“Super Agent” Scott Boras expressed his passion. Literally, it was horned. According to his strategy, he pointed an arrow at the club for the lack of market conditions he wanted.
In an interview with USA Today on Wednesday (Korea time), Scott Boras squarely criticized the clubs’ moves in the free agent (FA) market. “It’s disheartening. It’s unpleasant. I think the players are getting offers, but the players didn’t like the offers so far,” Boras said. “They have enough money to spend. But they’re not spending what they have to spend to maintain their competitiveness. It’s not that they don’t have the ability to pay, they’ve made the choice to reduce their pay roll.”
Boras has many of the best players in the FA market. His clients include Blake Snell, last year’s National League Cy Young Award winner, Cody Bellinger, who was on the decline after winning the National League MVP award in 2019, Jordan Montgomery, the left-hander who led the Texas Rangers to win the title last year, Matt Chapman, a third baseman who can hit more than 20 home runs, and Korean big leaguers Lee Jung-hoo and Ryu Hyun-jin.
However, except for Lee’s six-year, 113 million-dollar contract with the San Francisco Giants, things are not going as well as Boras thought. Boras mostly employed a protracted strategy. The strategy was to tire the clubs by considering the deadline for negotiations until the spring camp. However, the clubs were not dragged by Boras anymore. Bellinger, who expected to sign a contract worth more than 200 million dollars as the biggest fielder, signed a three-year, 80-million-dollar contract with the Chicago Cubs, his original team. In the first and second years of his contract, he made opt-out conditions, but had to accept a half-closed contract.
Furthermore, Snell, Montgomery, and Chapman have yet to be offered any specific terms of contract. The New York Yankees offered Snell 150 million dollars for six years, but Snell and Boras rejected the offer. After all, Snell has yet to be offered any specific terms. The same applies to other players.
The same applied to Ryu’s negotiation strategy. In November last year, Boras said he was confident that Ryu would throw from the U.S., not from Korea, but made his comeback to the KBO League in 12 years by signing an eight-year contract worth up to 170 won with the Hanwha Eagles. In fact, Ryu was determined to return to the Hanwha Eagles and preferred a one-year contract rather than a multi-year contract. This was different from Boras’ position, in which he had to consider the biggest contract. In the end, however, Boras failed to secure the contract terms that Ryu wanted. In other words, he failed to meet the customer’s needs. It was a mistake made by Boras.
In fact, more money flowed into the FA market this winter than ever before. Shohei Ohtani signed a whopping 10-year, 700-million-dollar contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto also signed a 12-year, 325-million-dollar contract. All of them were terms of the best-ever contract. As a result, however, only the Dodgers opened its wallet.
“The biggest obstacle to the FA market this year is that traditionally high-spending teams have not opened their wallets,” said USA Today. “The New York Yankees, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, San Diego Padres and World Series champion Texas Rangers all spent less than the Kansas City Royals.” “There are 11 teams that are expected to start the season with less pay roll than a year ago, including San Diego, which cut 95 million dollars. This is enough for super agents who have the top five players in the FA market to scream,” he said.
Minnesota owner Joe Pollard was also criticized by the players’ union for expressing his willingness not to sign more than $30 million. Regarding this situation, Boras said, “No one says Major League Baseball is not increasing its income, or clubs are not recording record income.” He stressed that Major League Baseball is booming more than ever, adding, “But clubs are not spending money to strengthen the competitiveness of their team’s power as in the past.”
USA Today reported, “Superstars recalled their owners last week due to a slumping market. Three-time Los Angeles Angels MVP Mike Trout, Yankees MVP Aaron Judge and Boston Red Sox third baseman Raphael Devers all pleaded to use the available players who could benefit the team.”
Boras said, “The players who have dedicated themselves to the franchise are raising their voices. I understand that they share the common goal of winning with the group of owners. But right now, the players are being tested for their commitment to victory in the litmus test,” adding, “The players left in the market are players who can influence the club’s goals and culture. We can change the culture by recruiting one player.”
He also stressed to his clients once again to have an eye on them. “We’re ready to hear everything from short-term contracts to long-term contracts. What I can say is that these players are not looking for contracts that go beyond the market standard. It’s still February,” Boras said, reminding the clubs that they still have a chance to strengthen their power and recruit superstars. Boras also seems to be in a hurry right now.
BY: 토토