Spring Training games got underway yesterday. The regular season opens in less than a month. Offseason activity is far from over, though, largely on account of the so-called “Boras Four.” Blake Snell, Cody Bellinger, Jordan Montgomery and Matt Chapman remain unsigned.
Over the past couple weeks, a handful of teams have indirectly suggested they weren’t going to be suitors for the top free agents. High-level executives with the Giants, Rangers, Nationals, Mariners and Twins have downplayed the chance of a free agent strike of note. Angels owner Arte Moreno has suggested payroll is coming down, while Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins indicated they could have to move money if they’re to make another significant acquisition. Others, like the Red Sox and Cubs, appear to be in a holding pattern as they try to wait out the market.
Perhaps there’s some element of public posturing from a few of those teams. If any of these players are close to an agreement, though, there hasn’t been much indication of that. Unsubstantiated reports suggested the Yankees were closing in on a deal with Snell earlier this week, but both SNY’s Andy Martino and Bryan Hoch of MLB.com confirmed there hasn’t been any recent movement on that front.
If the number of plausible suitors for any of this group has dwindled, perhaps a Spring Training injury can change the calculus. The Orioles revealed early in camp that #2 starter Kyle Bradish has a UCL injury that’ll send him to the injured list. Mets staff ace Kodai Senga was diagnosed with a posterior capsule strain in his throwing shoulder yesterday; he’ll also start the year on the shelf. President of baseball operations David Stearns shot down the idea that’d increase the urgency for the Mets to go outside the organization for rotation help.
Again, it’s possible that’s designed not to publicly concede leverage in talks with the Boras Corporation if the Mets did circle back on Snell or Montgomery. To this point, there’s no indication any of these players have meaningfully moved off asking prices from the early part of the offseason. Will that change, or will one of these teams push beyond their comfort zone and reward any of these players’ patience?
Whose market with thaw most quickly? Which of the Boras four is going to be the first to agree to terms? Will any of this group linger in free agency beyond Opening Day?
None of them will sign at all. I’m waiting to see which will be the first to fire Scott Boras (although I don’t think that’s likely).
I was thinking about this recently. I wonder what kind of contract these guys have with the Boras agency. Are they even able to leave without owing millions for the work already performed. Can they change their mind and accept a lower salary without owing the Boras agency for what they might have gotten.
Good question to ask, because I’m sure switching agents isn’t an easy thing to do just like that. I understood why Freddie Freeman fired his agent 2 years ago, and I assume that agency’s credibility has plummeted since then.
Due to Boras’s track record, his ability to get massive contracts done for his clients, his ability to stand firm with what his clients seek, and the arduous process a player has to go through to switch agents, I highly doubt any of these guys would let him go unless he screwed them out of a better deal or if they stayed unsigned into June.
An agent can only collect the agreed upon terms of their contract with the MLB PA. Also a player can replace an agent but can only do so in allotted time and terms. A player cannot “go rogue” and agree to terms. I can comment more but am legally required not to.
Nobody hires Boras to take less money. They could move on to a different agent at-will in that case, but guys go to him because he gets his players every dollar he can.
Can they sue Boras for what they might have gotten if he hadn’t taken the winter off?
They 100% can and that does happen sometimes. Their biggest risk is that situation and agents pay in those instances at times.
Boras not that great
Boras is the number 1 problem in MLB replacing Donald Feh, althoughMarvin Miller is still the worst all time.
You’re a worthless slug simping for some of the richest men on Earth. Pathetic.
“Can they sue Boras”…Scott Boras has been sued by players a number of times. I can’t saw I know the exact details and circumstances involved but I’m sure a Google search would reveal some information.
Whomever gets a new agent, or decides to just represent himself, will sign first.
I think there’s a good chance Montgomery caves and signs with Boston to be near his wife.
A similar argument could be made for Snell to sign with the Mariners to play for his hometown team.
I voted 3 will sign after Opening Day. I think Snell signs during Spring Training. All the others will be after the draft is my guess.
Montgomery isn’t tied to draft pick compensation, so that doesn’t apply to him.
Ahh good to know thank you for the correction. Then I’d say Montgomery signs during Spring Training and the other three after the draft.
Snell might as well skip ST, and the 1st month or two. He usually begins dominating in June
The two pitchers will definitely sign before OD
Boras played himself. You love to see it.
Totally agree Nick!
Boras placed these four in the market without looking at the peripherals outside of 2023. Montgomery and Snell produced in 2023 but look at the years leading up to that. Chapman produced in previous years but the second half of 2023 was trash. Bellinger has one good year to show for his efforts and he was hurt part of 2023.
Snell dominants always. Your peripherals mean nothing. Is he a little wild sometimes? Ya. Snell is a lefty with outrageous stuff, a true number 1. Well worth 30 million.
sure maybe 90mil over 3 years but 6 years is a bad deal and all parties know it
Snell will get his his years and dollars for the reasons I gave you. Bellinger,Montgomery won’t but not because of the reasons you statheads keep expounding on.
Snell dominates in 2 seasons and is a 4 starter the rest of his career and he can’t go deep into games and contributes to burning out your pen.
RP
“Boras placed these four in the market without looking at the peripherals outside of 2023. ”
Why on earth do you think that?
Why do you love to see it? I know personally, I always side with thee player over the owner.
Add in JD Martinez
JD was recently heard to be upset about it not being The Boras Five.
He didn’t know there was an age limit on catchy group names.
Nah, he’s getting a one year deal and he always was. There’s no drama there. Also he hasn’t any need for Spring Training since all he has to do is hit.
None of them will get signed because they’re holding out too long, and will all end up in the Dubai league.
Boras clients getting some vacation time.
Pretty wild that no one wants the reigning NL CY winner, even at Boras prices. You’d think someone would have gotten desperate and caved by now.
“Pretty wild that no one”…Ultimately the players need the team more than the team needs them. Baseball will continue and is FAR bigger than any 1 or 4 players.
What a boot-licking take. Never forget to simp for capital
You could have just said, “I’m ignorant”, and saved some key strokes.
‘Cause they are representatives of the common labourer & Joe Unionmember? Fact is owners & fans pay the wages but no one asks us how to distribute the ‘wealth’ from it all…
What a uneducated and obviously head up the place the sun don’t shine comment. What the floch were you thinking?
Montgomery makes the most sense to me considering snells asks. I think he’s be much more willing to come around. Chapman I can see signing on a team that needs an additional bat from a spring injury.
If bellinger or snell are going to be left hanging on opening day I don’t think they will be retaining boras, but baseball has blackballed more than it’s fair share of athletes this off season in particular, yet our boy chapman’s making 10 mil for the pirates.
I didn’t care for the boras gm comments either from the cubs interview saying how agents should have open discussions w ownership before management, but considering some of these contracts that have been dished out in past years or this. Looking at you Specifically Dodgers. Boras makes a point. You pay me or you play without me.
I think Chapman gets 4/80 from someone and Monty gets 5/110. Probably not what either one of them wants, but Boras misread their markets.
If Monty drops to 5/110 Yankees are all over him. No way he signs for anything less than 6/162 Rodon got
I think he’ll be waiting forever then. I don’t see anyone giving him the Rodon deal or better.
I keep seeing this comparison different places but Rodon has ace stuff and trouble staying healthy. Seems like a way better comp to Snell. Also Yankees seemed to be bidding against themselves for Rodon seemed like most teams were betting , and rightly so, that he’d be injured again soon. He is overpaid
If he goes 5/110 he will end up in Boston. Doubt he wants to go to the Yankees for anything but the max.
Boras is the devil incarnate of baseball agents.
All hail the Dark Lord, Beelzebub!
I’m guessing you’d think differently if you were looking for a new job and he was YOUR agent.
I know it’s illegal, but I would love to see the owners just say we’re not signing these guys. Or sign them to a one year deal. Scott Boros is so bad for baseball.
Boot-licking take
You know damn well Boras is saying “trust me, hold out and I will get you that deal”
MT
“know it’s illegal, but I would love to see the owners just say we’re not signing these guys”
Me too. The owners would get sued into oblivion and raked over the coals in the next CBA
Funny thing though is they could all do that and not actually collude in the process but they would get sued anyway and be forced to pay players that didn’t play for them for something they didn’t actually do, gotta love the justice system.
Boras misread the market and is gonna have to find someone to blame before anybody gets signed. 200 mil for Belli, 240 mil for Snell…where is he getting the stuff he is smoking?
Wanted to beat Nola’s deal for Monty too. That was also wild.
Uh both those guys are better than 4.5 ERA Nola
Nola is more consistent than Snell (a bad last year aside) and has regularly reached levels that Montgomery never has and never will.
Nola has had 3 seasons of 4+ ERA in 9 years and Snell has had 3 seasons of 4+ ERA in 8 years. Nola also only has 1 season below 3 ERA whereas snell has 2. Overall Nola is 3.72 ERA guy vs. Snell at 3.20. I would take Snell over Nola if both were the same price.
Nola can carry a heavier workload innings-wise, has better command, I prefer those attributes, but I will admit they are close in terms of overall ability. Nola definitely has some “stinker” seasons under his belt. Snell at his best is better than Nola at his best too.
That’s fair. Nola does rack up more innings to save the bullpen and you will get more WAR out of him but Snell has a higher ceiling. Both pitchers would fit in any rotation
Agreed. Both are imperfect pitchers who can function as aces at their best, with Snell able to ascend higher. Both are probably a tier below someone like Gerrit Cole. They are low-end 1’s, for me.
@Os1995
Just curious, but how do you rate Sonny Gray? I think he’s a low-end 1/high end 2.
I would put him in that same tier with Snell and Nola of being a 1 but definitely below the “Ace tier” of Cole/Verlander etc.
To me a 1 is someone who is the best on a league average staff. An Ace however usually beats other teams 1’s.
I would agree with that, and that’s a good way of parsing it out.
Carlton,seaver,Gibson,Johnson etc etc etc Ace. Verlander Cole no way.
King Buddha – Did you not read how I defined the terms? They are both defined in the context of the competition they are facing. Bringing up non-current players means nothing. Try again bud
Snell is also coming off of a dominant year and Nola is not.
Verlander and Cole aren’t aces? Nonsense. Verlander is a 1st ballott HOF’er and Cole is well on his way to that end as well.
You gave no context,so I decided to give it for you. Now make your point.
@KB
It was obvious I was talking about current pitchers in my post. That was implicitly clear. Your response gives no context and is just arguing for the sake of arguing.
“Boras misread the market”..He surely did and Scott Boras only has one trick. Market all clients as “generational” and “transformative” players when most of the time they’re not.
Looks good for Cubs to grab Belli or Chapman if salary terms become slightly more favorable
I have heard the offer they have out there to Belli is five years 125 million. At least that is the word in some of the more informed cubs groups. I think that is beyond fair.
“I have heard the offer”…That is an excellent offer and I’ve heard that too. Cody should jump all over that. Most guys with his inconsistent performance would be lucky to get a 3 year 55M offer.
@Pauly
It is ludicrous if that deal is on the table and hasn’t been accepted. That’s a great contract for what has been a very inconsistent career.
I think 125 million/5 years is a fair offer if it includes a couple of opt-out and when any two of Shaw, Busch and PCA are ready then it would be fine for Cubs if Belli opted out. That being said, I am skeptical of anything that we purportedly hear from either side or third parties.
Who cares who signs first. They’ll all get signed. March, April? Who cares.
Crabby much? U cared enough to comment
Nope, not crabby at all. It’s hard to tell in text, I get it, but again, who cares who’s 1st. They’ll probably just be days apart. Who cares!
most teams will because there will be ramp up time so if they sign in april especially a pitcher will take a few weeks to a month to get going and even then the pitcher and catcher will take time to get in sync with game plans another week or two. Its why pitchers and catchers report sooner than everyone else.
I wish I had seen some stats on players who signed late to spring training and how they have done in the past.granted I have not searched much. But is MLB now like the NFL where you don’t want to participate as you’re not getting paid to begin with. Yet the fans are bothered by the action and maybe the media is as well as it gives them something to jabber about. Seems like pitchers are impacted more than batters but in the interesting world we live in I am curious to see how it plays out for the leftover 5 players this year and wonder how it will impact future signings
Brewster’s Million write-in option: None of the above.
Old people get this reference…
Huh ?
“Old people”…So what you’re telling us is you’re 12 years old and staying up past your bedtime to surf on your parents computer?…
I hate comment sections.
I should’ve said old people LIKE US get that reference. I’d say most people got it. And then those who don’t get it.
deGrom
Why should these guys get cheap one year deals? They are good players. We don’t know for sure what offers have been received or not. Would I wish that an owner do poorly because they make a late offer? Would I wish an innocent person incarceration because I dislike his or her attorney? No and no. If they want to roll the dice, let ‘em. Neither owners nor players get my sympathy when there are parents working two or even three undesirable jobs at the same time just to get food and necessities for their kids.
I hope the Twins can snag Monty or Snell on a 3 year deal with opt-outs after this year, just like they did with Correa in 2022….
They should do that and add Bellinger too. Monty/Snell and Bellinger would seal them the division.
Let’s be honest: the Twins could sign Clay Bellinger and still probably win that division
If they were willing to sign such a contract ten teams would be in line and chances are they wouldn’t pick the Twins.
I’m predicting that their demands will change as time drags on.
@Seamaholic – Why wouldn’t they pick the Twins under that scenario? Correa did. The Twins have a strong roster, are AL Central favorites, and adding a front line starter makes them a legitimate World Series contender.
Right now the Twins are projected at 43.4 WAR, which is 7th in MLB. Snell adds 2 WAR to the projection by bumping the 5th starter out of the rotation which pushes the Twins to 5th best in MLB.
He picked the twins because no one else was giving him that offer.
@1984wasntamanual – and then shunned the Giants and Mets to go back to the Twins last year. Side note, Boras approached the Twins in 2022, not the other way around. Correa wanted to be in Minnesota. Donaldson signed with the Twins in 2020 as well. Buxton, Lopez, Donaldson, Correa x2. All big contracts given out by the Twins in recent years.
Minnesota is a solid enough destination for free agents right now. Certainly not the top tier destination, but solid enough.
The Twins were the only team offered that option. They were one team that would never be able to afford him on a long term contract, and would not remove a potential suitor when he opted out. It worked in that it added the Twins to the potential suitors list.
Yep. Thanks for proving my point. Correa wanted to be in Minnesota.
Scott Boras is so bad for baseball.
But Fischer and Dolan are good? The league should force Cleveland to sign Belligner and Martinez, they might make the ALDS that way
deLame- I’m pretty sure it was Bauer who “Bauer’d” himself out of American baseball.
I think it was the girl who Bauer’d him out of baseball
Don’t think I care anymore? These guys are all jabronis, man.
The Scott Boras “Gang of four”.
Out of these 4, on Chapman might avoid multiple IL stints throughout the season. When it comes the 2 SPs, neither of these players will be effective this season. Show me the number of high priced SP who got into camp 2 plus weeks late and didn’t have an injury marred season. If I am GM, I would have turned off my free agent hotline after camp started .
I’d be willing to sign Montgomery, but knowing his debut will be significantly delayed, I’d want his contract extensively prorated for this year. No shot I’d pay full price for 2024.
Yeah I cant imagine free agent pitchers workout hard enough to be in shape for the season. The risk is way too high. Look at what happened to Bradish and Senga. Why risk ramping your throwing program back up until you have the guaranteed money.
Boras has practice facility and all the coaches and technicians. I don’t think they will take too long to get ready. Of course facing live pitching is hard, though.
MLB needs to make Feb.1 the last day to sign guaranteed major league contracts. After Feb.1, any remaining free agents must sign minor league contracts. This will prevent free agents like the Borus 4 and agents like Borus from just getting the most money possible. If the A’s offered the most money to any of the Borus 4, they would probably take it. It’s all about the money.
Everyone (not you) makes this a question of players vs owners. I don’t particularly care about either party. I’m for the fans. I want the fans to see great players on their teams. For this reason, I like your proposal.
It doesn’t and shouldn’t work that way. These player are entitled to shop their services. We’d never accept that type of restriction if we were looking for work. Handing the owners a club to use on their heads is unreasonable. If they get bad contracts in market–OK
I neither root for nor begrudge players for the contracts they seek and accept. I just want to see good players on teams.
wasn’t aiming my comment at you–bbjack’s proposal what what I objected to. I want to see as good baseball as I can. I just don’t like the old Reserve System, nor do I like a bunch of artificial restrictions like “sign for what I’m offering, or go to the minors”. The former was deeply unfair, the latter would be inapplicable in other talent-based industries.
Gotcha, my mistake.
Your take is reasonable as well.
How about this: you have all off season to work the market for a multi year deal but once spring trading starts, one year deals only.
Wrong. People have deadlines all the time. It normally comes in the form of rent being due. Get a job or be homeless
bbj
“MLB needs to make Feb.1 the last day to sign guaranteed major league contracts.”
Why? What problem does this fix? What’s the issue with players looking for the best deal?
Ridiculous idea.
Don’t know. Don’t care. I do think one of them signs with a dark horse no one saw coming.
Angels sign Montgomerry for a 2 year deal.
Toronto gets all 4. Proceeds to get swept in wild card series.
How very Dodgers of them,
I think Montgomery has the chance to sign first. Will likely take a one year deal and isn’t tied to draft pick compensation. The Orioles and Mets have each already lost a significant member of their rotations for an indeterminate period of time. The Padres could still add another starter, so could the Giants and several other teams can/will inevitably suffer an injury that could open the door.
Snell does have a contract offer on the table from the Yankees and seeing how its the only publicly known offer he may eventually take it.
Bellinger and Chapman will both likely have to take pillow contracts and may have to wait for injuries to open up those opportunities
If the Orioles did sign Montgomery (I dont think they will) that would probably be the best case scenario for Boras because the Yankees will give Snell whatever his asking price is that same day.
It’s only worse for him if he has a bad season
I think Chapman looks at his market, looks at his age, looks at his performance the last few months of last season, takes many millions of dollars, and if it’s not many years, hopes for a better 2024. He goes first. He has the least upside, so he swallows his pride. Maybe two years with an opt-out.
I still think one or more of these player’s will end up signing a short-term(1-2yr) deal with a huge aav and an opt out after this year to re-enter the FA market again in the off season. Similar to what Teo. Hernandez did when he signed his 1yr deal with the LAD. Which I think was a great decision on his part if he wasn’t happy with the “long-term offers” he was receiving. Why not then sign with the team that is favored to win the World Series and hit in a lineup where he’ll be surrounded by some of the best hitters in the league for a year and hit the open market again in the off season. Im hoping the Yankees can finagle something similar with Snell
Supply and demand currently favors the teams. The Boras model isn’t working well with so many teams worried about revenue. The player who signs first will be the first one to lower their asking price.
People blaming Boras for any player not signing or calling him evil and bad for baseball are just idiots. He works for the players NOT the other way around. They are free to sign any deal offered to them at any time.
“People blaming Boras for any”…Scott Boras is a lawyer and lawyers have had a reputation as liars, shake down artists and con men long before Scott Boras ever came upon the scene. And Scott Boras certainly hasn’t changed the impression of lawyers by calling recent clients Kumar Rocker and Carlos Correa “fully healthy” when they clearly were not.
To quote Sam Ervin, “I’m just a simple country lawyer”. Too bad I can’t throw a ball at 99 with elite spin or hit one 450 feet.
Another ridiculous comment.
You can call me what you want, just don’t call me late for dinner. Scott Boras is not good for the game of baseball. The fans don’t root for Scott Boras to get the most money for his players.. We root for our teams to play great baseball.
Where did I say he was good for baseball? He’s neither good nor bad, he just is.
He is their paid advisor. Its his advice. If they didn’t plan on following his advice, why would have hired him? The thought process is that Boras knows more than they do. In this case, it may not be accurate.
So, because they pay him to be their advisor they can’t go against what he is advising? Don’t be ridiculous. They still have free will here.
When I was watching Judge do that presser a few days ago, he had the biggest smile on his face when talking about possible future additions to the team, so maybe I’m reading too much into it but it seems to suggest that someone is going to be signing there.
As for who’s going to sign for, I’m guessing Jordan Montgomery, given he doesn’t have a QO attached to his name. There’s a good chance that some of the guys with QO don’t sign until after the draft happens.
I know it won’t happen but I’d love to see the O’s get Monty on a one and one contract, the Angels sign Snell, the Giants get Chapman & the Belli back to the Cubs
The Angels probably need at least 1 of Snell or Monty and 1 of Belli or Chapman.
Sorry for the hyperbole, but it’s a recipe for disaster. A good player- very confident in their ability- who has been oversold on his value by an extremely trusted agent in an employment world that is in constraint mode bc of previous outlandish spending. It may end well for one of them, but my guess is 3 of the 4 will be extremely unhappy. And just like in the “real” world nobody wants to bring in someone into their team/business who is already unhappy about their pay.
I know the Cubs are mentioned to be in on one or two of them, but Cubs fans may want to pump the brakes on pressuring the team on signing these guys. The last thing you want is multiple malcontents poisoning a team.
It’s just not that great of a free agent class. It was a terrible idea for them to parade around all off season trying to justify comp salaries to better players. The Cardinals kept it real and locked up their mediocre staff w mediocre pitchers w mediocre salaries. The rest of these players are not much different despite Boras trying to sell you an umbrella on a sunny day.
A sun umbrella?
Touche…
Edit: Despite Boras trying to sell a bowl of chili to a man in a white suit
Boras ruins baseball
@TAKERDBACKS
It’s not Boras’ decision to agree or not to agree to a contract. The players are overvaluing themselves. They could be on a team right now playing games but they’ve decided that they would rather hold out. That’s their decision.
I agree, it’s the players choice. At any time any one of them could say to Boras, “Scott, what’s the best offer out there….let’s take it and be done with it.” No way does Boras stop them from doing that.
Ultimately this is true, but they pay Boras, in part, for his advice and expertise. The clients make the final decision, but they’re incorporating the information provided to them by Boras to make that decision.
Boras annoys me with some of his statements, but I don’t think he’s, “bad for baseball”. At the end of the day, the owner of a team could just tell him to f off with his ridiculous contract demands and not cave.
“It’s not Boras’ decision to agree” …”what surprised me the most during my many years as a Major League GM?…How disconnected and out of the loop most players were from the free agent process…most players had no idea what the offers were or where we stood in the negotiation process”- longtime Major League general manager Dan O’Dowd.
@mlb fan
If that’s the case, then clearly, they have no contact with their rep. Can’t tell me that Snell has been offered two contracts with the Yankees and he has no idea what the offers were.
“If that’s the case, then clearly”….Did we not hear Freddy Freeman a couple years ago express amazement and disappointment that he was not signed by Atlanta and would instead be going to the Dodgers? Even Chipper Jones warned and scolded him for being completely “out of the loop”.
@mlb fan
I think it was more a PR stunt to make him look like he was sad to leave. I can’t imagine he’s completely in the dark and only shows up to sign the paperwork with the Dodgers. I don’t know, maybe I’m wrong and the agents are making all the decisions for these players.
I say the Sox bite the bullet and just sign all 4 of them just saying
Would be fascinating if some team did that. The Angels basically *need* to do that to have any hope of making the playoffs over the next 1-3 years.
The teams subject to 110% luxury taxes, such as the Yankees, are not going near any of these players. If they do not deny interest, it is probably just to drive up their price. Matt Chapman seems like the most logical to sign, either with the Giants or Blue Jays. I have no idea if there is a team other than the Cubs interested in Bellinger. As for Monty and Snell, again it feels like the Angels will sign one and possibly the Giants the other, unless Monty really wants to be in Boston for his wife.
Redsox sign Montgomery by Wednesday
5 yr 117 million
That would be a great deal for both sides.
IF we assume all four ultimately get deals within range of their asks…. I would 100% say it’s gotta be Monty. The other three have glaring red flags in their profiles.
Belli’s batted ball data points to regression. Snell’s advanced metrics are all screaming he’s closer to a 4.00 ERA pitcher than 3.00, much less 2.50. Chapman’s last three years at the plate are .226/.322/.420 which is a 108 OPS+. Yeah, the glove is great, but at nearly 31, you’re not expecting much growth at the plate anymore. Nobody wants to get saddled with a Josh Donaldson 2.0 kind of deal.
Maybe 10 years ago they’d land the deals they’re seeking. But outside of a few clueless orgs, most teams look past the awards and shiny basic statistics, at least when we’re talking 9-figure deals.
Any idea what happens when you assume. 100 percent it’s snell.
Nothing?
My question relating to the Article: how does writer know the Cubs are waiting out the Market? Is it possible they are not interested, but can’t say it publicly for fear of being blamed for collusion? Is it possible they are going to go with youth?
At any rate, if I am a GM, I wouldn’t even accept a text from Boras, I would block him.
The Four-Ass Boras
A Boycott Boras season would be interesting
I wonder if Boras is seeing dollar signs with the Mets now that Kodai Senga will be shelved.
None of the 4 will sign after opening day. It would be catastrophic to their leverage and their future value. They’ll all sign by the end of next week, I expect.
It takes a month to get ramped up. Signing after opening day means missing the first 15-20% of the season.
Honestly, Scott is a cancer to MLB and I don’t know who’s in charge of banning him from the game, but that definitely needs to be done
If Farhan goes into opening day with the current rotation that is straight up malpractice. Logan Webb and 4 question marks, one of whom is experiencing elbow soreness after throwing a bullpen.
Boras, who has been fired by many, has unwittingly said in the past that he basically focuses on one player at a time. In if that is the case than obviously he thought he would get Snell a big money deal first and then get Montgomery signed to whoever missed on Snell, get Bellinger big money THEN get Chapman signed. I think that house of cards fell when Aaron Nola jumped at the Phillies offer to stay and other than Ohtani no sluggers secured deals higher than the 4 years the Reds gave Candelario
How do agents get paid when most of the money is deferred like in the Ohtani contract. Does their agent fee get deferred too?
Agents are paid a percentage right off the top and their fee is never deferred.
JD Martinez says hi
Self representation… all these players should utilize the offseason for reflection and workouts and self betterment. Meaning read a book on how to write/negotiate a contract…
Right now I prefer Trevor Bauer signing first – and take that as it sounds.
Yes, everyone should receive the most reimbursement for their talents possible, but this is now ridiculous. The top players here are offered amounts that would set up generations of offsprings in comfort, they’ve lucked into timing that previous star players could not fathom. However they also can’t see how this looks to the average fan & general regular Joe & Josephine who struggle every day. Society still hasn’t recovered from covid, there are incredible tragedies happening all around. You throw (or swing at) a baseball for a living. Your essential value on this planet and place on this planet is finite. Either get a deal done that should make you happy – not just to beat another deal or set a record – or get out of the way. I’ve got better clouds to shake my fist at now…
Dano
“they also can’t see how this looks to the average fan & general regular Joe & Josephine”
Unfortunately that person is likely an idiot, totally uninformed, it both
They should realize that labor sticking it to ownership should always be the goal
Seems like the Yankees will cave and eat that salary plus 100% tax, or like $73.5M(!!!!!) per season, though probably only for one year with an understanding that with next year’s projected budget, they’ll fit him into that quicker to avoid the luxury tax, in order to sign Snell. Not certain about anybody else’s situation.
I do still think Bellinger settles for like 2 years/$60M and will most likely re-up with the Cubbies.
2/60 with an opt out. If he repeats his numbers then he should easily get an 8-10 year deal at his age.
Yeah I forgot the opt out part of it but yes I assume w/ an opt out. Although even with an opt out I’d only give him like 3 years/$110M thereafter. 4 years/$140M seems quite fair.
Cohen was burned for over 100 million on starters, ending up with no playoffs and building his minor leagues at a high cost. Stienbrenner was burned by Rodon and Texas by DeGrom, these teams are not going all in on arms. Bellinger is acting like he never had two horrible years and Polar Pete has wanted Judge money instead of Goldschmidt/Freeman money. BORAS is getting a taste of not so much a market reset but a reality check on these particular clients. Wait till Ohtani gets hurt again and Yamamoto goes more than every 7 days and crumpled, that will be a reset.
Alonso wanting Judge money is actually hilarious. He’s not even in the same book as Goldy and Freeman at the 1B position.
No one knows
Ava anyone who pretends to knew should be looked at with extreme caution
More like which 1s are going to sign for ALOT less than they thought they’re getting ? I’m sure Boras will claim collusion vs his clients when it’s probably perfect storm of too overpriced a product n too di#khead of a salesman finally catching up w/em. Peanuts on the dollar …
Ryu Hyun Jin was the first one to crack…
If these 4 can get another 21 guys they can start their own expansion team called the Sacramento Bore-asses