Ranking Agencies By 2013 WAR
Which agency's players have the most MLB talent? One way of answering that question is to rank the agencies by 2013 wins above replacement (from FanGraphs). Here are the results for total 2013 WAR. Please note that players with negative WAR were omitted, and cutoffs of 50 plate appearances for hitters and 20 innings for pitchers were used to remove smaller sample cases.
- Boras Corporation: 132.9
- Relativity Baseball: 107.4
- Excel Sports Management: 72.0
- CAA Sports: 70.8
- ACES: 68.9
- Wasserman Media Group: 62.6
- Octagon: 44.8
- The Legacy Agency: 43.6
- MVP Sports Group: 41.8
- Jet Sports Management: 25.5
- Beverly Hills Sports Council: 23.5
- Frontline: 22.8
- TWC Sports: 21.2
- LSW Baseball: 20.3
- Kinzer Management Group: 19.7
Let's take a look at WAR per big league player, filtering to agencies with at least ten players. WAR per player:
- Boras Corporation: 2.42
- Excel Sports Management: 2.18
- Relativity Baseball: 2.03
- Wasserman Media Group: 2.02
- Jet Sports Management: 1.96
- Frontline: 1.90
- Kinzer Management Group: 1.79
- MVP Sports Group: 1.74
- Octagon: 1.72
- LSW Baseball: 1.69
- CAA Sports: 1.54
- ACES: 1.47
- The Legacy Agency: 1.36
- All Bases Covered: 1.28
- Beverly Hills Sports Council: 1.12
In some cases WAR per player is deceiving, because a large agency like Boras gets dinged for having small 2013 contributions from players like Xander Bogaerts or Jake Arrieta. So, here's a listing of the number of four-win players by agency:
- Boras Corporation: 11 (Carlos Gomez, Chris Davis, Max Scherzer, Matt Harvey, Jacoby Ellsbury, Shin-Soo Choo, Adrian Beltre, Carlos Gonzalez, Jayson Werth, Matt Holliday, Jose Fernandez)
- Relativity Baseball: 5 (Miguel Cabrera, Paul Goldschmidt, Justin Verlander, Andrelton Simmons, Gerardo Parra)
- ACES, Excel Sports Management, Wasserman Media Group: tied at 4
MVP Sports Group and Octagon had three each.
A look at three-win players by agency:
- Boras Corporation: 20
- Relativity Baseball: 14
- Excel Sports Management: 11
- Wasserman Media Group: 8
- CAA Sports: 7
- ACES: 6
- Octagon: 5
- Jet Sports Management, Kinzer Management Group, MVP Sports Group: tied at 3
Comparing these numbers to 2012, the Boras Corporation increased its total WAR by over 27% and came out on top in every category. The agency continues to represent the most and best MLB talent. The top ten from last year remains mostly the same, though Relativity (formerly SFX) is on the rise with star power and depth. Jet Sports Management is a new entrant in the top ten, led by Chris Sale, new addition Mike Minor, Kyle Seager, and Brian McCann.
MLBTR's agency database was used for this post; please email me at mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com with any corrections or omissions. Also, feel free to drop me a line if you'd just like to see your agency's entire list of players used for this post.
Mets Notes: Davis, Duda, Tejada
Mets first baseman Ike Davis is playing in a regular spring training game today, ESPN New York's Adam Rubin tweets. Davis has been out of action, at least in Grapefruit League games, since early March due to a calf injury. His return could be significant, since he has long been a trade candidate. Two days ago, the Mets were reportedly making calls to assess interest in Davis, but it seemed unlikely they would trade him until he was ready to return from injury. The Pirates, who are in need of a left-handed first base option, potentially could be a trade partner. Here are more notes on the Mets.
- The Mets still have to decide between Davis and Lucas Duda, and now have little time to do so, given the injuries to both players, Andy Martino of New York Daily News writes. Martino reports that the Mets are more likely to trade Davis than Duda, but are open to dealing either one.
- Martino also says scouts believe Ruben Tejada could be a good player if removed from the New York market. "The way I look at Tejada, he could be OK, but he needs to get out of New York," says a scout. "A classic change-of-scenery guy." The Mets continue to watch the markets for Nick Franklin and Didi Gregorius (who would be available via trade) and Stephen Drew (via free agency), but are unlikely to play the prices required for any of those players.
Orioles Near Deal With Luis Ayala
The Orioles are nearing a deal with reliever Luis Ayala, Max Wildstein of OutsidePitchMLB.com tweets. FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal mentioned last night (also on Twitter) that Ayala had offers from the Orioles and another team, and that he could make a decision today.
The Nationals released Ayala yesterday after he struggled in spring training. Last season, he posted a 3.27 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 33 innings. Two of those innings came with the Orioles, who traded him to the Braves about a week after the season started. Ayala was also a regular in the Orioles' bullpen in their 2012 playoff season.
Quick Hits: Pirates, Carp, Blue Jays, Chapman
Aroldis Chapman suffered fractures above his left eye and nose after being hit by a Salvador Perez line drive in a terrifying moment during tonight's Reds/Royals game. Chapman was on the ground for over 10 minutes while medical personnel attended to him, and the closer was eventually taken off the field on a cart and taken to hospital. Reds manager Bryan Price told reporters (including C. Trent Rosencrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer) that Chapman "never lost consciousness. He was able to communicate, he was able to move his hands, his feet, his legs." The Reds' official Twitter feed said that Chapman was staying overnight in hospital for further observation. All of us at MLB Trade Rumors send our best wishes to Chapman in his recovery from that horrific incident.
Here are some items from around baseball…
- The Pirates are open to dealing right-handed relievers Jeanmar Gomez and Bryan Morris, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post reports, though they'd prefer to keep Gomez since he can also start. Both pitchers are out of options, and with the Pirates facing a crowded bullpen situation, it's no surprise that they're listening to offers for Morris, Gomez and (as reported yesterday) Vin Mazzaro.
- With the Pirates shopping relievers and looking for catching, Davidoff notes that the Yankees match up as trading partners due to their catcher surplus. A rival talent evaluator feels that the bullpen may be the Yankees' "biggest concern" due to a lack of proven arms, though several of those young pitchers have performed well in Spring Training.
- Blue Jays president Paul Beeston and GM Alex Anthopoulos denied that the Jays' lack of offseason spending had anything to do with a new CEO at Rogers Communications, the team's parent company, Sportsnet.ca's Shi Davidi reports. "There’s been no suggestion of any type of cutback, there’s no suggestion of anything other than support and of everything being positive," Beeston said.
- The Red Sox aren't particularly interested in trading Mike Carp, ESPN's Buster Olney reports (ESPN Insider subscription required). The Sox aren't sure if they "could get something particularly appealing" in a deal involving Carp. The Pirates, Brewers and Tigers have all been linked to Carp in rumors this offseason, and with Grady Sizemore's strong Spring Training, Carp could be an expendable piece on the Boston roster.
- Between Jarrod Parker's Tommy John surgery and injuries to A.J. Griffin and Scott Kazmir, MLB.com's Jane Lee feels the Athletics could be forced to look for external pitching help in the case of any more injuries or if any of their current starters struggle. Lee also addresses several other A's topics as part of her reader mailbag piece, including Hiroyuki Nakajima's status in the club's minor league camp.
- With the Barry Bonds and Melky Cabrera controversies still lingering in the franchise's recent past, Giants president and CEO Larry Baer told Henry Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle that his club is more inclined to avoid players with drug suspensions. "We don't have a blanket policy saying we'll never touch a player that has a PED history. But I'd say that for us, it's a larger mountain to climb than others," Baer said. The Giants will look at such players "on a case-by-case basis" (like recent signing Mike Morse, suspended for 10 games in 2005) but players like Nelson Cruz who were coming off PED suspensions and required draft pick compensation to sign seem out of the question. "Qualifying offer and a PED association – that's a bad combination. Brian [Sabean] and I both feel very strongly about that," Baer said.
Nationals Release Luis Ayala
11:19pm: The Orioles and another team have already offered Ayala contracts, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link). Ayala is weighing the two offers and will likely make his choice on Thursday.
12:49pm: The Nationals have granted right-hander Luis Ayala his unconditional release, tweets Mark Zuckerman of CSN Washington. The veteran reliever will head home to Arizona with the hope of signing on with another club quickly, he adds.
The 36-year-old Ayala struggled in camp with the Nationals, allowing nine runs on 10 hits and a pair of walks with three strikeouts in six innings of work. However, he's coming off a strong performance with the Braves in 2013, in which he pitched to a 2.90 ERA with 5.8 K/9, 3.8 BB/9 and a 59.6 percent ground-ball rate in 31 innings of work. He did miss a chunk of the season on the disabled list as he dealt with anxiety disorder, but a 2.73 ERA in 26 1/3 innings following that DL stint seems to indicate that he was able to work through the issue.
Ayala drew interest from a number of clubs this offseason, including the Mariners, Tigers and Indians, so he could land another shot to prove himself with a different club despite the early struggles in Spring Training.
Mariners Notes: Hart, Romero, Pitching
Here's the latest from the Mariners' camp…
- Corey Hart would have taken a lesser offer than the Mariners' one-year, $6MM contract in order to remain with the Brewers, but Hart told reporters (including Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) that the Crew's offer "wasn’t really close at all." While Seattle offered Hart $6MM guaranteed with another $4.65MM available in incentives, the Brewers' best offer was a $4MM deal with an extra $2.5MM in incentives. "I even talked to [Brewers GM Doug Melvin], and he basically said, 'I couldn’t turn that down, so why would you be expected to?’ They understood there was a huge gap," Hart said. "It was one of those things where I would have liked to stay if it was close, but in the long run it wasn’t that close, and they weren’t pushing like [the Mariners] were." Hart also noted that several Brewers coaches reached out in an attempt to convince him to stay, but none of his teammates made similar overtures.
- Stefen Romero's case for making the Opening Day roster as a backup outfielder is looking better and better, MLB.com's Greg Johns writes. Romero is a right-handed hitter and already on the 40-man roster, plus he offers versatility due to his experience at both second and third base. Romeo, a tenth-round pick in 2010, has an .863 OPS over 1426 minor league PA and has been hitting increasingly well this spring.
- The M's were rumored to be looking for pitching in the wake of injuries to Hisashi Iwakuma and Taijuan Walker, but MLB.com's Tracy Ringolsby notes that the solid performance of the team's internal arms has put that speculation to rest. With Iwakuma and Walker both on pace to return at the end of April, the Mariners will turn to a list of replacements that includes Blake Beavan (who had been pitching well before a poor performance in today's game), minor league southpaw Roenis Elias and veterans Scott Baker and Randy Wolf.
Shortstop Rumors: Tigers, Kozma, Gregorius, Mets
It's already been a busy day for shortstop news as we've heard that the Diamondbacks are looking to trade Didi Gregorius for pitching, the Cardinals are shopping Pete Kozma, and the Tigers have been asking teams about available shortstops, even scouting such options as Cubs second baseman Darwin Barney. Here are some more shortstop-related rumors…
- The Tigers aren't likely "to make a serious push" for Kozma, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports opines (Twitter link), because they have a similar player in Danny Worth.
- There haven't been any reports linking the Tigers to the Mariners' Nick Franklin, CBS Sports' Jon Heyman reports. Franklin is perhaps better suited as a second baseman and may not have the glove to handle short, Heyman suggests.
- One scout suggested that Adeiny Hechavarria might be the sort of defensive specialist that Detroit would want at short. A Marlins source, however, tells Heyman that the Fish have yet to be contacted about Hechavarria.
- Several executives around baseball believe that signing Drew would be the best solution to the Mets' shortstop problem, Heyman reports. A multiyear deal for Drew would give the Mets an answer at short for 2015, when the team could look to contend once Matt Harvey is healthy.
- The Mets would be interested in Drew on a one-year, $9MM contract or possibly a two-year, $20MM deal, Andy Martino of the New York Daily News reports. There haven't been any signs that Scott Boras, Drew's agent, would settle for either price.
- Also from Martino, the view on current Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada from opposing scouts is that he's "a solid player, who appears spooked by the pressures of playing in the New York market, and hearing criticism from his own front office." One scout believes that Tejada “could be OK, but he needs to get out of New York. [He's] a classic change-of-scenery guy.”
- A source not connected to either the Mets or Diamondbacks tells Adam Rubin of ESPN New York (Twitter link) that the rumor of Gregorius going to New York "has legs" and is a situation to watch.
Astros Made Seven-Year Contract Offer To Springer
In an attempt to gain cost certainty with one of their top prospects, the Astros offered outfielder George Springer a seven-year, $23MM contract last September, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports. Since Springer has yet to reach the Major Leagues, the deal would've covered his three pre-arbitration years, his three arbitration years and his first year of free agency.
As Rosenthal notes, Houston's offer resembles Evan Longoria's initial contract with the Rays, a six-year, $17.5MM deal (plus three more years of team options) that quickly became one of the most team-friendly deals in recent baseball history once Longoria blossomed into a superstar. Longoria accepted the deal, however, just a few days into his Major League career and thus assured himself of at least one big payday even if he faltered in the Show.
Springer and his representatives at the Legacy Sports Group turned down the offer, a sign that Springer presumes his performance will eventually merit much more than a $23MM deal. A rival agent tells Rosenthal that Springer's three arbitration years alone could earn him more than $30MM if he lives up to expectations as a consensus top prospect.
Springer, 24, was taken with the 11th overall pick of the 2011 amateur draft and has been dominant in the minors, hitting .299/.394/.558 with 62 homers over 1203 PA and stealing 81 bases in 97 attempts. The 2014 Baseball America Prospect Handbook ranks Springer as Houston's second-best prospect (behind Carlos Correa), and despite his strikeouts and some doubts about his ability to hit for average, "his arm, speed, power and defense all rate as at least plus tools." Baseball America ranks Springer as the 18th-best prospect in the game, while ESPN's Keith Law (19th) and MLB.com (21st) provide similar rankings.
Springer isn't going to make the Astros' Opening Day roster, which the team argues is due to his need for more minor league seasoning (and a poor Spring Training performance). As Rosenthal rhetorically asks, however, "why would the Astros offer a major-league contract to a player who lacks any semblance of leverage if they do not believe he is capable of playing in the majors?" The practice of keeping prospects in the minors long enough that they can't gain Super Two status is the larger focus of Rosenthal's piece, which he notes is frowned upon by fans, some players and MLBPA chief Tony Clark since it keeps teams from fielding their best possible talent.
The Astros signed second baseman Jose Altuve to a four-year, $12.5MM extension (with two option years) last summer, marking GM Jeff Luhnow's first move towards locking up one of his club's young building blocks. Other top prospects like Correa, Mark Appel, Mike Foltynewicz and more are all team-controlled through the rest of the decade, though one wonders if Luhnow would pursue a Springer-type extension with any of these young stars as well once they're a bit slower to the Major League level.
Minor Moves: Seth McClung, Mark Teahen
Here are today's minor transactions, with the latest moves at the top of the page…
- The Pirates released right-hander Seth McClung, Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times reports. McClung pitched in Mexico in 2013 and has also spent time in the Cubs, Rangers and Brewers farm systems since last pitching in the Major Leagues in 2009. The 33-year-old signed a minor league deal with the Bucs in November and now hopes to catch on with another club, though McClung tells Smith that he accepts that his career could be over.
- The Giants have released veteran corner infielder/outfielder Mark Teahen, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. Teahen signed a minor league deal with the Giants last month. The 32-year-old last played in the majors with the Blue Jays in 2011, and has since played at the Triple-A level for the Nationals, Diamondbacks and Rangers, as well as with the York Revolution of the independent Atlantic League. Teahen posted a career .264/.327/.409 career slash line in 3171 PA with the Royals, White Sox and Blue Jays from 2005-11.
- According to MLBTR's DFA Tracker, Dodgers right-hander Javy Guerra is the only player currently in DFA limbo. As reported earlier today, several teams are interested in trading for Guerra.
Athletics Notes: Parker, Taylor, Beane, Wolff
Jarrod Parker is trying to be as hopeful as possible as he prepares to undergo his second Tommy John surgery. "I've done it before, and I can do it again," Parker told reporters, including Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. "You can't put statistics on individual guys….I don't want to be a statistic, really. I want to be different. Hopefully things can work out and I'm going to do anything and everything to make it work." The right-hander is scheduled for surgery next week and will miss at least the entire 2014 season during the rehabiliation process.
Here's some more from news out of Oakland…
- Also from Slusser, outfielder Michael Taylor still isn't a fit for the A's roster, despite his impressive Spring Training performance. There's no chance the A's would be able to get the out-of-options Taylor through waivers without losing him, however, as the former top prospect is drawing interest from a number of teams. One scout tells Slusser that his team either already has, or is preparing to offer Oakland a deal for Taylor, while another rival scout figures his team is too low in waiver priority and would need to trade for Taylor to bring him into the fold.
- In a must-read interview with Grantland's Jonah Keri, Athletics GM Billy Beane discusses how his club has tried to stay current now that the "Moneyball" tactics are known and widely-used throughout baseball. With so much data available to teams, Beane said that implementation of that information has become the more important factor, praising manager Bob Melvin's openness to new ideas and predicting that teams will eventually have "an IT coach" in the dugout.
- “I don’t want a lot of guys like me who played the game,” Beane told Keri about building a front office. “Quite frankly, I want blank canvases, I want people to come in with new ideas. I don’t want the biases of their own experiences to be a part of their decision-making process. Listen, our whole staff…didn’t really play. The bottom line is that any business should be a meritocracy. The best and brightest. Period. This game is now evolving into that.”
- CSNBayArea.com's Joe Stiglich looks at the Athletics' roster configuration, shoots down a few trade suggestions and covers several other topics and as part of an online chat with fans. Of note, Stiglich hasn't heard anything about the possibility of the A's making a play for Bay Area native Jimmy Rollins, who is rumored to be on thin ice with the Phillies. Rollins, however, has said that he won't consider waiving his no-trade protection unless the Phils completely fall out of the race.