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.
Selig Wants Worldwide Draft, Capped Bonuses
Commissioner Bud Selig wants MLB to adopt a worldwide draft and more rigid bonuses for picks when the current collective bargaining agreement expires after 2011, according to Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post. Selig said the Nats and Stephen Strasburg agreed on a "fair" deal, but wants to cap the bonuses draftees receive.
Odds And Ends: Tejada, Varitek, Smoltz
Some afternoon links…
- Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle reports that Miguel Tejada has been led to believe that the Astros pulled him back off waivers after another team claimed him.
- John Tomase of the Boston Herald suggests that the Red Sox need Jason Varitek because he coaxes the best results out of Josh Beckett.
- The Baltimore Sun passes along an AP report saying the Nationals will sell some tickets for $1 Friday to celebrate their deal with first overall pick Stephen Strasburg, who will be introduced to the fans.
- Via Twitter, Jon Heyman of SI.com says John Smoltz found the perfect spot in St. Louis.
- Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes that Smoltz's deal includes post-season awards incentives.
Heyman On Strasburg, Harper, Piniella
Jon Heyman of SI.com says the Nationals made the "acquisition of the year" when they signed Stephen Strasburg 77 seconds before Monday night's deadline to sign draft picks. Nats president Stan Kasten says he's proud to have signed Strasburg even if he's not proud to have agreed to a record-setting deal. Like many others, Scott Boras believes the agreement was good for both sides. Here are the rest of Heyman's rumors:
- Bryce Harper shouldn't come close to Strasburg's $15MM-plus if he signs next year.
- The Rays offered first rounder LeVon Washington $1.1MM. It wasn't enough and Scott Boras was very disappointed not to reach a deal.
- Heyman says there's no way the Cubs fire Lou Piniella after picking up his $4MM option for next year.
- Jerry Manuel shouldn't have picked on Ryan Church, Heyman says.
Odds And Ends: Astros, Halladay, Phillies
More links for Wednesday morning…
- Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle says it's insincere for Astros owner Drayton McLane to act like his team's still in contention.
- As Alex Speier notes, Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi said on WEEI in Boston that it's too soon to tell whether Roy Halladay will hit the trade market again this winter. Once the team has a permanent president and a firm payroll, it will be easier to tell.
- Phil Wood of MASN.com says Mike Rizzo has earned a shot at the permanent Nats GM job.
- Scott Miller of CBS Sports wouldn't be surprised if Lou Piniella decided not to manage the Cubs next year. His contract, which runs through 2010, will surely be his last, Miller says.
- Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. tells MLB.com's Todd Zolecki that he doesn't expect to make a waiver trade, though the Phils have claimed players.
Draft Spending Roundup: Nats Set Record
Some details on the millions of dollars that teams committed to the next wave of talent:
- The Nationals spent more on this draft than any team has ever spent on a single draft, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America.
- Callis ranks the top deals by present value and, not surprisingly, Stephen Strasburg comes out on top.
- So how much did teams spend in total? They spent over $160MM on bonuses for players drafted in the first ten rounds, according to Callis. That's about $1MM more than teams spent on the same group of players last year, but Aaron Crow and Tanner Scheppers could stll sign late. As Callis notes, MLB doesn't have much to show for its efforts to slash bonuses.
- It's possible that this will be a record year for total draft bonuses awarded by MLB teams.
More Draft Pick Signings
Some more signings came in late last night. Here they are, from Baseball America's Jim Callis:
- The Yankees signed 44th rounder Evan DeLuca for $500k.
- The Rangers signed 17th rounder Paul Strong for $300k.
- The Nationals signed 12th rounder Nathan Karns for $225k.
- The Padres signed 17th rounder Jorge Reyes for $200k.
- The Mets signed ninth rounder Jeff Glenn for $150k.
Stephen Strasburg Reactions
There's general agreement that the Nationals and Stephen Strasburg both did well last night. Here are some reactions from around the league:
- Yahoo's Jeff Passan says Strasburg can't just be good. He has to turn the Nationals around the way Ken Griffey Jr. transformed the Mariners 20 years ago.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says Stasburg and the Nationals aren't the only winners. MLB can win if it changes its way of distributing amateur talent when the Collective Bargaining Agreement expires after next season.
- MLB.com's Mike Bauman says this is how the draft should work: the weakest teams select and sign the best talent.
- ESPN.com's Keith Law says the deal's a "clear win" for both sides.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post also believes both sides win.
- Acting GM Mike Rizzo says ultimately Strasburg wanted to play, according to Chico Harlan of the Washington Post.
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.
Nationals Sign Stephen Strasburg
11:39pm: BA's Jim Callis has the contract breakdown. Bill Shaikin and Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times have even further detail.
11:06pm: Baseball America's Aaron Fitt says Strasburg signed a Major League deal worth $15.67MM over four years. Despite all the fears of absurd demands from Boras, the Nationals did well here. Here's MLB.com's scouting report on the San Diego State righty.
11:04pm: This deal is close for $15MM, according to Yahoo's Tim Brown. Of course, the deadline has technically already passed so we're still awaiting word.
10:14pm: Time for a fresh post chronicling the Nationals' attempt to sign first overall pick and Scott Boras client Stephen Strasburg. The latest: SI's Jon Heyman says via Twitter that the Nats are upping their bid from $12.5MM.