For the first time in years, Scott Boras entered the MLB offseason under a thundercloud of skepticism and scrutiny.
Last winter, the game’s most notorious and most successful agent had himself an absolute stinker — that is, at least, by his supersonic standards. Boras’ four major free agents in 2023-24 — Cody Bellinger, Matt Chapman, Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery — all emerged with deals well below expectations. The timing of their signings, too, was far from ideal. At the outset of spring training in mid-February, the entire so-called “Boras Four” remained free agents. That timeline seemed to negatively impact both Snell and Montgomery in the early going of the 2024 season.
It was, unequivocally, the worst free agency of the super-agent’s accomplished career. Equally revered and reviled around the game, Boras seemed to be losing his fastball. Whispers percolated around the industry about whether the 72-year-old could still hack it. Montgomery ditched Boras as his representation, publicly criticizing the agent for his handling of the starter’s disastrous experience on the open market.
One glance at Boras’ imposing, star-studded client list for free agency 2024-25 — Juan Soto, Corbin Burnes, Pete Alonso, Blake Snell, Alex Bregman — and the pressure was squarely on the agent to prove that he was still the game’s most influential powerbroker.
Well, so far this winter, Boras has proven that he’s still a force to be reckoned with. January is less than a week old, and thus far this offseason, Boras Corp. has earned its 12 already-signed clients a whopping $1.45 billion in combined guaranteed contract money. That, according to Jon Becker of FanGraphs, accounts for 57% of the total league spending so far this winter.
Of course, more than half of that figure belongs to Soto, whose record-shattering, 15-year, $765 million deal was undeniably an all-time moment in the sport. Sure, the circumstances around the slugger’s free agency were uniquely ripe to push the price into otherworldly stratospheres. And yes, my high school buddies and I seemingly could have gotten $600 million out of Mets owner Steve Cohen for Soto. But there’s no question that Boras took advantage of the situation at play, expertly playing the two enormous, free-wheeling New York franchises against each other to his and Soto’s immense benefit.
Finding a way to insert an opt-out after five years was another masterstroke. Either Soto will hit free agency again after his age-30 season, or the Mets will raise the final tally on his earnings north of $800 million. Soto clearly wanted an ungodly heap of money, and Boras made sure that happened.
But Boras’ shepherding of Corbin Burnes’ free agency was arguably an even more impressive effort. Burnes, who hit the market as the top pitcher available, garnered interest and hefty offers from predictably eager-to-spend clubs such as Toronto and San Francisco. But the 30-year-old, who lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, expressed a desire to play for the nearby Diamondbacks. The Snakes, until late in the process, were not involved in the Burnes sweepstakes. What’s more, the Diamondbacks have a checkered track record of signing free-agent pitchers to big money, including Montgomery the year prior.
That Boras was able to make that recent history fade into the background while securing $210 million from a team without a top-flight payroll, all the while ensuring Burnes has an opt-out after year two that could allow him to reenter the market still in his prime? That’s what we call a good bit of business.
Snell’s contract, too, must be considered a total success. After failing to find a substantial multi-year commitment coming off a Cy Young season last winter, Snell (and Boras) landed a five-year, $182 million deal with the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers. It took a year longer than most people expected, but the goateed southpaw found the long-term home he was looking for.
But while the offseason so far has been stellar, Boras’ two most daunting clients — Pete Alonso and Alex Bregman — remain unsigned.
Boras is likely seeking a figure in the $200 million range for Bregman, who has expressed a willingness to switch positions depending on the team fit. But while that might make him a more attractive addition for a team already settled at the hot corner, Bregman’s market has been slower to develop. It hit something of a speed bump earlier this month, when the Astros signed first baseman Christian Walker and traded for third baseman Isaac Paredes, effectively ending Bregman’s memorable nine-year run in the Space City.
That move took the Astros out of the Bregman sweepstakes, meaning Boras has one fewer team to play off the others. Possible suitors remaining include the Red Sox, Tigers and Mets, but with each passing day, it looks less likely that Bregman will receive the seventh year he’s likely hoping for.
Alonso, too, is likely lingering on the market because of years. As one of the game’s top slugging first basemen, he is understandably looking for four or five guaranteed seasons. But clubs might be hesitant to give a plodding, poor-gloved first baseman over the age of 30 a long-term commitment. A return to the Mets still makes the most sense, but how much coin Boras can squeeze out of Steve Cohen will tell us a lot about what kind of leverage he had in regard to Alonso.
There’s still a chance that either Bregman or Alonso stays out there for too long, like a browning banana on the kitchen counter, and finishes the offseason with a deal below expectations. But while such a thing has occurred with Boras clients in the past, it’s still too early to go doom and gloom on the duo. It’s the first week of January; time remains for Boras to conjure up another magic trick.
And even if he doesn’t, it has already been quite a loud bounce-back from the game’s most defiant, polarizing and, yes, lucrative player agent.