Posts tagged ScottBoras at FanHouse

There comes a point when being hard-headed stops being useful and starts being stupid. After locking heads with Scott Boras on second overall draft pick Pedro Alvarez's contract for over a month, someone either in the Pirates' offices or in the Alvarez camp realized that refusing to budge was going to keep Alvarez from playing this fall and set his development back a full year. Accordingly, the two sides agreed to a revised deal last night that will get Alvarez into the Pirates' system as soon as possible.

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the deal isn't much different from the originally signed $6 million bonus for a minor league contract beyond the fact that it's now a major league deal, which puts Alvarez immediately on the 40-man roster. The bonus is $6.35 million, but it's payable over four years instead of being immediately due. In the end, it's hard to say one side benefited more than the other.

It's likely that a lot of people will be unhappy with the Pirates because negotiating this deal after the deadline sets quite a precedent for Boras in the future, but the Pirates can't be concerned with that. I mean, have you seen the Pirates play lately? They're terrible. They need all the help they can get and a player of Pedro Alvarez's quality certainly qualifies as "help."

Joe Crede's been rehabbing from his back injury for a long time. Longer than a long time, actually; he's been doing some form of injury rehab or recovery for almost a year now. Maybe more. And things don't seem to be getting any better for him or for the White Sox in the interim.

Apparently, the White Sox have had enough. They've cleaned out Crede's locker at U.S. Cellular Field and don't expect him to return (via MLB Trade Rumors):

The space is blank - as empty as the locker itself. Crede's belongings have been removed from the locker. The Sox aren't talking, but word is the organization, sick of the way Scott Boras seems to have his hand in Crede's drawn-out rehab - some believe he would rather see his client sit than have him risk another injury - has severed ties.

"I don't expect him to play [for us]," Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said.

Despite the headline, I'm not actually sure why the White Sox are so worked up about Crede being influenced by Scott Boras. Sure, everyone hates Scottie, often for good reason -- he oozes self-importance. His purpose in life, what has made him a gazillionaire, is essentially screwing over baseball teams as much as possible.

But that's also what makes him a great agent. If he has advised Crede to sit out rather than risk another long-term injury, well, what do you expect? Of course that's what he's going to do. And Crede's going to listen. Anything else would seem intentionally naive.

Andruw Jones was overweight, hitting .161, and had struck out in 74 of his 205 at-bats so far this season when he went down injured. According to Jones, those numbers are set in stone.

"This year," Jones said, "it's basically over."

He's reacting to the fact that his knee injury flared up again during his rehab assignment. The proverbial writing, however, is also on the wall with Matt Kemp, Manny Ramirez, and Andre Ethier the everyday starters in LA's outfield. At this point you'd even have to consider Juan Pierre ahead of Jones on the depth chart, given Jones' pathetic play in 2008. He knows it:

"If the team needed me and I was the only one who could be out there, I would wrap it up and play," said Jones, who cut short the first of his two rehab assignments to step in for an injured Juan Pierre in early July. "In this situation, we have other guys who have been getting the job done. I'll try not to be in their way."

Good thing for Andruw that his agent, Scott Boras, was able to squeeze an extra year out of the Dodgers ... otherwise he'd be in line for a minor league contract or retirement next year. Either way, the unemployment line is not far off for someone once destined for Cooperstown.

From The Windup is FanHouse's daily, extended look at a particular portion of America's pastime.

There is one name that strikes fear into the heart of baseball fans and it's not Rodriguez or Santana or Sabathia or Ramirez. It's Boras. Signing or drafting a Scott Boras client means that your team is going to be put through every wringer possible as Boras tries to hustle, hassle, and finagle every last dollar out by exposing loopholes in agreements that no one ever even knew existed. At best, it's annoying for the fans to deal with. But a guy like Boras is exactly what baseball needs.

If you're unfamiliar with the most recent Boras saga, allow me to get you up to speed (for all of the details, read Dejan Kovacevic's excellent piece at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's PBC Blog). In June, the Pirates drafted Pedro Alvarez with the second overall pick. After little contact the day of the August 15th deadline, the sides worked out a $6 million signing bonus on the cusp of the midnight deadline. Things got suspicious from there when Alvarez never reported to Pittsburgh for his physical or to sign the contract in person.

After nearly two weeks, word broke last Wednesday that the Pirates had placed Alvarez on the restricted list for not signing his deal and that the player's union (the MLBPA) was filing a grievance alleging that the contract had been signed after the midnight deadline. From there, the finger-pointing started between Boras and Pirates' CEO Frank Coonelly (formerly the MLB General Counsel in charge of draft slotting) with the Royals' first round pick, Eric Hosmer (who signed after the deadline with an extension from the commissioner's office) dragged into the feud.

Remember two weeks ago when the deadline for signing draft picks came and went without a lot of drama from Scott Boras? How it seemed like he caved to the Pirates' and Royals' offers for the second and third picks, Pedro Alvarez and Eric Hosmer? When it comes to Alvarez, at least, things are never that simple with Boras. What seemed to be resolved on August 15th with the Pirates and Alvarez slowly devolved when Alvarez never showed up in Pittsburgh to take a physical and sign his contract. Today, things apparently hit the fan.

The ball got rolling when the MLB Players' Association filed a grievance with the Commissioner's Office (more details being constantly updated here), charging that Alvarez signed his contract after midnight on the 15th. The Pirates responded by refuting that charge and placing Alvarez on the restricted list, saying that Boras had since tried to renegotiate the contract and his client has refused to officially sign the deal that was agreed on in principle the night of the 15th.

What does all this mean? Where does this go? It's a good bet that this is rooted in Boras's dislike of the August 15th signing deadline, even though there's not much being said right now beyond run-of-the-mill finger pointing. As it stands, Boras feels the Pirates signed Alvarez to an illegal contract and the player's union is on his side. The Pirates feel that Boras is posturing for more money and the MLB higher-ups are on their side. A hearing is scheduled for September 10th, but I imagine both sides will have a lot to say before then.

To fans and the media, what a team does in the MLB Draft pales next to a big free-agent signing or blockbuster trade.

Part of that is the gaudy figures thrown around during the hot stove season. The Red Sox, this year's top spender in the draft, couldn't even buy one year of Gil Meche if they shifted their draft outlay to the open market. Most of it stems from immediacy, though. A big winter signing answers the question who will help me today? A big haul in the draft answers who will help me tomorrow, but in most cases tomorrow is years away, if it ever comes at all.

Still, as the cost of free agents escalates, the draft continues to become the most important way to ensure long-term success. With that in mind, and with the deadline to sign picks in the books, here's a look at three teams who won and three teams who lost in the 2008 draft

The August 15th deadline for signing draft picks has created some interesting drama in mid-August that didn't previously exist. With most high draft picks waiting until the 15th to sign, there was a ton of tension as midnight approached last night. One of the most interesting subplots, however, has been how Scott Boras has handled negotiations for his top prospects.

A year ago, he represented Mike Moustakas and Matt Wieters, picked second and fifth overall, respectively. After demanding huge signing bonuses for both of them, it was reported the he called the Royals and Orioles after 11:30 PM and mostly gave in to the teams' demands, with Moustakas signing for $4 miilion with the Royals and Wieters getting $6 million from Baltimore. That's certainly a lot of money, but it's not even close to what Boras had reportedly been asking for.

A similar scenario played itself out last night with second overall pick Pedro Alvarez (picked by the Pirates) and third pick Eric Hosmer (again, the Royals). After reportedly asking the Pirates for an eight-figure signing bonus for Alvarez and a major league contract and a similarly huge bonus and big-league signing contract for Hosmer, both players signed for $6 million bonuses and minor league deals within minutes of the midnight deadline.

So what's the deal? Two years, four demands that Boras has seemingly caved on. Is the superagent losing his touch?

On the surface, everything about Alex Rodriguez's life looks wonderful. He's one of the best players in baseball and is a real threat to break Barry Bonds' hallowed career mark of 762 home runs. He also plays for baseball's most hallowed team, the New York Yankees.

Oh, and he's a gazillionaire. There's just one problem for Alex: He just isn't famous enough. I mean, when was the last time you heard anything about A-Rod? Nobody talks about the guy, which is a shame, and it's probably why Alex has signed a deal with the William Morris Talent Agency.

The William Morris Agency bolstered its sports management business Monday by signing Alex Rodriguez as a client. The New York Yankees star and frequent tabloid piñata will continue to use Scott Boras as his baseball agent and Guy Oseary as his manager.

The global talent agency, which represents Hollywood heavyweights like Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, will work to expand Mr. Rodriguez's portfolio of corporate endorsements. Of particular interest to Mr. Rodriguez, who is not likely to seek another baseball contract, are foreign deals.

"I'm excited to see what we will be able to accomplish together, both domestically and abroad," Mr. Rodriquez said in a statement.

Yes, it's important that Alex gets some endorsement deals overseas because he's going to need money after his soon to be ex-wife takes half his money (did you hear he's getting divorced?). More importantly, though, the William Morris Agency needs to get him some exposure.

Maybe they can hook him up with some celebrity to start dating. That usually does the trick, I mean, look what it did for Tom Brady.

When last we heard, the relationship between Alex Rodriguez and Scott Boras wasn't any better than the relationship between A-Rod and his wife. Word was that Boras's hardline tactics regarding the Yankees weren't appreciated by Rodriguez and the agent wasn't involved in negotiating the deal that brought the two sides back together.

He's back by Rodriguez's side, however, and serving in a heretofore unknown capacity. He was in Toronto over the weekend to play mediator between his client and Cynthia Rodriguez as they shared space for the first time since the public meltdown of their marriage. According to the Daily News, it's unknown if he's trying to help broker a divorce settlement or just convince both sides to keep their dirty laundry out of the tabloids but, either way, the team that barred him from contract negotiations is happy to have him back on the scene.

"He [Boras] seems to be there with the blessing of the Yankees' front office, which is ironic, considering that Boras held up George Steinbrenner for millions," the source said. "But apparently the front office welcomes anyone who can get A-Rod's mind back onto baseball."

I wonder how much he charges an hour for couples therapy? Boras may well have the best of intentions for A-Rod but he's also got a personal horse in this race.

Like him or not, you can't say that Scott Boras is anything but a total advocate for his clients. When Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel called the agent to follow up on yesterday's report of a tax lien against Prince Fielder, he got an earful from the agent.

Boras let it be known in no uncertain terms that he thought I had no business poking into the situation. He said he didn't comment on the personal finances of his clients, which I understood. But he also made inferences during our conversation that made it seem as if the matter was being addressed. Still, he made it clear it could compromise my working relationship with Fielder if I pursued the matter -- a proposition I didn't take lightly.

I don't think Haudricourt is in the wrong. Not paying taxes is a legal issue, just as DUI and sexual assaults are and no one bats an eye when stories about those things are reported in the newspaper. The story was broken and Haudricourt was doing his job as a reporter. Fielder and Boras don't have to like it but they should respect it.

It's hard to imagine Boras would let his client get into hot water with the IRS and this case is likely well on its way to resolution. That makes it hard to understand why Boras wouldn't just say it's being resolved and we have no further comment. Threatening a reporter's access makes it seem like there's more to the story.