Whether you love or hate Scott Boras (and we have a reasonable idea where much of the ticket-buying public stands), it’s only fair to give the man his due for his ability to take a wrecking ball to the conventional wisdom.
Jayson Werth’s $126 million contract with Washington was roughly 30 percent above industry predictions, and you won’t find many people who envisioned Adrian Beltre signing an $80 million guaranteed deal with Texas with a chance to earn $16 million more. Carlos Gonzalez just signed a seven-year extension with Colorado, and all Boras needs to do now is find a home for closer Rafael Soriano to get his top-tier free agents off the board.
After that, his job-placement skills will really be put to the test.
With the possible exception of fifth starters and middle relievers, no group is more abundant this winter than veteran hitters in their twilight years. And no agent represents a more intriguing set of players than Boras, who has the task of finding homes for Manny Ramirez , Johnny Damon and Andruw Jones. That’s three players in their mid-to-late 30s who might not make the Hall of Fame, for various reasons, but all deserve to be included in the discussion.
As the past few winters have shown, aging hitters with waning skills often have to scramble for employment. Jermaine Dye turned down a $3 million offer from the Chicago Cubs last year and hasn’t been heard from since. Gary Sheffield recently made overtures to play for his hometown team in Tampa, failed to receive a follow-up phone call from the Rays and pronounced himself a “little disrespected” and “99.9 percent sure” he would retire.
And then there are Vladimir Guerrero and Jim Thome, a pair of SFX clients who put up big numbers last year and are still looking for work.
That doesn’t stop Boras from talking about Ramirez, Damon and Jones as if we’ve time-traveled back to 2005. He describes them as upper-echelon players who have the ability to win games, sell tickets and positively affect global warming and world peace.
“These guys are star players,” Boras said. “They’re championship-caliber players. Owners and general managers know they have extraordinary abilities, and they can be a force in the locker room and around young players. Those are things that most veteran players don’t offer.”
Manny as mentor and clubhouse healer? Who knew?
Regardless of the industry perception, the math is daunting. Only 14 of the 30 MLB teams employ designated hitters, and many of those spots are already filled. You can file the Chicago White Sox (Adam Dunn), Boston (David Ortiz), Cleveland (Travis Hafner), Kansas City (Billy Butler), New York Yankees (Jorge Posada), Baltimore (Luke Scott), Oakland (Hideki Matsui) and Detroit (Victor Martinez and Magglio Ordonez) as teams that appear set at the position. That’s eight off the board right there.
In addition, Toronto (Adam Lind or Edwin Encarnacion) and the Los Angeles Angels (Mike Napoli and Juan Rivera) seem content with what they have in-house, and Seattle is operating on a tight budget and appears ready to go with Jack Cust and Milton Bradley. That leaves Texas and Minnesota, which are both courting Thome, and Tampa Bay, which is seriously looking for a DH for the right price.
What constitutes the “right price” for Ramirez and Damon?
“You have to understand these guys bring lot of attention to the ballpark in fan identity and TV ratings, so signing these types of players has a grand benefit to the marquee of the franchise,” Boras said. “That generates income which more than pays for these players.”
Translation: We might be waiting until Valentine’s Day or beyond for an answer.
What does 2011 hold for the Boras trio? ESPN.com talked to a bunch of scouts and front-office people who gave their thoughts:
Johnny Damon
He is universally regarded as a fine teammate and a hard worker, so the intangibles work in his favor. He also has enjoyed a more accomplished career than a lot of people realize. With 20 more runs scored, Damon will have 1,584 runs and move from 51st place to 48th on baseball’s career list. The three players he’ll pass: Tim Raines, Rogers Hornsby and George Brett. Manny Ramirez Johnny Damon And Andruw Jones All Need Homes Espn
