Scott Boras: Super Agent?

Two days 'til pitchers and catchers - so I've decided to try and resurrect the "Inside Cheez" blog! After taking the winter off, I'm going to attempt to post here at least once a week. We'll see how it goes.

To start things off, in light of Yankees stars Robinson Cano and Nick Swisher signing with "Super Agent" Scott Boras this week, I've decided to rerun a post I made back in November 2008 (with a few changes)...

Boras is widely known as one of the best agents for Major League Baseball players. But should he be? The way I see it, looks out for his own bank account (which is quite considerable) first, and in turn his clients suffer. Here are a few examples to prove my point:

In 1997, middle infielder Rey Sanchez was traded to the Yankees mid-season, and went on to hit .312 over the final two-months of the season. The Yankees offered Sanchez a 3-year, 9 million dollar deal to stay, with Boras instructed him to turn down. The Yankees traded for Chuck Knoblauch days later, and Sanchez had to settle for one year and 1.2 million from Kansas City. He didn't make 9 million dollars total over his 7 remaining years in the Major Leagues.

In 2001, Boras made Alex Rodriguez the highest paid player in Major League history, but at what cost? He had Alex sign in Texas, where he clearly did not want to play, and where he was guaranteed never to win (the Rangers had too much money tied down in one player). While Boras succeeded in getting Alex traded to the Yankees in 2004, and has continued to keep Rodriguez at the top salary in baseball, he has also continued to embarrass him, with stunts like the famous World Series "opt-out" in 2007. Rodriguez ended up negotiating his latest 10-year deal himself.

And in early 2008, while middle-of-the-road starters like Carlos Silva of the Mariners were signing 4-year, 48 million dollar deals - Scott Boras advised pitcher Kyle Loshe to wait it out, and by spring training, Loshe was not signed. He had to settle for a one-year, 4.25 million dollar contract with St. Louis, 43.75 million dollars less than Silva received. Luckily for Loshe, he had a career year in 2008, and signed a 4-year, 41 million dollar contract to stay with St. Louis, undoubtedly against the wishes of Boras, who probably wanted him to hold out for more...again.

I could go on, but you get the idea. While I do believe Boras truly thinks he's looking out for the best interests of his clients, the fact that he's a multi-millionaire with an enormous ego makes him way too overconfident. No matter what teams offer his clients, Boras always holds out for more, and more often than not, the players end up suffering.

Will Robinson Cano and Nick Swisher eventually get their money? Absolutely. But whether they stay in New York, or end up in a city they have no interest in playing in is anyone's guess.

One thing's for sure - if I were a marginal free agent, I'd take the first decent offer I got, no matter what Boras says. That first offer just might be the best offer, but Boras will never be convinced of that. He can get you more money for sure. Just ask Rey Sanchez.