Major League Baseball’s previous couple offseasons didn’t necessarily favor the players. Some free agents sat on the open market far longer than expected, while others signed for less than expected or didn’t receive guaranteed contracts (or any deals) at all. Count the game’s most famous agent, Scott Boras, among those disgusted with the way free agency has gone in recent years, as Bob Nightengale of USA Today details. Speaking at this week’s GM meetings, the always colorful Boras lamented the lack of teams going all-out to win, saying that “the industry is in a competitive hibernation, and the fans are reacting to it,” referring to drops in attendance (as Nightengale notes, even the Nationals, Astros and Yankees drew fewer fans).
“We got a decline in attendance. We got owners charging more for generations that want to see the game, while we’re losing a generation of young people that are only interested in competition,” said Boras. “Clubs feel there are greater rewards for losing than winning. And there is nothing to drive them to win because they don’t think it’s smart.’’
Boras even took aim at current commissioner Rob Manfred, whom he criticized for finding the luxury tax and the present system as a whole “wonderful.” That system, in Boras’ estimation, is “corrupt,” as it fails to “properly place progressive values of players at all. It’s always regressive.”
Of course, Boras’ hope is that the system doesn’t penalize his newest free-agent clients. And he’s representing several prominent players now on the open market, including superstar right-handers Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg and outfielder Nicholas Castellanos. Boras is also the agent for Red Sox J.D. Martinez, who elected against opting out of the remaining three years and $62.5MM on his contract. The agent discussed those clients this week.
In regards to Cole, who looks likely to smash David Price’s record guarantee of $217MM for a pitcher, Boras stated (via Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer): “If this were major-league Christmas, we would be looking at 30 stockings that clearly wanted a lump of Cole. I think starting pitching has become back in vogue. It’s an aggressive market.”
Boras also represents outfielder Bryce Harper, who signed the largest deal ever for a free agent last winter at 13 years and $330MM. He opined that Cole and Strasburg are in line to have even more teams after them than Harper did last offseason, per Breen. And while there has been speculation that Cole, a Southern California native, wants to sign with a West Coast team, that’s not necessarily the case.
“I don’t think geography matters to any of these guys as much as the continuance of winning and being able to achieve their goal of getting that rare ring,” Boras said. “And I think in Gerrit’s case, when you’re that close, you’re looking at this process as one where I’ve got a box to check and I want to go out and put together the best effort to put me in that position to do that.”
You wouldn’t expect Boras to say anything else in this case, as doing so could have decreased his client’s earning power. But, regardless of whatever geographic preference Cole may or may not have, the East Coast-stationed Phillies will heavily push for him, Breen reports. They won the bidding for Harper a year ago, and though general manager Matt Klentak has suggested he’s averse to signing more free agents saddled with qualifying offers (as Harper was, and as Cole is), Cole would greatly help a Phillies rotation in dire need of front-end aid.
The Phillies are among the teams that may be in the market for “a lump of Cole,” but that wasn’t the last of Boras’ holiday-themed metaphors. In regards to Castellanos, he stated (per Patrick Mooney of The Athletic): “Old Saint Nick delivers once a year. Young Saint Nick delivers all season. So you’ve got a pretty good market for that kind of player.”
Whether “young Saint Nick” (Castellanos) really “delivers all season” is debatable. He’s clearly a flawed player, one who has been more good than great at the plate throughout his career and has clearly struggled defensively in the outfield and at third base. Nevertheless, as a 27-year-old who does bring an above-average bat to the table, expectations are that he will fare well in free agency. MLBTR has him landing the eighth-highest guarantee of anyone on the market – a four-year, $58MM deal.
Martinez is something of a souped-up version of Castellanos, but he’s a half-decade older (32) and perhaps even a less viable defender. No doubt, Martinez would have had difficulty outdoing the money left on his pact had he opted out. Boras addressed Martinez’s decision, saying (via Alex Speier of the Boston Globe): “J.D. wanted assurance of competition at a high level and the fact that he played so well in Boston, we looked at it and with those two things in mind, we wanted to make sure that was the focus and for that reason he decided to opt in. The contract we structured allowed him choices after each season so it was something that, in this year at this time, we felt really that was the best decision.”
As Boras noted, Martinez will have another chance to opt out after next season. In the meantime, Boras is sure to focus his attention on several other clients who – despite his (arguably justifiable) distaste for the current system – could break the bank in the coming months.
Lump of Cole. Boras is out there with his quotes but that one really boomed me
Especially since a lump a coal is a negative. Dumb metaphor he tried to say.
In otherwords “who ever pays the most gets these guys.”
Welcome to the new era of baseball.
It’s been that way for a long time. Hardly a new era.
Tell that to the legions of Angels fans who comment that insist that Cole is coming home to the OC regardless of whether they offer the most money or not….he’s coming homes they say!
Feel better about yourself? Which Angel fan is sure the Angels are going to sign Cole for less money? Or did you just create a legion of Strawmen? I don’t know anyone who thinks Cole will take less to sign with the Angels.
If there are several teams that are going all in on Cole and wait until the very end, then all but one of those teams made a huge mistake… Maybe all of those teams.
Angels would be fools to wait around and end up with nothing. If the Angels are smart, they’ll make Cole an offer, maybe the best offer, then they’ll move on and sign a different pitcher.
Boras is not my favorite but many of statements were true. Baseball needs to fix some things and quick. Before fans flee.
Yea but Boras is THE reason that baseball is like the way it is.
A week after the WS ends until midway through Spring Training it’s….
“SHOWTIME! – starring Scott Boras!!!!
For decades he has complained about how MLB does things. He currently has a case against an MLB team for doing something legal to one of his clients, yet he has no problem using every legal loophole he can find to attack MLB teams, and either extract more money for his player, or get him labeled a free agent and selling him to another team….leaving local fans wondering what it is they’re supporting.
Each year Mr. Boras claims credit for everything good going on in MLB. The majority of the media is always enthralled and singing his praises. Meanwhile, the same media – and many fans that usually complain in Chatrooms and on call-in programs – seldom put any of their own money down to attend games live……similar to Mr. Boras profiting by taking money out of the sport, but never investing his own money in it……unlike the owners he assails each year for not spending more and more…..and having the audacity to make a profit off their investment.
Only in America.
Huckster personified.
The P.T. Barnum of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. A living legend.
Gotta love him.
No. He’s not.
I’d suggest the ans are “fleeing” because it has become incredibly expensive to go to a major league game. One of 162 a team plays. Odds are that the attendee(s) will be there for over 3 hours, watching batters take endless pitches, and hitting endless foul balls. While managers make endless pitching changes bringing in pitchers most fans never heard of. And now replays over seemingly minor plays often take over 5 minutes while fans are stuck sitting on their seats and staring at a big screen behind CF. The amount of action is minuscule in ratio to the time spent there.
Fans are NOT fleeing MLB on TV, and especially in viewing replays which can be done in over a dozen ways (TV, Cable TV, MLB.com, countless other websites, etc.).
Look at Yankee Stadium. Seats are sold for astronomical prices in “The Bowl”, yet they remain unoccupied for most games. Multiple NYC newspapers had detailed this, the clubs announcers don’t dare point this out. Many of those tickets are bought by people that write them off as business expenses, and only use them on weekends and/or against the sexy teams. The rebuilding Royals, Tigers, Orioles, etc are not going to bring the fans in if each team overpays for 3-4 run-of-the-mill players because they’re veterans.
The game has turned into too much K, W, or HR – and seeing an increasing amount of those each year anesthetizes attending fans. The pace of the games and the amount of action needs to be addressed.
Agree on everything but the play review. I’m a big fan of getting the call right. And there are LOTS of calls overturned… The only way to get them is to review. An normally a review takes a couple minutes…
Well said. I do miss the small ball style of play but baseball has evolved into an all-or-nothing batting approach. Players don’t attempt to beat the shift because analytics say that they shouldn’t. We’ve moved into an era where batted ball profiles, exit velocity, and spin rates reign. Some may argue that math nerds have ruined the game. It is what it is. Game pacing needs to be addressed from the bottom (MiLB) up. Routines are hard to change at the MLB level. I still love baseball but do attend less games than I used to with game streaming available.
If Boras got his way, all teams would spend ‘pedal to the metal’ all the time. Net result, … even higher ticket prices and fewer fans able to afford the cost. (But the same ONE champion per year, as always.) Pick your poison, Mr. Boras. You’d be fine with one less ivory back scratcher.
MLB is on a course for bankruptcy. I predict that by 2024, owners ask for a government bailout.
Cole to the west coast is propaganda created from Boras, and the media. I wouldn’t be surprised if boras is paying the media to spread this nonsense. It’s only for the east coast teams to pony up more money, and bid against themselves. Bottom line…Whoever puts the most money in this mans bank account is the team that he plays for. Don’t forget the taxes on the west coast too. Who’s to say that won’t play a role in his decision
Gerrit and his wife’s family are from So Cal and Gerrit owns a home in Newport Beach, so I doubt that it’s propaganda.
With his new contract Cole can buy his own private jet…..
He’ll be able to afford a second residence in another city for sure!
What purpose does it serve to say Cole prefers to play on the West Coast? What purpose does it serve for Boras to limit his possibilities?
And if the Angels offer him the most money in December, but Cole doesn’t make a decision until next year, then he’s going to play for the team that didn’t offer him the most money. And it wouldn’t be the first time Boras made that mistake.
Baseball used to be about winning and having fun. Now it’s all about who spends the most.
Ummm, can you please qualify this backless gem? Oh. I cant wait.
BEFORE you respond, consider the luxury tax, state of free agency contracts, oh and the payroll of the teams in the playoffs this year.
Next time, read, and read again, before making stupid worthless proclamations as “fact” just to comment.
What is crazy is how much Boras made last year himself, 100 million in one year
If Boras continues to make 80-100 million a year, He’ll be a never ending free agent ..All that money he makes he’s going to freeze his body when he dies, than wait for a cure to be immortal and continue to keep taking in millions lol
LOL!
I think!!??
All your money won’t another minute buy,
Dust in the wind
This also sounds like another sweepstakes left over from last year.
Someone tell Boras it will be some time before his clients are signed !
Yes and Scott boras is no dummy. He knows what it’s like out there in the market. He advised JD Martinez to stay put and not try FA.
At first I was against the Phillies going all-out in their pursuit of Gerrit Cole but the more I think about it, what the hell, why not?
7/260. Do it Middleton.
Ehh I’d rather see them use that money on Wheeler, Hamels, Moose, and Porcello (and still have some left over). Not so much a money issue, as it is Middleton’s money anyway, but more of a diversify-your-portfolio type strategy. Also, the Phils are more than ONE Gerrit Cole away from serious contention; they need multiple impact players to even think about keeping up in the tough NL East. Cole fits best on LAD or NYY, two teams that are literally ONE pitcher away from winning the World Series.
no thanks on Porcello. id rather keep Vargas and Smyly than sign him.
Cole – Angels
Strasburg – Braves or Dodgers
Castellanos – White Sox or Indians
Strasburg is injury prone
Braves and Dodgers don’t spend that kind of money anymore…..
Castellonas could be Reds
I don’t want Cole give me sonny gray
Speaks the Yoda!
Listen must we!
Gerrit Cole and Anthony Rendon exiting Middleton’s jet in Clearwater this March.
More stupid money!
If Boras has to be completely honest would he say Harper was worth that crazy amount ? He didn’t have that much better of a season than a lot of guys last year
His job to get his client the most money which is what he excels at. No one really cares what Boras *honestly* thinks his client is worth. In Harper, the Phillies took a bet for production consistency because of his young age. Year one has paid off. Just not for them in the standings though.
I just feel like he tries to put all the blame on the clubs and act like a victim of the clubs not wanting to pay crazy amounts…which bothers me because the fans are the ones that suffer
Seriously what the hell was wrong with my comment that it wasn’t approved?
You’ll never know. That’s the way it works. It says your comment is under review but it really just means “your harmless comment will never be posted for some darn reason you’ll never know.”
Damnit. My reply is under something else, I’m done for the night
People don’t go to baseball games because they don’t feel like paying hundreds of dollars to see a guy bat four times when he’s being paid $1,000 per heartbeat.
That’s what I thought. Good call.
people can’t go to baseball games because they are bad at work and get peanuts they deserve.
Why would the dodgers sign Rendon. He was one of the thorns in their sides for five games. Can you see Kershaw having a conversation with Rendon in the clubhouse. No No and he// no.
If Scott is telling the truth about what his clients are looking for then of teams that would be interested would only be the Yankees and Dodgers. I find it hard to believe that being the case.
Why are we blaming Boras? All he does is provide the necessary support for players against owners who are often more concerned about the bottom line not necessarily winning. The owners have significantly more resources at their disposal than the players. Baseball’s leadership under Selig and Manfred have been focused on new revenue streams rather than entertaining fans.
Also, MLB’s leadership makes no effort to increase competitiveness between all 30 teams. None. THAT would increase fan interest.
Boras is the Mother Theresa of baseball agents …
Boras is right that a lack of competitive balance is one of (if not) the biggest problems facing MLB.
But, he’s utterly full of it regarding the solution in a way that (believe it or not) is designed to make him more money.
Teams getting into bidding wars for the sake of bidding wars doesn’t change the competitive balance, it just makes it more expensive. No matter what teams spend, the teams with more money will up the ante.
The solution is a salary cap and floor system. Reign in the teams that buy (when they aren’t cheating) their way to titles while forcing the bottom feeders to step up.
If MLB added that and fixed the baseball, they might be able to save their sport. Might.
I think that the problem lies in the cost of a championship. In general, teams are operating in a cycle necessitated by the cost of a championship. That cycle is:
1) Teardown. Trade your free agents for prospects. Time: 1-2 years.
2) Tank. Compete with prospects, leftover, dried up free agents. Whatever free agents you do sign are not big names. They’re just there to plug holes and to provide competition, but not necessarily wins. Time: 4-5 years, with the goal of a top 5 pick every year.
3) Rebuild. Compete with future young core of players. The goal in this year or years is to tank and still get a top 10 pick. Time: 1-2 years.
4) Compete.
Stage 1: Sign free agents to fill holes as plenty of money is available. How long this first stage lasts depends upon how long they tanked and how well they developed their prospects.
Stage 2: Payroll becomes an issue. Trade away what prospects you have left to defray costs. Pay premium prices at the trade deadline. Tine: 4 years, unless your GM is named Dombrowski (2 years).
Repeat.
Boras is a glorified used car salesman trying to sell the public on how he thinks baseball is supposed to be when in reality it’s exactly how he thinks it should be so it lined his pocketbook. That’s just like the owners telling the public how baseball should be.
I think I’ll decide for myself. And no, I don’t want the undercoating for an extra $1000, thanks.
If agents and players want more money then they need to give up these guaranteed contracts. Teams would gladly pay $30M/yr for Cole so long as he hits specific targets. But if he stinks up the joint, they should be able to get out of the remainder of the contract (just like the NFL). The MLB Players Union is too strong to ever allow this to happen, but you can’t blame owners for not wanting to commit to 5,6,7, 10+ year contracts when they are stuck with that player and salary no matter what. I hope it’s another down year for free agents as they want it all, but have zero contractual obligations to deliver on their contract value. Yes the owners are billionaires and the sport generates a ton of revenue but the owners are taking 100% of the risk here and have no ability for relief against highly paid players who rapidly decline (a.k.a Chris Davis). On top of that, players are getting opt outs too…how about the owners getting opt outs too? That would lead to more spending and more competitive baseball too.
Boras is not wrong about the competitiveness. Of course he overvalues his players, but that has nothing to do with the fact that multiple teams tank, and many also just don’t care enough to go from, say, an 80 win team to a possibly contender-ish 85 wins,
Mr. Grinch has no business spitting out holiday-themed puns.
I didn’t know owners had 100 mph pitches coming within inches of their head.
His clients are more in demand this year because they are younger than past clients and play positions that are needed. Harper was on the market for a long time because he wanted money equal to his rock star status even though his performance is above average at best
I hate to say it, but Boras does make some good points. He also makes some silly statements.
All that being said, I think things have really improved. I think in the last decade or so we’ve seen more teams willing to spend, and I think that’s been pretty good for baseball. “Buying” a championship used to be something that was frowned upon, but now it’s really essential. Free agent signings have been a huge part of the last few World Series winners.
Boras is what’s wrong with baseball. Nothing but greed.
All of this sounds like Boras being Boras. Whole I don’t love it, why shouldn’t a team tank? It had lead to some very, very good teams winning.
And why should a team stick itself with contracts it can’t get out of, at a cost factor that can cripple the competitiveness for years.
Pretty sure Old St Nick has a higher fielding percentage.
Another interesting takeaway from Boras’ recent quotes (not mentioned above):
“They have a lot of great young talent. It’s a great city. Certainly players look at the White Sox in a very different way than they did two years ago, no question.”
I wish media would stop pushing rumors towards a players “preference” they did it last season with Harper “wanting” to go the west coast.
Are Kimbrell and Kuechel still stuck with Scott Boras as their agent??? Boras’s strategies are growing old. Why don’t the Owners just boycott him and his clients for price gouging every year as they did last season. Obviously, Boras, nor his clients think the MLB owners will snub and laugh at the ridiculous contracts as they have previously done. Let Rendon, Strasburg, Cole, etc set out to July.