12/15/08

The Talented Scott Boras

It's fairly well known throughout the baseball world that Scott Boras is very good at getting lots of money for his clients. I want to point out what is going on in baseball right now. Mlb.com is reporting that the Yankees will make a play for Mark Teixeira or Manny Ramirez. Just so you know, don't count on it. Boras somehow always can manipulate the truth and the media into saying that there are more teams bidding for a player than there really are. He has mlb.com saying the Yanks are in on Tex and Manny, his two premiere clients. By doing this he puts pressure on the other bidders to increase their bids of those two, then he can get the most possible cash for his clients and himself. It's pretty impressive that he can do this year after year. We all know I'm not ecstatic about signing either of those two, and with good reason, but I also don't expect it. The Yankees have said they want to keep payroll down to $180mm or so. And adding a $20mm+ player isn't going to let them do that.
The Yanks aren't going to say that they're out of the Teixeira or Manny bidding because then the team that signs them won't have to give up as much. In all likelihood Tex will be a Red Sock, so by staying in the bidding, or having Boston think we're a strong bidder, he'll end up asking for more money and more years from them, and they'll probably give him what he asks. I don't want Boston to get Tex, but if they do I want him to cost a boatload of money and be signed well into his declining years. Same thing goes if he signs with Anaheim. With Manny I think his only serious suitors will be the Dodgers, Angels, and Jays. The Dodgers are looking for starting pitching and a shortstop as well. If they spend money on Manny and a shortstop(Orlando Cabrera or Rafael Furcal) that's money they can't spend on pitching. The Yanks would like one more pitcher, and without the Dodgers in the bidding we can get him at a discount. If the Angels sign Manny or Tex, then maybe next year they won't be able to afford to bring back John Lackey, or Chone Figgins, or maybe they won't be able to make a bid for Matt Holliday. You see what I'm getting at? The Yankees' funds aren't just powerful in signing player, they're intimidating. By not denying that we are a bidder for the two premiere free agents, their prices automatically go up. That's good for us, that's good for Scott Boras, and it's good for the player, and even more importantly it's a bummer for the other team. So don't buy into our supposed run at Tex and Manny, it''s just Scott Boras doing his job perfectly.

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