Scott Boras Had Just About The Worst Offseason You Can Possibly Have
Major League Baseball super agent Scott Boras has generally been considered the best in the business at extracting every possible dollar for his clients.
Historically, he's represented some of the biggest names in the sport, like Bryce Harper, Jose Altuve and Corey Seager. And in a weak free agency class, outside of all world superstar Shohei Ohtani and Japanese import Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Boras seemingly held most of the valuable commodities for teams looking to improve their rosters.
Blake Snell, coming off a Cy Young winning season in San Diego. A resurgent Cody Bellinger, who had an outstanding first year in Chicago. Jordan Montgomery who helped pitch the Texas Rangers to the World Series. Matt Chapman, one of the game's best defensive third baseman, with a track record of previous offensive success. J.D. Martinez, who hit 33 home runs with a 135 wRC+ for the Dodgers in 2023.
And with Montgomery finally signing with the Arizona Diamondbacks, all five key players finally have new teams. Boras, content to wait teams out in hopes of lucrative, long-term deals for his players, instead completed one of the most disappointing offseasons you can possibly have. How in the world did that happen?
Blake Snell of the San Diego Padres pitches during the first inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 25, 2023 at Petco Park in San Diego, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images)
Boras Clients Forced To Take Short-Term Deals, Try Again Next Year
Every single one of the aforementioned players was reportedly looking for long-term deals to secure the next part of their careers. Every single one of those players wound up effectively accepting a one-year deal instead.
- Blake Snell: 2-years, $62 million with an opt out after the first year
- Cody Bellinger: 3-years, $80 million with player options after each year
- Jordan Montgomery: 1-year, $25 million
- Matt Chapman: 3-years, $54 million with player options after each tear
- J.D. Martinez: 1-year, $12 million
Sure, some of those players have the ability to stay with the same organization past 2024, but those options would only be exercised if they have disappointing years. The best case scenario for each is that they play well enough to return to free agency in the offseason and try again. What a train wreck.
The guaranteed totals, assuming all options are picked up, is just $233 million. Yoshinobu Yamamoto by himself got $325 million. Tyler Glasnow got $135 million. How did Boras misread the market so severely?
That's a question his clients will surely be asking, with teams potentially emboldened by the fact that by not giving into what apparently was unreasonable expectations, they were able to sign Boras clients on team-friendly deals. And make no mistake, these are very team-friendly.
Snell and Bellinger could have taken mid-term deals, with lower yearly guarantees, but more security. They didn't. And now they're playing on yearly "prove it" contracts that could jeopardize their career earnings. And teams get the benefit of short-term commitments to high upside players.
For an agent, that's as bad as it gets. Juan Soto better hope he does better next year, especially after turning down more than half a billion dollars from the Nationals a few years ago.