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NL East Notes: Conforto, Martin, Haseley

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Extension talks between Michael Conforto and the Mets “have yet to grow serious,” according to MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo, who also reports that the two sides never got to the point where numbers were exchanged.  An earlier report two weeks ago stated that the Mets made an initial offer to Conforto, though both items aren’t necessarily contradictory — it could be that the Mets never got an official counter-offer back from Conforto’s representatives at the Boras Corporation, or perhaps the Mets’ offer was more exploratory in nature.  Regardless, it remains to be seen if any negotiating will take place before Conforto hits the free agent market after the season.  The outfielder told DiComo, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post, and other reporters today that he was “not interested in really talking about” the subject any further, and agent Scott Boras told Davidoff in a text message that “as is the custom when the season begins, [we are] focusing on the performance of the players.”

In other news, Conforto revealed that he and his fiancee tested positive for the coronavirus during the offseason, about two weeks before Conforto reported to Spring Training.  His fiancee suffered some moderate symptoms while Conforto didn’t suffer much beyond some shortness of breath.

More from around the NL East…

  • Braves reliever Chris Martin left today’s game due to an unspecified finger issue, manager Brian Snitker told reporters (including The Athletic’s David O’Brien).  Martin pitched to five batters during the eighth inning, sandwiching two outs around three consecutive singles to Phillies batters that resulted in the game’s winning run.  It remains to be seen how serious Martin’s problem could be, and an absence would be a tough loss to the bullpen considering Martin’s 2.45 ERA and outstanding 30.93% strikeout rate over 36 2/3 innings in an Atlanta uniform from 2019-20.
  • After leaving Thursday’s game with tightness in his left hamstring, Adam Haseley was able to return to the Phillies’ starting lineup today, collecting a single in two plate appearances.  As Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer notes, Haseley seems to have the edge over switch-hitter Roman Quinn in what should ostensibly be a platoon in center field, but manager Joe Girardi told Lauber and other reporters that “there’s no exact science to” the duo’s usage.  “If Q has some good days, or one of them gets hot, I’ll play them….Q contributed the other day.  They’re both going to have to help out,” Girardi said.

Nationals Will Make Extension Offers To Juan Soto, Trea Turner In Near Future

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The Washington Nationals have famously fielded top-heavy rosters typically built around a core of strong starting pitching. Since Washington’s first playoff appearance in 2012, they’ve advanced to postseason play five times in nine years, always on the backs of their starting pitching. The starting pitching units on their playoff teams (2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019) ranked 1st, 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 3rd in the Majors by FIP and 5th, 2nd, 1st, 2nd, and 1st by fWAR. Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmermann,  Tanner Roark, Max Scherzer, and Stephen Strasburg each posted multiple 3.0+ fWAR seasons for Nats’ playoff teams, and Patrick Corbin is halfway there after a 4.7 fWAR season in 2019.

On the position player side, a core of Bryce Harper, Jayson Werth Ryan Zimmerman, and Ian Desmond added Anthony Rendon in 2014. They morphed by swapping Daniel Murphy and Trea Turner into the core group for Desmond and Werth by 2016. Before 2019, this unit faced their most monumental change yet, letting Harper leave for Philly as Juan Soto developed in his place. Rendon left after the title team in 2019, and it’s now been three years since Zimmerman aka “Mr. National” played a central role in the offense.

Present day, the Nats’ offensive core is a smaller unit than it’s been in year’s past, but it might be the strongest foundation of a Nationals team to date. Soto is one of the best offensive players in the game, compared today to Ted Williams by the Athletic’s Jayson Stark. Turner is one of the game’s most dynamic and underrated superstars.

Victor Robles certainly seemed like a key member of this core unit in 2019, and they hoped Carter Kieboom might step into Rendon’s place at the hot corner, but neither cemented their place in the inner circle during a rough 2020 season. The slow ascent of Kieboom and Robles has made Soto and Turner all the more important to the Nats’ future. Beyond their obvious talents, at 22 and 27 years old, they’re the youngest ties to the 2019 title team.

Starting pitching has been this team’s past, but Scherzer is 36, Strasburg is 32 and twice lost seasons to injury, and Corbin is 31. Their top prospects are a couple of power arms in Jackson Rutledge and Cade Cavalli, and Cole Henry, Andry Lara, Jeremy De La Rosa, and Tim Cate provide some backing in that regard, but there’s much uncertainty in projecting arms. The Nationals future seems to lie in the hands of Soto, Turner, and to a lesser extent, Robles and Kieboom.

The clock is ticking, however, and the cost is rising. Turner will make $13MM this season with one more year of arbitration before free agency after 2022. Soto became arbitration eligible for this first time this winter as a Super Two player. He’ll make $8.5MM in 2021 with three more turns through arbitration before free agency after 2024. He’ll be just 26 years old.

The conversation inevitably turns to potential extensions, and there have been internal discussions about what it might cost to lock their two superstars into long-term deals. In fact, there will be long-term contract offers on the table in the near future, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (via Twitter).

They’ve made offers in the past, however. Per MLB.com’s Jessica Camerato (via Twitter), GM Mike Rizzo said earlier today, “We’ve discussed internally with ownership about it. We’re in the midst of making decisions on what a timeframe would look like … We certainly have made & will make a long-term extension offer to both players sometime in the near future.”

Since the Braves extended Ronald Acuña Jr. to a well-below-market eight-year, $100MM extension, and the Padres extended Fernando Tatis to a 14-year $340MM extension, Soto might be the best young player without a long-term deal in place. Acuña signed his deal after winning Rookie of the Year with a 4.3 bWAR season in 111 games. Tatis signed after two years of service time and 7.0 bWAR through 143 total games. Soto has just 0.143 more service time than Tatis, but he’s begun the arbitration process, played in 313 games, won a World Series, and accrued 9.7 bWAR. How much will it cost to extend the next Ted Williams? That’s a difficult question, especially when he’s represented by Scott Boras.

If there’s any organization comfortable dealing with mega-agent Boras, it’s the Nationals, who have dealt with him over the years both to sign long-term deals in the case of Strasburg and Scherzer and to not sign those deals with Harper and Rendon. The Nats should have a pretty clear idea about what it would take to sign Soto – or if it’s even possible.

As for Turner, the CAA client might want to wait and see how next winter’s free agent market shakes out. One way or another, a market price will be set for star shortstops as Francisco Lindor, Javier Baez, Carlos Correa, Marcus Semien, Trevor Story, and Corey Seager all sign new contracts. If he does wait, 2021 could be a make-or-break season for Turner. While he’s flashed tremendous potential, he’s also dealt with injuries that have cut short some of his most productive seasons. He finished 7th in MVP voting during the shortened 2020 season.

Xander Bogaerts signed a six-year, $120MM extension in April 2019 with the Red Sox, which could be used as a comparison point. You can check MLBTR’s Extension Tracker to find your own comps. Bogaerts – a Boras client – signed after 5.046 days of service time at 26 years old with 759 games and 15.6 bWAR under his belt.  Turner is at 4.135 days of service time right now. He’ll be in the territory of Bogaerts’ 5.046 service time days by the time he turns 28-years-old in June. At present, Turner has notched 541 games and 16.6 bWAR.

One thing we know about Washington and long-term deals is that money will have to be deferred. That said, they’ve shown willing to spend high-end money for the right players. Even though they’ll pay Strasburgh $35MM a season through 2026, and Corbin escalating salaries of $23.4MM, $24.4MM and $35.4MM through 2024, the Nats have some long-term payroll flexibility. Schezer’s $42MM deal comes off the books after this season, as does deals for Brad Hand, Starlin Castro, Daniel Hudson, Yan Gomes, Jon Lester, Alex Avila, Josh Harrison, and Zimmerman. They can also takes a $3MM buyout for Kyle Schwarber over an $11MM option. That’s a total of $73.6MM that could come off the books following 2021. Of course, in that circumstance, Rizzo would also have to back-fill nine roster spots.

NL Notes: Bell, Pirates, Boras, Cubs, Marlins

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Before the Pirates traded Josh Bell to the Nationals, the team had some cursory negotiations about an extension with the first baseman’s agent Scott Boras, Bell told reporters (including Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic).  The two sides went “back and forth” on a long-term deal, Bell said, “but in regards to numbers or anything like that, I don’t think it ever got to that point.”  Bell is eligible for free agency after the 2022 season, when he’ll be 30 years old. 

Given how the Pirates appear to be open to dealing virtually anyone as they rebuild their team, it’s fair to wonder whether even an extension might have kept Bell in Pittsburgh — some clubs might have intrigued at having additional years of control and added cost certainty.  Then again, given how Bell struggled in 2020, trade suitors might have balked at paying significant guaranteed money to a player coming off such a tough year.  Regardless, Bell will need a strong bounce-back year with the Nationals to ensure himself at least a bigger arbitration raise in 2022, and to help build his case for either an extension with Washington or a notable free agent payday in two years’ time.

More from the National League…

  • Speaking of Boras, the agent recently appeared on a podcast with NBC Sports Chicago’s Gordon Wittenmyer and Maddie Lee to discuss the Cubs and Boras client Kris Bryant (and former Cub and current free agent Jake Arrieta), plus also several bigger-picture issues surrounding the game.  The podcast explores such topics such as the offseason free agent market, the upcoming CBA talks and the relationship between the league and the players’ union, the business of baseball at the ownership level, and much more.
  • Francisco Cervelli provided the Marlins with some pop behind the plate last season, but after the veteran’s season was cut short by a concussion (that led to Cervelli’s retirement), neither Jorge Alfaro or Chad Wallach delivered much hitting-wise.  However, while another catcher could still be added, it looks like the Marlins are still planning to deploy Alfaro and Wallach as the primary catching duo going into 2021, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald writes.  The team is hopeful that Alfaro can become a more reliable defensive option and also unlock the batting potential that made him such a highly-touted prospect — Alfaro has delivered some decent numbers in his young career but with a lot of strikeouts and not much consistency.  Wallach, meanwhile, offers more solid glovework, but little in the way of offensive production.

Boras On MLB Finances, Season Length, Bryant, A’s, Universal DH

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Agent Scott Boras and MLB disagree over whether the league’s teams lost money during the pandemic-shortened, spectator-less 2020 season. Speaking with Jon Heyman of MLB Network and other reporters Tuesday, Boras declared that clubs “lost profits” last season, but they didn’t lose money. Per Heyman, a league spokesman responded that “clubs lost $3B — $100M per team.” It now appears the league and the players side are in for another few months of disagreement over whether to play a full schedule in 2021. MLB reportedly wants to push the season back, which would mean a second straight shortened season. That would cost the players money, though, so they’re currently not open to the idea of playing fewer than 162 games next year.

Boras, for his part, remains upset that the league’s teams only played 60 games in 2020. “I was very disappointed we didn’t play 100 games at minimum, 120 games, in 2020,” he said (via Chris McCosky of the Detroit News). Boras is of the belief the league can return to its normal slate going forward, as he stated: “We now know we can play the game and we can do it safely. And with the vaccine coming, we can play it at an even higher level of safety. It’s not a question of whether we can do it. We’ve already done it. That unknown has been erased.”

The ever-outspoken Boras had plenty more to say during his discussion with the media. Here are some other highlights…

  • Boras asserted that the low-budget Athletics will need “an insurgence of a small amount of money” in order to sustain success, and they can’t simply rely on a potential new stadium for that, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle relays. That “insurgence” doesn’t appear as if it’s coming this offseason. According to Slusser, the A’s have been telling agents that they don’t have much to spend, which is especially alarming for a team facing the losses of several key free agents (Marcus Semien, Liam Hendriks and Tommy La Stella are among them). In better news for the club, Boras announced that third baseman Matt Chapman has been cleared for increased activity and should be ready for spring training. Chapman underwent hip surgery in September, at which point Boras said he’d need 12 to 16 weeks to recover.
  • Although Cubs third baseman/outfielder Kris Bryant has been the subject of trade rumors this offseason, Boras seems to be under the impression he’ll remain with the team for another year, per Heyman. On Bryant’s future, Boras said (via Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune): “That question probably will be very clearly addressed at the end of ‘21, because we’re going to know a lot more about what Jed (Hoyer) wants to do, and also about the continuance of Kris Bryant’s excellence in a baseball uniform.” The Cubs would be selling low on the former MVP, who’s due a projected $18.6MM salary in his final season of team control. Many clubs may deem that too rich after Bryant endured uncharacteristic struggles last season.
  • Likewise, Boras doesn’t expect the Rays to trade left-hander Blake Snell.
  • MLB introduced the universal designated hitter in 2020, but even with free agency underway, there has been no official word on whether it will return next year. Boras advocated for it to come back and took a shot at the lack of clarity from the commissioner’s office, saying, “Maybe in the commissioner’s office, the DH may stand for dragging their heels.” He also believes it’s “absolutely necessary” for the league to stick with expanded rosters (via Tyler Kepner of the New York Times and Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register).

Latest From Scott Boras On Paxton, Sanchez

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Scott Boras is out on the campaign trail to shill for his clients in the early days of free agency. Boras is the most famous agent in the game, and one of the best in the business at making sure his clients get paid. He’s a salesman, and salesmen gotta sell.

Boras tells MLB Network’s Jon Morosi that James Paxton will soon throw for talent evaluators. Morosi reports (via Twitter) that Paxton has been working to strengthen his “lumbar region” after back surgery in February. Morosi also notes that Boras says, “There’s a great deal of interest in [Paxton].”

There’s sure to be interest in Paxton as a former front-line southpaw potentially signable on a short-term prove-it-type deal coming off a season lost to injury. 2020 was a tough year for The Big Maple, who in 5 starts went 1-1 with a 6.64 ERA, though a 4.37 FIP suggests more time on the diamond might have stabilized that bloated ERA. In his first year with the Yankees, Paxton went 15-6 with a 3.82 ERA/3.86 FIP across 150 2/3 innings, which more closely matches the kind of production we’ve come to expect from Paxton. Health – or lack thereof – is Paxton’s Achilles heel. The 32-year-old has never thrown more than 161 innings while averaging just 142 innings per season from 2016 to 2019. In today’s day and age, however, that kind of volume isn’t likely to bother teams as much as it might have in the past.

Elsewhere on the free agency campaign trail, former Astros and Blue Jays right-hander Aaron Sanchez is showing off his high-spin fastball for a number of teams this winter, per MLB Network’s Jon Morosi (via Twitter). Boras, who reps Sanchez, predicts unequivocally that Sanchez will be a starting pitcher in 2021. In October, MLBTR’s Anthony Franco wrote about Sanchez throwing for about 20 teams, which was the first we’d seen of him since missing all of 2020 after undergoing surgery to address a tear in his right shoulder capsule. The possibility of Sanchez out of the bullpen was an intriguing idea, but Boras is positioning him as a starter.

When Houston acquired Sanchez before the 2019 trade deadline, the pairing seemed like a good fit because of a high-spin hook – and high spin rates being somewhat of a specialty for the Astros. Sanchez’s curve ranked in the 91st percentile for spin rate. In his first start, in fact, Sanchez threw 6 hit-less innings as part of a 4-man no-hitter against the Mariners. Unfortunately, injuries ended his season after just 4 starts with Houston. The 28-year-old has a career record of 34-33 across 150 appearances (96 starts) totaling 589 ⅔ innings with a 3.98 ERA/4.40 FIP, 1.81 K/BB rate, and 9.0 career rWAR.

Pirates To Explore Josh Bell Extension

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Last winter, the Pirates and Josh Bell discussed an extension to keep the hulking first baseman in Pittsburgh long-term, but nothing actionable materialized. Management plans to try again this winter, per the Athletic’s Rob Biertempfel. Bell is represented by Scott Boras, and he is currently set to enter free agency following the 2022 season.

Bell is coming off a relatively disastrous campaign in 2020, and the Pirates would likely look to secure him for a reasonable extension. Biertempfel suggests the two sides could settle on a 3-year deal, allowing the Pirates a little more long-term security, while Bell would still enter free agency in his early thirties.

Bell looked like a surefire franchise player with a .277/367/.569 breakout campaign with 37 home runs and 116 RBIs in 2019. But as much as he impressed with 2019, the inverse happened in 2020 as he stumbled with a triple slash of .226/.305/.364. His year-over-year wRC+ tumbled from 135 in 2019 to 78 in 2020.

The Pirates don’t appear particularly close to contention, and as a small market club, the argument can certainly be made that they should explore trading Bell for prospects. But the Pirates can’t likely get the kind of return they need to move him, so they have to either play out the string until free agency two seasons from now, or try to get an extra year or two or three of control before that moment.

If he bounces back, after all, an extension may only make him more appealing as a trade candidate. Scott Boras seems to prefer to take his clients to their natural free agency, and that remains the likeliest option for Bell. Still, Boras clients have signed arbitration extensions in the past, and given the current uncertainty facing free agents, now might be the right time for the Pirates to strike.

Quick Hits: Trade Deadline, Boras, Lynn, Smith, Padres, Burger

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There’s no doubt the 2020 trade deadline will be the most unusual in baseball history, and The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (subscription required) looks at some of the many unique aspects of the lead-up to August 31.  Everything about how teams evaluate their own rosters, decide on being buyers or sellers, scout other teams’ talent, and potentially spend to acquire that talent will be in flux, plus there are some factors unique to the threat of COVID-19.

For instance, there might have to be some back-channel negotiations with trade candidates to ensure that a player wouldn’t opt out of the season rather than be dealt to an undesirable location.  Just the idea of changing locations whatsoever also carries issues, as Rosenthal notes that intake testing could delay a new acquisition’s arrival to his new team by a few days (no small amount of time in a shortened season), and there is inherent risk in travel and in introducing the health x-factor of an unfamiliar player into a new clubhouse.

In regards to the latter concern, agent Scott Boras contacted Rosenthal with the following message (Twitter link): “So that deadline deals are not impacted by COVID, I am letting all owners know if any of our players are traded and asked to leave their existing teams’ protocols, we have arranged a private jet protocol to allow players to be safely transported (between clubs).”

More from around the baseball world…

  • Rosenthal’s piece also notes that the Rangers have been getting trade interest in Lance Lynn, though a move doesn’t seem likely with Texas battling for a playoff spot.  Lynn theoretically would be a good trade candidate if the Rangers were to fall out of the race, as the veteran is under contract for $8MM in 2021 and has been one of the sport’s best pitchers this season.  After yesterday’s complete-game victory over the Rockies, Lynn has a sparkling 1.11 ERA, 3.00 K/BB rate, and 11.0 K/9 over a league-best 32 1/3 innings.
  • Athletics reliever Burch Smith suffered a right forearm strain during Saturday’s game with the Giants.  (Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle was among those to report the news.)  The hurler will undergo an MRI on Monday and an injured list placement seems inevitable, though the A’s are hopeful that the injury isn’t structural in nature.  Smith allowed three runs in 1 2/3 innings of work tonight, boosting his ERA to 2.25 after he delivered scoreless work over his previous 10 1/3 frames for Oakland.  Smith was dealt from the Giants to the A’s back in February.
  • Tommy Pham and Wil Myers both made early exits from the Padres’ game with the Diamondbacks tonight.  Pham left during the second inning due to cramping in both calves, while Myers left in the fifth inning due to lower back tightness.
  • White Sox prospect Jake Burger is now represented by The Bledsoe Agency, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link).  Picked 11th overall in the 2017 draft, Burger’s young career has been waylaid with injuries, as two torn Achilles tendons and a severe heel bruise have kept him off the field since 2017.  Burger’s switch has been noted in MLB Trade Rumors’ updated Agency Database.

Quick Hits: Bitsko, AFL, Minor League Pay, Boras

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With the draft fast approaching, Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.com profiles Pennsylvania high school right-hander Nick Bitsko, who ranks among the highest-upside pitchers in this year’s class. Bitsko could go anywhere from the top 10 to the late 30s, per McDaniel, who reports that he has recently helped his stock with Zoom interviews and social media videos showcasing his enticing repertoire. While teams haven’t gotten an extensive look at Bitsko in person, McDaniel explains that the 17-year-old features a fastball that reached 98.5 mph last week and has so much spin that it could be near the top of the majors in that category already. Bitsko also has a pair of breaking balls that have the potential to turn into “above-average” offerings in the bigs, according to McDaniel, who goes into greater detail on those pitches in his piece. It’s worth a read for those interested in learning about an intriguing draft prospect.

More from around the game…

  • There may not be any minor league season in 2020, but that could be made up for to an extent with an extended Arizona Fall League campaign. The AFL season usually runs from September to October, but a 2020 version could begin “within weeks” of a potential Opening Day in the majors, Josh Norris and J.J. Cooper of Baseball America report. The MLB and MLBPA would first have to agree to a season, and Norris and Cooper highlight other roadblocks (including financial issues). But if a longer AFL season does come to fruition, all 30 teams would send a roster of prospects to their spring training sites to play games. It’s possible each of those clubs would also have “a second lower level” prospect team, Norris and Cooper write.
  • A few more teams have committed to paying their minor leaguers for at least the next handful of weeks. The Tigers’ farmhands will continue to earn $400 per week, and there’s “no end in sight,” Chris McCosky of the Detroit News tweets. The club’s also not planning to cut any minor leaguers as of now, McCosky adds. The Rockies, meanwhile will pay their minor leaguers through at least June, according to Thomas Harding of MLB.com. The Yankees are taking the same approach as Colorado, James Wagner of the New York Times relays.
  • Super-agent Scott Boras is taking action to make sure his released minor league clients still receive compensation, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network. Boras, who called those releases “completely unanticipated,” will personally pay all of those players their expected salaries for 2020.

AL East Notes: Severino, Red Sox, Snell, Boras

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After undergoing Tommy John surgery during Spring Training, Yankees right-hander Luis Severino tells George A. King III of the New York Post that “things have been progressing well” in the initial stages of the rehabilitation process.  Severino has been working with team trainers at the Yankees’ Spring Training facility in Tampa “since the day after I had my surgery,” and said he has “been making steady progress — lifting, doing exercises.  Since three months ago…I feel way better.  I’m doing everything I need to do right now so that I can start throwing this summer.”

Given the normal 12-15 month timeline attached to TJ recovery, it would be a boon for both Severino and the Yankees if he is able to return by Opening Day 2021 (assuming next season begins as usual in late March), and it’s probably more realistic to assume he’ll miss at least a month of a regularly-scheduled 2021 campaign.  Severino already missed almost all of the 2019 season due to lat and shoulder injuries, tossing only 20 1/3 total innings over the regular season and postseason.

More from around the AL East…

  • Had the season begun as expected, the Red Sox “would have had some tough decisions to get down to 26” players on the Opening Day roster, manager Ron Roenicke tells Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe.  Now, since Major League rosters are expected to be expanded by anywhere from two to four extra players, it “will give us a chance to keep some players we like,” Roenicke said.  This is one small silver lining amidst a wholly unique season that will present many difficulties for all teams, as Abraham outlines how Roenicke is trying to keep his team prepared both in the short term and in preparation of whatever shape the 2020 season (if it happens at all) could take.  Providing updates on a few players, Roenicke said starters Eduardo Rodriguez, Nathan Eovaldi, Martin Perez, and Ryan Weber have been throwing two simulated innings per week in order to stay fresh, with the idea being that the quartet can quickly ramp up to being able to toss five innings by the end of an abbreviated second Spring Training.
  • Rays left-hander Blake Snell recently became the Boras Corporation’s newest client, which agent Scott Boras calls “a great opportunity for us,” the Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin writes.  “We consider him an elite performer who is still at the beginning of his career,” Boras said, noting that his agency’s “resources” in both on-field preparation and off-the-field endeavors make for “a great combination” with Snell.  The southpaw’s contract runs through the 2023 season, and while there isn’t any immediate opening for the Boras Corporation to receive a commission on a future deal, Boras repeatedly dismissed the suggestion that his change in representation could be a step towards finding a new team.  “The main idea right now is that we’re going to work with the team to provide every resource and to make [Snell] a better Ray,” Boras said.

Boras Urges Clients Not To “Bail Out” Owners

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Never one to hold back his thoughts on the economic state of the game, agent Scott Boras recently penned an email to his clients urging them not to concede to further pay cuts — a concession he likens to a “bailout” for owners. Ronald Blum of the Associated Press has the bulk of the email.

“The owners’ current problem is a result of the money they borrowed when they purchased their franchises, renovated their stadiums or developed land around their ballparks,” Boras writes. “…Owners now want players to take additional pay cuts to help them pay these loans. They want a bailout.”

Boras notes that even amid record revenue increases, the average salary of players hasn’t risen in quite some time. Indeed, Blum reported earlier this month that the Opening Day average salary has remained constant at about $4.4MM since 2016 despite steady growth among league revenue and franchise valuations. Similarly, the value of the qualifying offer — determined based on the average of baseball’s 125 highest-paid players — slightly declined in 2019 for the first time since its inception (from $17.9MM to $17.8MM). It had previously risen every year, jumping from $13.2MM in 2012-13 to $17.9MM in the 2018-19 offseason.

To this point, the players’ general stance appears to align with that of Boras. Players are reportedly preparing a counter-proposal for the league that ostensibly ignores the sliding scale mechanism proposed by ownership and instead calls for the previously agreed upon prorated salaries but in a larger slate of games. Max Scherzer, one of eight players on the MLBPA’s executive subcommittee, sounded off against the league’s proposal last night. Notably, Scherzer is one of three Boras clients on that eight-man committee (joined by Elvis Andrus and James Paxton).

While the players are broadly unified in their stance against the sliding scale proposal, they’re not all thrilled with the idea of Boras inserting himself into union matter. Reds right-hander Trevor Bauer, every bit as outspoken as Boras himself (if not more so), blasted the agent on Twitter last night, writing:

Hearing a LOT of rumors about a certain player agent meddling in MLBPA affairs. If true — and at this point, these are only rumors — I have one thing to say… Scott Boras, rep your clients however you want to, but keep your damn personal agenda out of union business.

On the surface, one would imagine that the goals of a prominent agent and a prominent player — particularly a free-agent-to-be such as Bauer — would be largely aligned as the union pushes back against further salary concessions. Bauer himself has made clear several times on Twitter that he, like other players, feels ownership has gone back on its end of the March agreement which stipulated prorated salaries in 2020. Ownership, of course, has contested that the agreement was contingent on fans being in attendance.

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