Baseball superagent Scott Boras had an unusually difficult winter. Five of his star clients — Chicago Cubs outfielder Cody Bellinger, New York Mets designated hitter J.D. Martinez, San Francisco Giants third baseman Matt Chapman, and pitchers Blake Snell (San Francisco) and Jordan Montgomery (Arizona Diamondbacks) — did not have a contract when the calendar turned to 2024.
Boras, 71, has negotiated nearly $4 billion in player contracts in his career. One slow winter for free agents (offseason spending fell from $5.4 billion to $4.0 billion, according to Sportico) is a small bump in a long road.
Still, it was noteworthy when Montgomery switched representation earlier this month, firing Boras and hiring Joel Wolfe and Nick Chanock of Wasserman. Many wondered if other Boras clients would follow suit.
Not Bellinger.
According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Bellinger has heard the criticisms of his agent but is choosing to stand pat.
“I got a lot of people asking,” Bellinger told Nightengale, “but I’m not leaving him.”
Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images
The report claims Bellinger and Boras were seeking more than $100 million in excess of the $80 million Bellinger will receive over the next three years. The gap between what players were seeking, and what major league owners were willing to spend, was the primary driver in leaving Bellinger and Boras’ other top players unsigned for so long.
When the Diamondbacks announced they had signed Montgomery, Boras addressed local reporters, blaming his clients’ underperformance to the market and unwillingness of owners to compete.
“The ebbs and flows of owner spending in a CBA in a five-year period, you know that there’s going to be [large] fluctuations,” Boras said. “There’s been a dramatic difference in the competitiveness and aggressiveness of owners to win.”
While Montgomery is off to a fine start this season (he threw six innings and allowed one run in his debut Friday against the Giants), the other Boras holdouts have struggled to varying degrees.
Martinez has yet to play for the Mets because of a back injury. Chapman is hitting .225 with a .281 on-base percentage. Snell is 0-3 with an 11.57 ERA. Bellinger is hitting .222, but he’s made up for his lack of hard contact with 11 walks and 15 RBIs, both of which lead the Cubs.
Bellinger suggested to Nightengale that the late start to his season — not his agent — deserves blame.
“It’s tough when you’re starting behind everyone else,” Bellinger said. “I always did as much preparation as I could during the winter, but the game itself is difficult. You just do what you can to make the adjustments. April is always hit or miss. It’s a crazy month. Some guys come out hot, some don’t. I’ve got to make that adjustment. It’s a hard game.”
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.