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Scott Boras

Brewers Discussed Fielder Extension With Boras

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Prince Fielder told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the Brewers met with agent Scott Boras yesterday to discuss an extension for the first baseman. The details aren't clear, but Fielder knows the Brewers haven't made an offer. 

"All I know is that Scott said they talked and everything was positive," Fielder said. "I heard the talks were good. Now, they do whatever."

Brewers GM Doug Melvin and assistant GM Gord Ash went for "a little trip" Wednesday, but didn't tell MLB.com's Adam McCalvy where they went. Melvin told Haudricourt that negotiations have not begun.

Fielder is under contract for this year at $10.5MM. He's under team control as an arbitration-eligible player for 2011, when he could expect a substantial raise through the arbitration process.

Indians Notes: Brantley, Branyan, Choo, Sizemore

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Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com discusses some Tribe topics in a fan mailbag…

  • Castrovince thinks Michael Brantley will be in Cleveland by midseason, as the Russell Branyan signing was made with an eye towards postponing Brantley's major league service clock.  A strong first half of the season for Branyan could get the veteran traded, thus creating regular playing time for Brantley in left field and Matt LaPorta moving to first.
  • Speaking of veterans being dealt, Castrovince says "it's hard to imagine Jake Westbrook, Kerry Wood and Branyan remaining with this club beyond the 2010 season, and Jhonny Peralta's future here is also in question."
  • We've heard about Shin-Soo Choo's looming conflict with his South Korean military service and how it may affect his playing career.  Castrovince argues that a compromise (such as Choo postponing his service until after his career is over) would work best for both the player and the government.  Castrovince notes that the South Korean government might not want to be seen as forcing one of the country's sporting heroes away from playing major league baseball.
  • In the wake of Choo switching agents from Alan Nero to Scott Boras, Castrovince reported in a separate blog post that another Nero client in Cleveland (Asdrubal Cabrera) "has no plans" to change his representation.  Castrovince also notes that Boras has his eye on Indians prospect Carlos Santana and is "pursuing him hard."
  • In another article, Castrovince discusses Grady Sizemore's future with the Tribe.  He believes that Sizemore's contract is structured well enough that "the Indians find it difficult to imagine a scenario in which they'd be compelled to deal him to another club in either of the next two years."

Shin-Soo Choo Hires Scott Boras

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We can add another name to our list of Scott Boras' clients. Shin-Soo Choo has hired Boras to be his agent, according to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter).

Choo will be arbitration-eligible after this season and eligible for free agency after the 2013 campaign. The Indians have talked recently about wanting to extend Choo, one of the franchise's core players, to a long-term deal after he hit .300/.394/.489 with 20 homers in his first full MLB season. Given the Indians' small payroll, reaching a long-term agreement with the lefty slugger could be a little more challenging with Boras now on board.

Kendry Morales Hires Scott Boras

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While he lost free agent Felipe Lopez yesterday, agent Scott Boras has picked up a new client in Angels first baseman Kendry Morales, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Morales is entering the final season of a six year, $4.5MM contract and will be arbitration-eligible for the first time after this season.

The 26-year-old Morales was previously represented by the Hendricks brothers.  Jorge Arangure Jr. of ESPN writes that Morales helped lure Aroldis Chapman to Hendricks Sports Management.

Felipe Lopez Fires Scott Boras

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Disgruntled because he's still without a job this late into the offseason, Felipe Lopez fired agent Scott Boras according to ESPN's Jayson Stark. He is now represented by the Beverly Hills Sports Council.

There haven't been many rumors about the 29-year-old Lopez this offseason, except for some interest from the Cardinals. He hit .310/.383/.427 for the Diamondbacks and Brewers last season, better across the board than Orlando Hudson's .283/.357/.417 line for the Dodgers. Lopez also outperformed him defensively at second base, posting a 7.6 UZR/150 compared to Hudson's -3.3 mark. The Twins gave the O-Dawg a one-year, $5MM deal last week.

Did Boras Fail Damon, Washburn, & Lopez?

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Last offseason, the Scott Boras Corporation brokered approximately $341MM worth of free agent deals.  It was a strong showing, with three of the four big-money contracts already looking regrettable (Derek Lowe, Manny Ramirez, and Oliver Perez).

This time around, Boras will not reach even half of last year's total.  That fact doesn't necessarily reflect on Boras' abilities as an agent, and he did find favorable contracts for Matt Holliday, Mike Gonzalez, Adrian Beltre, Ivan Rodriguez, and Alex Cora in a down market.  But we must ask: did Boras clients Johnny Damon, Jarrod Washburn, and Felipe Lopez get screwed?

ESPN's Buster Olney suggested that in November, the Yankees discussed internally the idea of approaching Bobby Abreu's two-year, $19MM extension with Damon.  Boras always aims high in November contract discussions, but the superagent read the market poorly this time.  It appears that, more than once, Damon turned down his best offseason offers from his preferred team.  Most likely, Damon will ultimately accept an offer inferior to the contracts signed by Mike Cameron, Marlon Byrd, Hideki Matsui, and Coco Crisp.

In early January, the Twins reportedly offered Washburn a one-year, $5MM deal.  Though the Twins are on the lefty's short list, he turned it down.  Maybe the Twins or Mariners will still sign him at a lower price.  Perhaps Washburn would've enjoyed playing for the Brewers in his home state, but they signed a similar pitcher in Doug Davis for $5.25MM on January 10th.  According to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, Washburn might even be considering retirement at this point.

Since Damon, Washburn, and Lopez remain unsigned, we can't label Boras a failure with these three clients quite yet.  However, they'll likely illustrate cases where Boras' long-standing strategies of ridiculous initial demands and signing late cost his clients millions.

Odds & Ends: Prospects, Livan, Cardinals, Damon

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Some links for Wednesday night…

  • MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo released his list of the top 50 prospects in the game. Jason Heyward and Stephen Strasburg rank one-two.
  • Livan Hernandez sent a contract proposal to Nationals' GM Mike Rizzo back in December, but he never received a response according to a tweet from MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
  • MLB.com's Matthew Leach reports that Cardinals' GM John Mozeliak confirmed that any pickups from here on out would be on the offensive side of the roster.
  • Scott Boras said that "The Yankees never even made an offer to me regarding Johnny Damon during the entire process," according to a tweet from Tyler Kepner of The New York Times. In a second tweet, Kepner says Boras indicated that the two-year, $14MM offer the team reportedly made was conditional on whether or not Nick Johnson would sign. 
  • ESPN's Jorge Arangure reports that 17-year-old righty Rafael DePaula is back on the market after being suspended for a year by MLB after lying about his age. His agent hopes to have him signed within the next 15-20 days, and Arangure mentions that both the Yankees and Red Sox are interested.
  • Pirate relievers Anthony Claggett and Steven Jackson both cleared waivers according to MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch, and have been outrighted to Triple-A Indianapolis. Claggett was designated for assignment to make room on the roster for Octavio Dotel, Jackson for Ryan Church.  
  • Astros' GM Ed Wade said that signing Wandy Rodriguez to a long-term deal would become a "front-burner discussion for us" if he repeats his 2009 success in 2010, reports MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. Wandy had a 3.02 ERA with an 8.4 K/9 in 205.2 innings last season.
  • Craig Calcaterra of NBCSports.com says that the Braves have discussed Johnny Damon recently, but came up with three reasons why he wasn't a fit.
  • David Murphy of The Philadelphia Daily News lays out the Phillies' payroll commitments for the next four years. As of right now, the team stands to shed almost $70MM off the books following the 2011 season.

Odds & Ends: Gomes, Coffey, Nolasco, Vazquez

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Links for Thursday…

Braves Not Likely To Sign Damon

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Don't expect Johnny Damon to end up in Atlanta unless his asking price drops significantly. MLB.com's Mark Bowman hears that the club isn't likely to pursue Damon unless they can sign him for $1-2MM. One of Bowman's sources says "it would take a miracle" for the Braves to sign the left fielder.

The Tigers have some interest in Damon, and the Yankees could re-engage the Scott Boras client if the market continues to weaken Damon's negotiating position.

Odds & Ends: Thome, Chapman, Mariners

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Links for Tuesday, as we wait for the hot stove to reignite…

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