extend Wieters a qualifying offer after his down year with the bat, though perhaps that can’t be discounted entirely. Certainly, this year’s anticipated $16.7MM qualifying offer cost seems a bit high for a player who has produced at about 17% below league average.
Notably, too, Boras represents ace Orioles closer Zach Britton and pending free agent slugger Pedro Alvarez. Connolly suggest that both could come up in talks, as well. Britton has two remaining years of arbitration control remaining and will be due a raise commensurate with his unbelievable campaign, so he’ll present an interesting case this winter. And Alvarez is set to go back into free agency after a productive year, with the Orioles potentially having continued interest — particularly with Mark Trumbo also readying to weigh offers from other organizations.
An interesting turn of events.
Maybe, in the words of Roger Clemens, I’m “misremembering”, but didn’t the O’s only offer the QO last year because they wanted the draft pick and were not at all thrilled when he accepted?
I’m sure the extremely weak catchers market has a part in this, but I’d imagine the contract would have to be well below the value of the QO to get the O’s to bite.
I’m surprised a bit that Boras isn’t just waiting out the season and daring the O’s to make a QO. If they make one he would be insane not to accept. And I think the O’s would be insane to offer one honestly.
Makes you wonder who’s driving the negotiations on this one. Due diligence perhaps?
I think the Os were thinking that if Matt didn’t take the QO then they would do a mini rebuild. Once he took the QO then it would be silly not to go all in for a shot at the Championship already 15.7 mill invested why not go nuts. But the only have like 3 years tops to try for it. In 3 years machado is gone, Britton is gone, Tillman is gone, hardy is gone, jones is gone all they would have left is a massively over paid 1st baseman.
Why? The Indians and others would offer Wieters the moon
He hasn’t been productive in 4 seasons. Tying up large short term money (QO) or moderate long term money makes little sense in this situation. If this was anyone other than a former uber prospect, there would be little talk of an extension IMO.
The other catching options might seem bleak, but I think you’d get better overall value spending that money elsewhere. At the very least you can find a defense first catcher to tide you over. The fact that he’s been nothing more than league average or below on both sides of the ball, has a fair injury history, has his size going against him as a long term catching piece and it makes little sense to extend him.
If he has to move to 1B or DH during the deal itd be even worse.
No team is offering Wieters the moon. Wieters is a pretty good player but he hasn’t come close to living up to the hype. This year he has an OPS of .701, the second lowest of his career, and his catching skills are increasingly being called into question. Plus he’s catcher, a position which tends not to age well
I could see the O’s giving Wieters a contract similar to Cervelli’s, in the 3 year $30 million range.
Thanks, but no thanks. Orioles need every penny to go towards starting pitching.
Boras may know how to gouge as an agent, but he knows nothing of history…
The north and south part of Jackson and Lee? Both famous Generals were famous and legendary southerners…
Jackson became famous at Manasas junction.. “There stands Jackson, standing like a Stne Wall” it was quoted as he stood while bullets and cannon shot flew all around him during the battle. The battle field isn’t terribly far from Baltimore ( Manasas Va), probably why Boras confused Thomas “Stonewall Jackson with A Yankee.
Still.. If he’s going to continually act like a Omnipotent little twit.. He should get his facts correct.
I believe the only reason they are meeting is because Boras knows there is zero chance Weiters gets a qualifying offer this year. I know the O’s need pitching but the 30 million 3 year contract suggested earlier is probably in the low range Boras would accept. I know Showalter really believes in this player so that fact plays towards Boras favor.
Boras might be afraid Wieters would go for less than 3/30 on the open market, and the O’s are probably afraid of losing him because there is not an obvious replacement in Chance Sisco (yet).
Don’t underestimate the worth of a catcher. The O’s would definitely bring him back for 3/30 but of course Boras will over reach. He does every time unless the client gives him an ultimatum to sign.
Varitek forced 4/40 compromise after ’04 season when he told Boras he wasn’t leaving Boston, tho he did did wait until shortly after the season ended to sign and was putting up better offensive numbers at the time.
12y later, take somewhat poorer numbers, Varitek was 32 when signed that deal.. I can’t really see Weiters getting much more than 10-12m over 2-3y myself, then that’s just me.
I sincerely hope the Orioles let go of Weiters and move on. Not worth 17mil per year. Not worth 5mil per year.
O’s have some good young catchers coming up. Its a young man’s game.
O’s need to allocate the millions that Boras wants for Weiters to acquiring better starting pitching.
Save the money to extend Machado and Schoop.
If there were SP on the market, I’d say spend it there, but with no FA Options and Ubaldo/Jimenez/Miley all under contract for at least next season, it looks like we are stuck.
Exactly! O’s have been burned too many times on FA pitching. Grow the arms and buy the bats.
Would the Indians offer Wieters the moon? They could have attempted to claimed him on revocable waivers earlier in the month and Wieters passed through. That doesn’t necessarily speak to his long-term potential for moving to Cleveland but it certainly would have provided an audition to see if he worked there. In fact, all of MLB refused Wieters. I’m fairly certain that could be the motivator behind Boras and the O’s meeting now. Wieters could be reading the tea leaves and realizing the market might not be as large as he’d hoped for his skills and he’s willing to take a fair deal and stay with the only team he’s ever known.
I think that the O’s would gladly trade Wieters for Gomes right now, despite everything that has happened this year. Joseph is an adequate backup, but he’s collected zero (yes, as in not a single one) RBI in over 120 PAs this year, and the catcher of the future isn’t expected to be ready until end of 2017 or start of 2018 at the earliest.
Why would Wieters want to take an extension this close to free agency? It makes no sense in any way, shape or form from his perspective. Literally anything the Orioles offer him now would still be on the table in the offseason and some other team might offer him possibly more.
I would guess that this is something that he is pushing Boras to do and the O’s brass is politely listening. It’s unlike Boras to seek an extension for a client unless the client is pushing for it, especially in-season this close to the winter, and Boras traveling to top it off.
Wieters has had an awful season and even in a weak catching market will not approach the QO he accepted last offseason.
Put all of this together, and (unfortunately) I think you have the recipe for a deal being worked out before FA hits.
NO YOU DO NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There is no way Wieters makes more money from an extension (where he is only allowed to negotiate with one team) than he does on the open market where he is allowed to field offers from all 30 teams. Anything the Orioles offer him now will still be there in the offseason.
He takes it if he wants to stay in Baltimore because hopefully Baltimore will not pay for him on the FA market… or as an extension candidate.
Not even if he wants to stay in Baltimore. Anything they offer him now will still be there in the offseason and some other team might offer him possibly more. He’ll make more money if he is allowed to negotiate with 30 teams than if he is only allowed to negotiate with one.
Scott Boros usually tells his clients to wait for the end of the off-season until other free agents come off the board, interest peaks and they can get an inflated offer. However, if his client is infirm, he signs before the end of the season. If that doesn’t happen, he talks Detroit into signing them.
that is the old Detroit. The new Detroit has smartened up finally.