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    • Juan Soto “Mona Lisa” Free Agency; Boras on Burnes, Snell
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    Juan Soto “Mona Lisa” Free Agency; Boras on Burnes, Snell

    Umito Posted on

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    SAN ANTONIO — Nearly a quarter-century ago, just five hours away, Alex Rodriguez and his agent Scott Boras shocked the baseball world by signing the richest contract in sports history with the Rangers from Texas.

    Now here we are in the heart of Texas, at the Major League Baseball general managers meetings in San Antonio, where Boras and Juan Soto are trying to recreate another historic deal, this time hopefully with a price tag of about $700 million – eclipsing Rodriguez’s. 10-year, $252 million contract at the 2000 Winter Meetings in Dallas.

    The comparisons are eerily similar, with Soto just 26 two weeks ago and considered the best pure hitter in the game, while Rodriguez was 25 when he signed with the Rangers.

    Soto has a career batting average of .285 with 201 home runs, 592 RBIs and an OPS of .989. Rodriguez had a career batting average of .309 with 189 home runs, 598 RBIs and an OPS of .934 when he entered free agency.

    Rodriguez was considered perhaps the best young free agent to ever hit the market. Boras believes Soto is one of the greatest players in the history of the game at this age, comparing his career to Hall of Famers Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Ken Griffey Jr. as well as Rodriguez.

    The key difference, according to Boras, is Soto’s ability to excel on the biggest stage.

    Rodriguez had only played with the Seattle Mariners, and regularly in only two postseasons, without ever making the World Series.

    Soto, who has played with three different teams, has already appeared in two World Series: winning in 2019 with the Washington Nationals and losing last year with the New York Yankees. He also helped lead the San Diego Padres to the 2022 NLCS. He has 11 homers, 30 RBIs and a .927 OPS in his postseason career, compared to Rodriguez’s three homers and eight RBIs in the postseason before to become free agency.

    “The only thing I’m really happy about is that Juan played in the World Series,” Boras said, “he had some championship moments. I mean, other than the Dodgers and Astros players, Juan has the most at-bats in the playoffs, so he was seen and understood much more than A-Rod when he was a young player, obviously playing in New York and on the New York platform, his character, working with the biggest media markets, everything about Juan is pretty well known.

    “So for a free agent at that age, being around great players, being in great markets, being in championship situations, all those things. It’s like every box is checked, whereas with A-Rod, he didn’t quite have the resume of championship, big city playing, all those things that Juan has.”

    Soto informed Boras that he wanted to meet face to face with the ownership group of each team that coveted him, even Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner, whose toughest competition might come across town with the Mets from New York and owner Steve Cohen.

    “They want to win,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. “They are with us in a great market, have had a taste of success this year and they want to take things even further. The best way to do this is to import quality players to what you already have… Being the last team standing is what it’s all about, trying to find great players and add them to your mix .

    Cohen may have the deepest pockets, worth around $20 billion — making him baseball’s richest owner, according to Forbes — but it’s not like Cashman thinks he It was a two-team race only.

    “Big market owners with deep pockets aren’t the only ones signing players for big contracts,” Cashman said. “You saw the San Diego Padres sitting on the West Coast, they imported a lot of big name players and big contracts and overmatched teams of interest, so it comes in various forms, in different cities and at different moments.

    “The market this time of year is so strong because of all the different aspects of the baseball universe, so we have to do our best to compete with anyone year in and year out.”

    While Soto has certainly enjoyed his time in New York, according to Boras, the biggest selling point will be the team’s plans to compete on an annual basis and its strategy of building around it.

    “Juan loves to win,” Boras said. “Juan Soto wants ownership that he knows will support a winning opportunity every year. It’s remarkable to think of a player from a very humble beginning in the Dominican Republic who, despite all his monetary offers, he received record deals, and his goal has always been: “I want to know who my owner is, I want to know if we’re going to be able to win… If I’m going to commit my career to it I want the owner to devote his resources to it.”

    “And that’s really why Juan Soto became a free agent.”

    While Soto certainly won’t bring the same financial benefits as Shohei Ohtani to Los Angeles, whose 10-year, $700 million deferred contract is paid for through sponsorships from Japanese companies and ticket sales, Boras insists the fact that Soto’s presence will significantly increase the value of the franchise.

    “I think when you have something that no one else has in the gaming community and in the talent arena,” Boras said, “you have the jewel. You have the Mona Lisa of the museum. You have attraction.

    “You also have someone who allows owners to win repeatedly, and when owners win repeatedly, their revenue skyrockets. They’re growing the impact of the playoffs, the attendance, the rights in the streaming world, the international brand having one of the biggest, and it literally has 15 more years to offer. »

    Boras, who spoke for 48 minutes, also touched on a variety of topics involving several other of his high-profile free agents:

    Will Astros sign Alex Bregman?

    Bregman spent his entire career with the Houston Astros and received interest from several teams asking if he would be willing to move to second base, which he is willing to do, Boras said. Bregman recently underwent surgery to remove shrapnel in his right elbow, Boras said, but he will be better in a few weeks.

    While general manager Dana Brown is cautiously optimistic about Bregman’s return — signing him to the richest contract in franchise history — Boras said the Astros had no choice but to sign him again.

    “They clearly understand the rarity of going to four World Series and making the playoffs eight years in a row,” Boras said, “and that he’s the centerpiece of that. They’ve certainly been measuring me throughout the process and their active participation. As for meeting the markets and the demand for this type of player, there simply aren’t many players on the field who do what he does. Plus, Bregman can play second. goal, at third base, his leadership, it’s certainly a market that the Astors are very aware of and that’s very healthy for him.”

    Blake Snell and Corbin Burnes are hot commodities

    While Corbin Burnes is the best free agent pitcher on the market, Boras says interest in Blake Snell, who pitched last season for the San Francisco Giants, increased after his brilliant second half. Snell, who struggled mightily in the first half after signing in late March, went 5-0 with a 1.45 ERA after the All-Star break, allowing just 31 hits while striking out 103 batters on strikes in 68.1 innings.

    “There’s no doubt that the ‘Snelling salts’ created a lot of odor,” Boras joked. “And the market has definitely woken up.”

    Burnes’ stock has also risen, Boras said, after going 15-9 with a 2.92 ERA, pitching for the Baltimore Orioles in the AL East last season after sitting out his first six years with the Milwaukee Brewers.

    “He continues to be a ‘Corbin copy’ of his previous seasons,” Boras said. “It is the basis for having a No. 1.”

    Boras said: “Last year, I think, was more focused on the relief market. This year it is very clear that it is; very focused on the initial market. I think the incumbents will go pretty quickly.”

    Should the LDS be seven games?

    Boras believes the MLB Division Series should be best-of-seven, like the LCS and World Series, instead of best-of-five.

    “The way this playoff structure is rigorous for the first five games,” Boras says, “we have to stop burning out our beautiful young arms by throwing them around in a way we never would over the course of a season.

    “We have a playoff system that really hurts what teams do with their players in their development and how they manage them during the season, throwing them four, five, six days in a row. That’s their future. They’re bringing them up with no serve, and they’re throwing 98 (-mph), but they’re being used in the bullpen… We need to get back to seven (games) for the starters to become the one. uniformity, which we don’t use our young bullpen arms.

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    Umito
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