Porcello No Longer With Boras
Back in 2007, Scott Boras "advised" recent high school graduate Rick Porcello to take a $7MM Major League contract, tying Josh Beckett's record for the biggest guarantee given to a high school player. Two years later, at age 20, Porcello will start today's crucial one-game playoff against the Twins.
During that time, according to ESPN's Buster Olney, Porcello dropped Boras for agent Alan Hendricks. Porcello's contractual status shouldn't be much of a story until after the 2011 season, when he'll first become eligible for arbitration. As they did with Jeremy Bonderman, the Tigers could attempt to sign Porcello long-term. But Bonderman had four years of service time under his belt when he signed. And the Tigers' more pressing issue may be Justin Verlander, who is due another large raise his second time through arbitration.
Odds & Ends: Strasburg, Ranaudo, Fielder
A few links for the evening….
- Chico Harlan of the Washington Post notes one name that stands out on the Washington Nationals' roster for the Florida Instructional League: Stephen Strasburg. Strasburg is expected to pitch in the Instructional League that runs from Sept. 24 to Oct. 13.
- Keith Law of ESPN.com reports that LSU righty Anthony Ranaudo has chosen Scott Boras as his adviser for the 2010 draft. Ranaudo projects to be one of the top college pitchers next year and a potential top-five pick in the June draft, assuming Boras' presence doesn't scare teams away.
- BP's Eric Seidman at ESPN.com follows up on the Prince Fielder to San Francisco speculation by discussing what the Giants would have to give up to net the slugging first baseman. Seidman is doubtful that Giants GM Brian Sabean would want to part with any blue-chip prospects like Buster Posey or Madison Bumgarner, but suggests that of their major league talent, only the front-line starters (Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Jonathan Sanchez) would interest the Brewers. Seidman writes that to even consider a trade, the Giants would have to be confident they could sign Fielder to a long-term deal.
Stark On Wagner, Padres, Crawford
ESPN.com's Jayson Stark shows that a number of contenders have vulnerable-looking closers. The Cubs and Phillies two of many teams with shaky arms at the back of the 'pen. Here are the details and the rest of Stark's rumors:
- At least one scout believes John Smoltz would have been the perfect arm for the Marlins to add to their 'pen.
- However, clubs pursuing Smoltz heard that he wanted to start, at least for now.
- A scout who watched Billy Wagner throw has "no doubt" that Wagner could help a team win. The Rays and Marlins are thought to have interest in Wagner, but neither team would be likely to give up much of a prospect unless the Mets picked up salary.
- Stark hears that the Padres pulled Heath Bell and Adrian Gonzalez back off waivers after multiple teams claimed them.
- Mark Hendrickson cleared waivers, and can now be traded to any team. The Rockies were interested before the deadline, but they may decide to see where the Billy Wagner bidding goes before pursuing Hendrickson again.
- One rival GM considers the Cards "the best team in the league right now."
- The Royals don't seem interested in trading their top pitchers. They pulled Brian Bannister back from waivers and though Joakim Soria and Gil Meche are on waivers now, they aren't likely to be dealt.
- Clubs eyeing Carl Crawford believe the Rays are becoming less likely to deal him. Desmond Jennings could become the Rays' left fielder, but they'd probably have to be overwhelmed to part with Crawford.
- It's possible that Jamie Moyer could draw interest as a trade candidate after the season.
- One AL exec isn't sure Bryce Harper's the guarantee people perceive him to be.
- Stark points out that the Astros traded Ivan Rodriguez just as his incentives were about to start kicking in.
- An official of a team that inquired about Stephen Strasburg before the draft says that Scott Boras invoked Daisuke Matsuzaka's name without specifically saying he wanted $50MM for his client.
Boras On The Strasburg Negotiations
Scott Boras told 619 Sports that he was never looking to sign Stephen Strasburg to a $50MM deal, despite reports that he was using Daisuke Matsuzaka's contract as a reference point for the number one overall pick.
"I can assure you our first offer was well less than half of that," Boras said.
Here are some more points Boras makes over the course of the interview:
- Boras says revenues around baseball have increased in the last decade, so he argues that money should trickle down to players and draft picks.
- He also suggests that more teams are holding onto their players, which leads to smaller crops of free agents.
- Boras says American players deserve as much as international ones.
- Boras says J.D. Drew didn't sign with the Phillies because they told him they didn't believe him.
- The agent praises Donavan Tate and Strasburg on their intelligence.
- Boras says every organization makes mistakes with players, but suggests adding players with questionable character hurts teams most of all.
- Check out the audio for Boras' description of deadline day. It's pretty interesting stuff.
Odds and Ends: Pudge, Reds, Boras, Gordon
Links from around the league on Tuesday evening…
- Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle writes that the Astros got good value in return for Pudge Rodriguez.
- John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer talks to Reds GM Walt Jocketty about the plan for his team's future.
- Kevin Kaduk at Yahoo.com argues that Scott Boras neither won nor lost the Strasburg contract negotiations.
- Matthew Pouliot at NBCSports.com writes that the Royals "hit a new low" by demoting Alex Gordon.
- And Baseball America breaks down each team's total spending on the first ten rounds of the draft.
Boras On Strasburg
Scott Boras tells USA Today's Bob Nightengale that he was never seeking a deal worth $50MM for Stephen Strasburg. Instead, they were originally hoping to see an offer in the low 20s. Via Twitter, Nightengale adds that Strasburg won't make his MLB debut this year. In fact, there's a chance he won't debut with the Nats until 2011.
Stephen Strasburg Rumors: Monday
2:01pm: Heyman hears that the Nats offered Strasburg $12.5MM.
12:35pm: Heyman hears that the Nats offered Strasburg more than $12MM. Scott Boras believes Strasburg's worth several times as much, but it's Strasburg's call in the end and it would be hard to turn down an eight-figure offer, even an "unfair" one. Still, Heyman says there's a good chance the two sides won't agree on a deal.
9:01am: With just 14 hours left before the deadline to sign draft picks, Stephen Strasburg is the one player everyone's watching most closely. Here's what everyone's saying about this year's first overall pick:
- Jon Heyman of SI.com will be surprised if Strasburg signs with the Nationals today.
- Yahoo's Jeff Passan expects the Nationals to sign Strasburg for about $20MM, but says the baseball world really revolves around Strasburg's agent, Scott Boras, this time of year.
- Boras tells Yahoo's Tim Brown that Strasburg is the best college pitcher he's even seen.
- But Chico Harlan of the Washington Post has some advice: Don't assume anything, no matter what you hear, until the deadline passes. Until then, "there's just no freakin' way to know what will happen."
- Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post shows that the Nationals and Scott Boras both have significant leverage in the negotiations.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says it makes no sense for Strasburg to turn down a record-setting offer.
Draft Updates: Brewers, Red Sox, Matzek
More updates, as the deadline approaches…
- Baseball America's Jim Callis reports that the Brewers signed third rounder Brooks Hall for $700k. Hall was a two-way player in high school, but he'll focus on pitching as a pro.
- Alex Speier of WEEI.com points out that the Red Sox, who didn't draft any Scott Boras clients, have spent aggresively on players who fell because of perceived signability issues.
- DJ Bean of WEEI.com shows that the Red Sox have a history of drafting and spending aggressively under Theo Epstein. However, they are able to "draw a line in the sand" when necessary.
- Troy Renck of the Denver Post hears that the Rockies and Tyler Matzek are still far apart in their negotiations, though that doesn't mean they won't agree to a deal.
Tate, Boras Seeking $6.5MM Bonus
Lars Tate tells Chip Towers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that his son Donavan Tate and agent Scott Boras seek a $6.5MM bonus from the Padres. The younger Tate can play football at North Carolina if he doesn't sign, but his father, who had a standout college football career, has doubts about a life in the NFL.
Heyman On Strasburg, Boras, Rizzo
Jon Heyman of SI.com hears from people around the league who guess that Stephen Strasburg is in line for a bonus worth $12-30MM – if he signs, that is. Here are the rest of Heyman's Strasburg-related rumors:
- Agent Scott Boras says teams dictate a slow negotiating pace and he and his clients merely follow along.
- Boras doesn't see why Strasburg should get less than Daisuke Matsuzaka, who signed for $52MM.
- Boras says the draft currently penalizes Americans, who, unlike international players, are limited to the team that drafts them.
- The Nationals visited Southern California to make a presentation to Strasburg, but there's no evidence they made him an impressive offer. Ben Goessling of the Washington Times also reports that the Nats paid Strasburg a visit last week.
- Strasburg doesn't seem likely to play in Japan if he doesn't sign.
- Boras says Strasburg will ultimately decide whether to accept the Nats' offer.
- Some people around the Nationals believe that acting GM Mike Rizzo will get the permanent GM job. He's got a busy few days coming up.