Although Spring Training games have been taking place for a week, some of the biggest free agents in the game are still on the market. Blake Snell, Matt Chapman, Jordan Montgomery, and J.D. Martinez are all still free agents seeking large deals with their agent, Scott Boras. A renowned agent for many years, Boras handles the contracts of some of baseball’s biggest stars, like Gerrit Cole and Bryce Harper. While the agent usually gets his way with teams and secures the best possible deals for his clients, his typical approach seems to be lacking this season.
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Despite constantly adding new clients to his never-ending list of stars, Boras does not have the best reputation among teams and owners. Essentially, Boras is known for being one of the best negotiators in the game and usually gets his clients whatever they want. The biggest stars in MLB, yearning for a payday, hire Boras to represent them, which is inevitably frustrating for owners who understand the magnitude of negotiating with him.
However, before this year, there were never any issues like this. Four stars coming off great years have gotten snubbed by 30 major league teams without even rumors swirling about them. While it may be easy to claim owners do not want to negotiate with Boras, there must be more reasons. With a slow market as it is, Major League Baseball cannot afford stars to wait in the wings for this long because it is inevitable that fans will begin to grow impatient.
One of the biggest reasons these stars are still unsigned is Boras’ unwillingness to sign short-term contracts or contracts worth less than he imagined they would be. In 2019, pitcher Dallas Keuchel remained unsigned into the regular season until the Braves offered a one-year deal with enough money for Boras to be interested. Just recently, Cody Bellinger signed a 3-year contract with the Chicago Cubs for $80 million, even though Boras initially told reporters he was seeking close to $200 million in a deal. While both of these deals went against what he usually stands for, Boras is exceptional at analyzing the market, and it is clear that for the issues both players have met, these deals proved worthy. At the end of the day, it’s hard to get mad at Boras for wanting the best for his clients, but at the same time, many have to wonder if it harms the players and their inability to attend pre-spring training workouts, as well as play in the same number of games as their teammates.
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Looking closer at the long list of clients who are still not signed, it is clear there are some reasons why they stay unsigned even during spring training. Most notably, Snell, who won the Cy Young award just last season, has little to no rumors circulating about where he could be signing this season. In eight big league seasons, Snell has often gone on the injured list for fatigue in his left arm, and there is concern about his health in future seasons. Besides rumors of a short-term deal with the Yankees, which many claim is most likely not going to happen, there has not been much conversation about where Snell can sign and if he will get a short or long-term deal.
Coming off of a great season and a championship with the Rangers, Jordan Montgomery is another great pitcher looking for a deal. With Montgomery, many wonder if he can continue this success for years to come since he is 31. Besides early off-season conversations surrounding the Red Sox, there have not been many rumors about where Montgomery will sign and the kind of contract he could receive. However, Montgomery should receive a worthy deal since he has proved he is a solid option for the front-end of any team's rotation.
The situation with Matt Chapman is a little more complex since his bat has significantly declined in the past few seasons. While he was a home run threat in Oakland, Chapman became a glove-first player in his time with the Blue Jays, making his market even smaller than the other Boras clients. While Chapman will continue to be a threatening third basemen for whichever team signs him, there are still concerns about how he will perform at the plate.
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While only time will tell where these stars will end up this season, it is worth noting that Scott Boras will not stop negotiating until he believes a deal is fair. While many fans might become impatient with the market in MLB, there is no deadline for these players to sign. Boras has waited until the start of the season to sign contracts, and there is a very good chance that this year could see multiple free agents signing at the end of Spring Training.
Edited By: Sarah Muñoz
Social Media Content Created By: Jenna Rose Weisenbach
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