Giants GM Says He Should Get Medal Of Freedom For Deals With Scott Boras
Scott Boras, as is so often the case, represented a significant number of top MLB free agents heading into the winter. It's now spring, the first regular season game has been completed, and a number of his clients have either just entered camp or still have yet to sign.
Three of his clients though, Blake Snell, Matt Chapman and Jung Hoo Lee, agreed to deals with the San Francisco Giants. And the team's president of baseball operations, Farhan Zaidi, thinks he should be rewarded for coming to multiple arrangements with one of the game's most difficult agents.
At a press conference to introduce Snell to the media, Zaidi opened with a crack about calling the White House to see if he could get a Presidential Medal of Freedom for negotiating three deals with Scott Boras.
He jokes, but uh, should he?
Blake Snell of the San Diego Padres pitches during the first inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates July 25, 2023 at Petco Park in San Diego, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images)
Scott Boras Clients Coming Nowhere Close to Asking Prices
The real story of the Blake Snell 2-year, $62 million deal is that it was at least $200 million below what Boras was asking for at the start of the offseason.
And that's just one of a number of examples of Boras completely misinterpreting the market for his players. Cody Bellinger was reportedly asking for $200 million after a resurgent 2023 in Chicago. Matt Chapman, despite a shaky season in Toronto, wanted $150 million. J.D. Martinez remains unsigned after a productive year in Los Angeles, Jordan Montgomery is asking for well over $150 million, and of course Snell was looking for a massive payday after winning a Cy Young in San Diego.
None of them have been remotely close. Bellinger took $80 million from the Cubs, Chapman got just $54 million from the Giants, and Snell is going to make just over $30 million the next season after turning down the Yankees ~$170 million offer.
That's about as ugly an offseason as you can have.
Larger Structural Problems
In most cases, players outsource their contract negotiations to their agents. Financial demands are based off of the internal agency evaluation, what their agent believes the market to be, and their past performance. Usually in the modern baseball landscape, the valuations between agents and teams are fairly similar, thanks to the advent of widely available advanced statistical analysis that creates a more detailed, comprehensive view of player value.
That has not seemed to be the case with most Boras clients this winter.
He's built up a reputation throughout his career for getting the most money possible for his clients, but in the new era where teams are smarter about their investments and projecting future performance, it doesn't seem to be working nearly as well. Especially with the middle tier, flawed free agents that Boras had available.
J.D. Martinez is 36-years-old and a DH-only, who is just one year removed from a very disappointing offensive season. Snell has won awards, but sandwiched those years with middling, walk-filled mediocrity. Bellinger was non-tendered by the Dodgers after the 2022 season, Chapman struggled in 2023, and Montgomery is not viewed as an ace worthy of a $170 million contract.
When Juan Soto hits free agency? That's a different story. But whatever strategy he entered this offseason with clearly didn't work. And now several players remain unsigned, with Snell nowhere close to built up to start the year. It may work; Snell may prove himself again this year and get a bigger deal if he exercises his opt out. Or, he could get hurt from rushing back, miss most of the year, and have cost himself tens of millions of potential earnings.
Not exactly an enviable position for the reigning Cy Young Award winner.