Nats GM Confirms Plans To Draft Strasburg
3:03pm: According to AOL Fanhouse's Ed Price, Rizzo was actually in attendance for Strasburg's no-no. The love fest has begun.
11:56am: Stephen Strasburg threw a no hitter last night, as MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo reports. The San Diego State righty struck out 17 along the way, walking two. This just cements what we already knew: Strasburg is the country's amateur player.
Chico Harlan of the Washington Post heard this from acting Nationals GM Mike Rizzo about Strasburg:
"If the draft was today, he'd be our guy. But the draft is a month from now, so a lot of things can happen. Guys can turn up their intensity and their performance, a lot of things can happen in a month. But if it was today, he'd be our guy."
Odds And Ends: Bay, Boras, Danks
Links for Friday afternoon…
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports revisits last year's July 31st trade deadline and breaks down the decisions that sent Jason Bay to Boston instead of Tampa Bay.
- Michael O'Keeffe of the New York Daily News lists off a number of Scott Boras clients who have been linked to PEDs. To be fair, Boras has a lot of clients and baseball's had a lot of users so it would be a surprise if none of his clients had connections to PED use.
- John Danks told Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times that the extension he passed up hasn't affected his performance this season.
- MLB.com's Jim Banks compares Zack Greinke to Fernando Valenzuela and Walter Johnson. It's not often you see Ty Cobb quoted in 2009.
- Adam Rose of the LA Times asks whether the Dodgers should have signed Manny Ramirez in the first place and 62% of his readers say the deal was still worth it.
Draft Update: Strasburg, Scheppers, Paxton
ESPN.com's Jason A. Churchill has an update on some top amateur players as June 9th draws closer:
- He confirms what we heard last week: Barring the unforseen, the Nats will select Stephen Strasburg with the first overall pick.
- Scouts expect Tanner Scheppers, who was drafted but never signed by the Pirates last year, to be selected within the first 15 picks. They're divided on whether the righty, who is pitching in an independent league, can crack the top ten.
- Scott Boras added a new client, Kentucky lefty James Paxton, according to one of Churcill's sources.
Odds & Ends: Draft, Ibanez, Indians
Links for Thursday…
- Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post did a little research on pitchers drafted within the first ten picks. Meanwhile, Boswell's colleague Chico Harlan spotted Nationals' acting GM Mike Rizzo chatting with Scott Boras.
- The latest from Baseball America: Tanner Scheppers' stock is rising, Grant Green's is falling.
- Yahoo's Jeff Passan writes about Raul Ibanez. In the article, it's revealed that Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. doesn't buy into defensive stats outside of fielding percentage.
- ESPN's Tim Kurkjian looks at the early returns on free agent signings.
- Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer learned that Mark Shapiro is initiating the calls to other GMs.
- Will Sommer of Mets Fans Forever chatted with ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.
Odds & Ends: Milledge, Draft Order, Cubs
Links for Tuesday…
- The Nationals issued a press release regarding Lastings Milledge's demotion to Triple A. Seems like they're hoping it's a wake-up call.
- Scott Boras spoke to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle about matching his client Dallas McPherson with the Giants.
- Baseball America has the 2009 June draft order.
- According to a Reuters article, one source suggested the sale of the Cubs to the Ricketts family may drag on past May.
- Bart Given of Inside The Majors says the Indians are an exception in terms of providing nutritious meals to minor leaguers.
- This week's chat will take place tomorrow at 2pm CST.
Boras Blast From The Past: Ben McDonald
Last time in our Boras Blast From The Past series, we talked about his first client, Bill Caudill. This time let's discuss Ben McDonald.
McDonald, a junior at Louisiana State University, was selected first overall by the Orioles in the 1989 amateur draft. It was suggested by the Washington Post's Richard Justice that scouts viewed McDonald as the best pitching prospect since Doc Gooden. The #1 overall selection by Baltimore didn't stop LSU from using McDonald in six of their last seven games, infuriating the Orioles according to Justice.
Initially McDonald was advised by his father and was said to be seeking a $275K bonus, similar to Andy Benes the year before, as well as a three-year deal worth $425-700K. The two sides couldn't even agree to that. Then Scott Boras entered the picture, and talk began about McDonald returning to LSU for his senior year.
Eventually the Orioles, led by president Larry Lucchino and GM Roland Hemond, offered McDonald a deal worth around $700K over three years, second only to Bo Jackson's $1.1MM in 1986. McDonald, however, was reportedly offered a two-year, $2MM deal from an upstart new baseball league that was to begin in 1990 with the backing of Donald Trump. Boras initially demanded the Orioles match the offer. Then he backed off and just requested that the Orioles match the $1.1MM. If the Orioles failed to sign McDonald, they'd receive a compensation pick between the first and second round in 1990. Boras' comment on the negotiations, according to Justice:
Every situation is unique. That's the thing Baltimore must understand. This has become a free agent negotiations because of external matters [the new league].
On August 18th, 1989, Lucchino and Boras finally hammered out a three-year package worth $950K plus incentives. Justice's sources said the independent Trump league never actually made a formal contract offer. McDonald debuted with six appearances out of the Orioles' bullpen in '89, and was underwhelming given his brief minor league experience.
McDonald's Orioles career was viewed a disappointment. His best year was 1993, when he pitched 220.3 innings with a 3.39 ERA. In 1995, a year when arbitration hearings were done in June, McDonald submitted $4.5MM and the Orioles submitted $3.2MM. McDonald and Boras were willing to meet in the middle, but the Orioles instead tried to win the case. McDonald won. Subsequently, the Orioles non-tendered him in December since they were could only cut his salary by a maximum of 20% and were concerned about injuries. It would be a while before the relationship between Peter Angelos and Boras was repaired. From Buster Olney's Baltimore Sun article:
The team officially severed ties with McDonald yesterday, choosing not to tender him a contract rather than extending the required minimum offer of $3.6 million. Orioles general manager Pat Gillick called McDonald's representative with the news, and agent Scott Boras responded with about 30 seconds of silence. "The least we could tender him at was $3.6 million," Gillick said, "and we weren't comfortable with that…We're not really sure what the market is [for McDonald]."
McDonald drew interest from the Yankees and Brewers, and ultimately signed with Milwaukee on a two-year, $5.75MM deal with a player option and plenty of incentives. McDonald had a strong first year with the Brewers, posting a 3.90 ERA in 221.3 innings. Brewers GM Sal Bando offered McDonald a big extension in '97 – three years, $18MM plus a $6MM option (according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel). Boras turned down the extension, requesting a guaranteed fourth year. The decision turned out to be a blunder, as McDonald never pitched again due to injuries.
Odds & Ends: Gregerson, Hanley, Strasburg
Links for Monday…
- Matt Eddy of Baseball America has the minor league transactions, including the Dodgers' signing of J.D Durbin.
- Marc Lancaster of the Tampa Tribune says Rays Rule 5 pick Derek Rodriguez, a reliever, has been returned to the White Sox.
- Yahoo's David Brown talked to Carlos Pena about many topics, including his agent Scott Boras.
- According to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Padres received pitcher Luke Gregerson as the player to be named later in the Khalil Greene deal. The other player the Padres received, the now-injured Mark Worrell, was also a minor league closer. Given the state of the Padres' pen, Gregerson could reach the Majors this year. UPDATE: Here is Paul DePodesta's take on Gregerson.
- MLB.com's Ken Gurnick noted yesterday that the Dodgers cut pitcher Shawn Estes, and he's yet to decide whether to accept a Triple A assignment. UPDATE: Estes will head to the minors and attempt to reinvent himself as a lefthanded specialist.
- Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald quizzed Hanley Ramirez about Boston's attempt to reacquire him in November.
- MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan wonders about Frank Catalanotto's future. Useful player, but the Rangers would have to eat most of his $6MM to move him.
- Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post talked to Nationals president Stan Kasten about the six-year, $50MM Stephen Strasburg rumor. We all know how Boras works…if he wants $25MM for Strasburg, he starts at $50MM.
- South Side Sox and Sox Machine comment on the Gavin Floyd extension, as well as the offers to John Danks and Carlos Quentin.
- Talking to David Lennon of Newsday, Tom Glavine responded to Pedro Martinez's distaste for signing a "Glavine-like" contract.
- Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun spoke to Aubrey Huff, who "doesn't even understand the concept of a contract push."
- Ivan Rodriguez explained to MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez why he didn't sign with the Marlins.
Odds & Ends: Pudge, A-Rod, Wilson, Hill
Links for Thursday…
- Chat today, 2pm CST.
- Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle talked to various Astros players about the Ivan Rodriguez signing.
- John Brattain of The Hardball Times asks what might have happened with Alex Rodriguez if he hadn't had Scott Boras whispering in his ear.
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette assures us that the Pirates shopped shortstop Jack Wilson aggressively this winter.
- Eric Seidman of FanGraphs questions the Nationals' decision to release Shawn Hill. If Hill is useful in future years, this one's on Mike Rizzo.
- Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star discusses the Royals' signing of Sidney Ponson.
- Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star has a funny story involving Roy Halladay and Travis Snider.
- RotoAuthority looks at the fantasy prospects of Nationals top prospect Jordan Zimmermann.
Boras Offseason Tally: $341 Million
By my count, the Scott Boras Corporation brokered eleven Major League deals for free agent clients this offseason. The total in guaranteed money: $341,100,000 (5% of that would be over $17MM). Here's the rundown:
- Mark Teixeira, Yankees: $180MM.
- Derek Lowe, Braves: $60MM.
- Manny Ramirez, Dodgers: $45MM.
- Oliver Perez, Mets: $36MM.
- Jason Varitek, Red Sox: $5MM.
- Felipe Lopez, Diamondbacks: $3.5MM.
- Willie Bloomquist, Royals: $3.1MM.
- Garret Anderson, Braves: $2.5MM.
- Joe Crede, Twins: $2.5MM.
- Alex Cora, Mets: $2MM.
- Ivan Rodriguez, Astros: $1.5MM.
Note that I left Kyle Lohse's $41MM extension off the list because it was signed on September 29th.
Nine Boras clients signed minor league deals: Chris Bootcheck, Andruw Jones, Rodrigo Lopez, David Newhan, Guillermo Quiroz, Julian Tavarez, Ron Villone, Jeff Weaver, and Brad Wilkerson. Eric Gagne signed one with the Brewers but was released. Byung-Hyun Kim remains unsigned.
Boras brokered extensions totaling $30MM for arbitration-eligible players Prince Fielder and Ryan Madson. He also reached agreements totaling over $15MM for his other arb-eligible clients: Xavier Nady, Rick Ankiel, Gerald Laird, Edwin Jackson, and Bobby Seay.
Five Boras clients were traded this offseason: Laird, Jackson, Carlos Gonzalez, Matt Holliday, and Scott Schoeneweis.
This info is accurate to the best of my knowledge but please let me know if you have any corrections.
Boras On Long-Term Deals For Young Players
Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald spoke to agent Scott Boras, who sounded off on long-term extensions for young players. Silverman says only a couple of Boras clients, Jeff Weaver and Carlos Baerga, have been locked up to such deals in recent years. Boras’ take on the deals:
"All teams are instructed to take their premium players and do their best to remove them from the arbitration market. It’s good business for them to receive premium talent for a grossly devalued cost."
Boras believes position players in particular should not be signing these deals, due to the low probability of injury. He also implies certain agents are not acting in their clients’ best interest:
"It’s good business for ballclubs, and they are very aware that these contracts are needed because the majority of young agents have few clients and few reserves to work off of for their future."
I imagine young Boras clients such as Chris Davis, Stephen Drew, Jacoby Ellsbury, Carlos Gomez, Jair Jurrjens, Mike Pelfrey, Max Scherzer, and Jered Weaver will be on the year-to-year plan.
On a related note, Rays third baseman Evan Longoria signed his six-year, $17.5MM deal partially on the advice of then-teammate Eric Hinske according to John Perrotto.