Scott Boras

Red Sox Notes: Bogaerts, Wong, Vazquez, Contreras, Heaney

By Mark Polishuk | December 6, 2022 at 4:50pm CDT

“No progress towards a deal was made” when the Red Sox and Xander Bogaerts’ agent Scott Boras met yesterday, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe writes. Earlier reports suggested that other teams had pulled ahead of the Sox in the race to sign the All-Star, though chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said Bogaerts was still a major priority for the club.

As one might expect, Boras highlighted the amount of interest his client is generating from multiple teams, while not closing the door on any other suitor. In regards to the Red Sox, Boras said “I just know we continue to talk and have dialogue and continue the process with them. The Red Sox, they kind of have four-star ownership. These guys have proven over time that they win and they pursue winning….I think everyone around them understands the Sox without ‘X’ are So-So.”

While puns are part and parcel of the Boras experience, his agency’s general policy against letting a player’s former team make a so-called final offer is also notable in regards to Boston’s chances. “We’re not the matching kind. We let teams know that they have to assert,” Boras said. “We don’t ever hold back from reaching an agreement with any team and certainly we don’t give market preference to anyone. Otherwise, I think the free agent right would be dampened if you did.”

It remains unclear if re-signing Bogaerts is still a realistic proposition for the Red Sox, and many of the team’s actions over the last year (i.e. the signing of Trevor Story, or a low extension offer to Bogaerts last spring) would seem to suggest that the Sox are preparing for a future without Bogaerts on the roster. Another hint could be Boston’s interest in Kolten Wong, as The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier reports that the Sox had some talks with the Brewers before Wong was dealt to the Mariners.

A source tells Speier that if the Red Sox had traded for Wong, “it 100 percent would not have taken [them] out of the market” to re-sign Bogaerts. The Sox would have hypothetically used Bogaerts, Story, and Wong in the middle infield mix, or possibly even flipped Wong to another team in a trade if Bogaerts had indeed been re-signed. While Wong seems overqualified for such a part-time role, “the Sox want to explore opportunities to add high-end depth” after injuries hampered the position-player mix in 2022.

If Bogaerts’ future in Boston is still up in the air, another familiar face might be a possibility for the team, as MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter link) reports that the Red Sox were meeting today with Christian Vazquez’s agents. Cotillo did note that this meeting might not directly involve Vazquez, as MDR Sports Management also represents several other players, including free agent catchers Robinson Chirinos and Roberto Perez.

Reese McGuire and Connor Wong are Boston’s incumbent catchers heading into the 2023 season, with prospect Ronaldo Hernandez and recent waiver claim Caleb Hamilton also in the mix. It would seem like the Sox are at least exploring the market for more help behind the plate, given how Boston has been mentioned as one of the many teams with trade interest in the Athletics’ Sean Murphy. However, Cotillo reports that there is “nothing going on” between the Red Sox and the top catcher on the free agent market, Willson Contreras.

Andrew Heaney was also on Boston’s radar this offseason, and Cotillo tweets that the Sox were one of the many teams who made the left-hander a contract offer. The Red Sox fell short, however, as Heaney opted to sign with the Rangers for two years and $25MM in guaranteed money.

NL West Notes: Bellinger, Longoria, Diamondbacks, Johnson

By Mark Polishuk and Maury Ahram | November 13, 2022 at 4:19pm CDT

With former MVP Cody Bellinger projected to earn $18.1MM in his last year of arbitration eligibility, there has been plenty of speculation that the 27-year-old might not be tendered a contract. Los Angeles president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman was non-committal about Belllinger’s situation, telling reporters (including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register) that the Dodgers “still very much believe in Belli’s ability,” and that the club has “time to work through what everything looks like” prior to Friday’s deadline.

Unsurprisingly, Bellinger’s agent Scott Boras was quick to downplay the idea of a non-tender, as Boras highlighted his client’s excellent defense, throwing arm, baserunning ability, and age (27). “You just don’t find talents like this….It’s really about getting his strength back so he can repeat his skill level,” Boras said, noting the injuries that may have caused Bellinger’s huge dropoff at the plate over the last two seasons. Bellinger has hit only .193/.256/.355 in 900 plate appearances since the start of the 2021 campaign. However, both Boras and Friedman pointed to the idea that a normal and healthy offseason could help Bellinger get on track, as Bellinger’s regular work with the Dodgers’ hitting coaches and conditioning staff was interrupted last winter by the lockout.

Other notes from around the NL West…

Evan Longoria said last month that the Giants, Rays, and Diamondbacks were his preferred destinations for his final season, with the D’Backs listed alongside Longoria’s two former teams because the veteran third baseman has a home in Arizona. As such, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports that the Diamondbacks are indeed expected to check in on Longoria in free agency. The 37-year-old has hit a solid .252/.333/.466 with 27 homers since the start of the 2021 season, but injuries have limited Longoria to 589 PA and 170 games. Josh Rojas’ versatility would allow for Longoria to get some time at third base and at DH, and the D’Backs are looking for right-handed hitting in general. As Piecoro notes, Longoria has some extra appeal as a veteran leader on a young team.
Also from Piecoro’s post, Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen told reporters that “we have had half the league, at least, talk about our outfielders.” With so many left-handed hitting young outfielders on the roster, it isn’t surprising that teams are eager to discuss trades about Arizona’s surplus. However, Hazen quieted rumblings that a trade would occur soon, saying “we’re just starting to get a handle on what type of offers we could make and what makes sense for us to help our major league team.”
It doesn’t appear as though Pierce Johnson will re-sign with the Padres, a source tells Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Elbow tendinitis cost Johnson most of the 2022 campaign, as he pitched only 14 1/3 innings over 15 appearances in the regular season and then 4 1/3 more frames during the playoffs. The 31-year-old Johnson had strong (3.09 ERA, 32.1% strikeout rate) numbers over 78 2/3 innings in 2020-21, albeit with a high 11.1% walk rate. Since San Diego seems to be moving on, Johnson and his excellent curveball could be an intriguing bounce-back target for the many teams looking for bullpen help in free agency.

Matt Chapman Rejected 10-Year, $150MM Offer After 2019 Season

By TC Zencka | March 19, 2022 at 3:16pm CDT

Before hip surgery knocked Matt Chapman out of the 2020 playoffs, the A’s had offered their superstar third baseman a 10-year extension worth $150MM, writes The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. After the hip injury, rejecting that offer was a decision that caused some second-guessing on Chapman’s part. Some two years after Oakland attempted to extend Chapman, the offer exists only as a comparative tool.

Chapman will play out his remaining arbitration seasons in a Toronto Blue Jays uniform. The Jays maintain team control over Chapman for the 2022 and 2023 seasons, after which the Scott Boras client can head to free agency to test open waters. Rosenthal crunched the numbers and found that Chapman will need to essentially sign a six-year, $122MM deal when he reaches free agency to make his decision to reject the extension look like a wise one. That’s doable if he’s able to stay healthy.

On the field, Chapman was healthy again in 2021, and again a Gold Glove Award winner at the hot corner. He ranked tied for fourth among third baseman in defensive runs saved by The Fielding Bible awards in 2021.

His offense, however, didn’t quite return to its previous heights. With a .210/.314/.403 line across 622 plate appearances, Chapman’s 101 wRC+ was the lowest mark of his career, though certainly a respectable enough number when paired with first-rate glovework. Being another season away from hip surgery could help Chapman rebound further in 2022, and playing his home games away from the Coliseum won’t hurt either.

At least for the next two seasons, Toronto should have a productive regular on a short-term, relatively valuable deal. MLBTR’s projected arbitration figure for 2021 is $9.5MM, an exceedingly affordable price of admission to watch Chapman man the hot corner day-in-and-day-out.

He’ll essentially take over for Marcus Semien as the veteran superstar tasked with playing alongside young star Bo Bichette. Chapman’s addition has the additional effect of sliding Cavan Biggio back to the keystone. As good as Chapman has been in the past, he has big shoes to fill after Semien posted near-MVP numbers during his one year in Toronto.

And while Chapman’s personal narrative may, in part, be tied to the measure of team success this version of the Blue Jays is able to achieve, in reality, there are too many individual threads tied to this Toronto team to attribute much of their future success or failure to Chapman alone.

Chapman’s personal narrative – and his future contract negotiations – will tie much more directly to three factors: personal health, on-field performance, and, likely, the shape of the free agent landscape two offseasons from now. As of right now, it would appear likely that the Chapman-Toronto alliance will last for just two seasons before he hits free agency.

A long-term deal can’t be ruled out, of course, but odds are against it. For one, Boras prefers taking his clients to free agency. Second, the Blue Jays have other players (namely, Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.) who are going to require long-term commitments that will add to a payroll already weighted down with a chunky deals for Jose Berrios, Kevin Gausman, and George Springer. Thirdly, top prospect Orelvis Martinez is quickly rising through the ranks, and he may be ready to take over sooner rather than later.

All that being said, if the feel-good Blue Jays continue to feel good, Chapman may like playing in Toronto. It’s worth wondering, as well, if Chapman’s injury and previous extension rejection will change his feelings about another such offer, should Toronto choose to make one. At worst, the Blue Jays and Chapman have two seasons to enjoy one another’s company. Then we can find out whether Chapman made the right financial decision in rejecting Oakland’s extension offer.

Quick Hits: Alfonzo, Correa, Clark

By James Hicks | January 20, 2022 at 2:59pm CDT

Longtime Queens fan-favorite Edgardo Alfonzo has been hired to manage the Staten Island Ferry Hawks of the independent Atlantic League, reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network. The move to Staten Island actually checks a third of New York City’s five boroughs off of Alfonzo’s professional checklist; in addition to his eight seasons playing for the Mets, Alfonso joined the High-A Brooklyn Cyclones in 2014 as Tom Gamboa’s bench coach, eventually managing the Mets affiliate for three seasons following Gamboa’s retirement. He also played briefly for three other New York-area teams: the Long Island Ducks, the Bridgeport Bluefish, the Newark Bears, all also of the Atlantic League.

After eight productive seasons in Queens shuffling between second and third base (and occasionally shortstop), Alfonzo signed a three-year, $18MM deal with the Giants ahead of the 2003 season. He split 2006, his final big-league season, between the Angels and the Blue Jays, logging only 95 plate appearances between the two. For his career, the infielder posted a .283/.357/.425 batting line across twelve major league seasons.

Other news from around the game:

Slugging shortstop Carlos Correa, MLBTR’s number one free agent, recently hired Scott Boras to represent him as he looks to secure a $300MM+ payday after a new CBA is reached, and Boras doesn’t seem to have ruled out the Astros as the team that could pony up. Though reports are that the Astros’ best offer came in at five years and $160MM and that owner Jim Crane has insisted he won’t go beyond six years with the star free agent, Boras tossed out a few comments clearly pointed at the Houston brass, telling reporters that the Astros have “been at the championship level for three or four years and…can continue for six or seven if they are able to retain those true core pieces of All-Star level talent” (quotes from Mark Berman of Houston’s Fox 26). Correa is reported to have turned down a ten-year, $275MM offer from the Tigers before the lockout. Should Correa be forced to settle for a shorter-term deal, it’s likely he’ll insist on an opt-out clause that would allow him to return to the market as soon as next offseason.
The Royals have hired former Braves chief of scouting Roy Clark as a senior advisor for baseball operations, the club announced Wednesday. Clark had already been scouting for the Royals in an informal, part-time capacity, but the new role puts him back into the office with Royals president of baseball operations and longtime friend Dayton Moore. Moore actually owes his career in professional baseball to Clark, who recommended him for a scouting job in John Schuerholz’s front office in 1994, when Moore was a coach at George Mason University. Moore was hired as the Royals’ GM in 2006, and Clark left the Braves to join the Nationals in 2009. While with the Braves, Clark had a hand in scouting and signing an impressive roster of future big-leaguers, including Adam Wainwright, Jason Marquis, Brian McCann, Charlie Morton, Craig Kimbrel, Jason Heyward, and Freddie Freeman.

Carlos Correa Switches Agencies, Hires Boras Corporation

By Darragh McDonald | January 18, 2022 at 10:50pm CDT

Free agent shortstop Carlos Correa has switched agencies and is now a client of Scott Boras and the Boras Corporation, according to Mark Berman of Fox 26. Correa had previously been represented by William Morris Endeavor.

Going into the offseason, Correa was widely considered to be part of a two-headed top of the free agent class, along with Corey Seager. Both offered similar appeal to prospective teams, as both shortstops entered free agency at the age of 27 and offered elite production on both sides of the ball. MLBTR placed Correa at the top of the annual Top 50 Free Agents, projecting him for a contract of $320MM over ten years, with Seager just behind in the number two slot and a projection of $305MM over ten years. Seager, represented by the Boras Corporation, beat his projection when the Rangers signed him to a ten-year deal worth $325MM. Correa, meanwhile, did not find a contract to his liking before the lockout and remains a free agent.

Back in September 2019, Correa took the unusual step of hiring WME to represent him, despite the fact that they were more of a show business agency and did not have longstanding MLB agents at that time. Back in September 2021, it was reported that the company was still trying to expand its baseball operations, hiring former Angels general manager Billy Eppler, along with some agents who had previously been with Excel Sports Management and CAA. (Eppler subsequently left WME to become general manager of the Mets.)

However, the most recent news surrounding the agency had been their parent company Endeavor’s attempts to purchase a variety of minor league teams, something which drew the ire of the MLBPA. In a report from Evan Drellich of The Athletic last week, he noted that the union had “warned WME Sports player representatives that they risk losing their certification as agents unless they divest themselves from the company.” MLBPA is in charge of agent accreditation and their regulations prohibit agents from acquiring or holding financial interests in professional baseball teams unless authorized by the MLBPA to do so. There is no evidence that the situation regarding WME and their minor league investments had anything to do with Correa’s departure, nor did Correa offer an explanation for his choice other than to praise the Boras Corporation’s expertise and experience.

Now Correa will exit the lockout with the sport’s most high profile agent in his corner to help him navigate what is widely expected to be a chaotic frenzy of activity, as teams and players try to finalize deals in the short window between a new CBA being signed and a new season beginning. Boras figures to have his hands full in that time, as he also represents other notable free agents, such as Nick Castellanos, Kris Bryant and Carlos Rodon.

Marcus Semien Switches Agencies, Hires Boras Corporation

By Mark Polishuk | October 28, 2021 at 2:41pm CDT

Marcus Semien has changed his representation just before he hits free agency, as the infielder is now a client of The Boras Corporation, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link). Semien joins a prominent list of Scott Boras clients on the open market this winter, including Max Scherzer, Kris Bryant, Nick Castellanos, Carlos Rodon, and another big-name shortstop in Corey Seager.

It remains to be seen if Semien will play shortstop, second base, or perhaps a bit of both following his year as the keystone for the Blue Jays, though needless to say, he’ll have plenty of options available after an outstanding 2021 campaign. Semien hit .265/.334/.538 with 45 home runs over a league-high 724 plate appearances, setting a new MLB single-season record for most home runs hit by a second baseman.

After breaking out with a superstar-level year in 2019, Semien didn’t hit well over the first six weeks of the abbreviated 2020 season, leaving him with only a .223/.305/.374 slash line in 236 PA. That proved detrimental to Semien’s market in his first trip through the free agent market last winter, and he chose to bet on himself by signing a one-year, $18MM deal with Toronto, in order to better position himself for a better long-term contract this offseason.

That strategy ended up working like a charm for Semien, and he has lined himself up for a healthy nine-figure deal this time around. Even in a market loaded with top-tier shortstops, Semien is still projected to land one of the top contracts of any free agent in the 2021-22 class. Semien is entering his age-31 season, but a guarantee of five or perhaps even six years seems feasible, considering how incredibly durable Semien has been throughout his career.

For Toronto fans worried that the agency change will make a return to the Jays less likely, it should be noted that the Blue Jays signed another major Boras client in Hyun Jin Ryu just two years ago. Negotiating with Boras shouldn’t necessarily change the equation too much for the Jays, as the club already knew that re-signing Semien would come with a hefty price tag. Team president Mark Shapiro recently said the Jays had interest in retaining all three of their top free agents (Semien, Robbie Ray, Steven Matz), and some more money is expected to become available in the form of a payroll increase.

Soto Expects To Go “Year By Year” With Nationals

By TC Zencka | August 7, 2021 at 10:26am CDT

On their way to back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 2010-2011, the Nationals have for the first time in a long time turned their attention to the future. If they are able to successfully pull of a “retool” — thereby avoiding the dreaded “rebuild” — it will likely be fueled by the rapid development of a stable of young players that includes Victor Robles, Luis Garcia, Carter Kieboom, Keibert Ruiz, Cade Cavalli and Josiah Gray.

In trading away veterans at the deadline, the Nationals targeted more advanced prospects like Ruiz and Gray for the express purpose of keying a quick turnaround. That’s because Juan Soto remains on the roster, and if they plan on signing the all-world outfielder to a contract extension, the Nats will want to avoid a drawn-out rebuild. Soto is under team control for three seasons beyond this one, and as a Scott Boras client, he’s unlikely to sign long-term.

Soto said as much recently, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post. When asked about the possibility of extending, Soto said, “I’m going to try to take it year by year. I’m just going to keep playing baseball, not think about contracts or whatever … right now, I was a little frustrated, but I have to concentrate on the field, on how to be better for myself and my teammates. If they want to talk to my agent, they can talk to him. But let me play.”

The Nationals are better equipped than many clubs to handle the uncertainty of Soto’s long-term future because of their relationship with Boras. They’ve gone down this road before with Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon, and Stephen Strasburg. And while one view might notice that two of those three players left for other organizations, it’s also important to note that the team did bring Strasburg back on a monster $245MM deal. Besides, with Scherzer’s contract off the books and a Trea Turner extension no longer something they need to worry about, the Nats have long-term money to spend.

They’ll still need to convince Soto that Washington is where he wants to be. To that end, they should have a leg up on the competition. He has, after all, already won a World Series in DC, and with the Nats’ history of spending and pushing for competitive ball clubs, one would think Soto could envision an enviable long-term future.

On the Nats’ side, there’s the lingering question of how aggressively the Nats will work to make Soto a lifelong National. The Nats tend to put their money behind pitching — hence the long-term deals for Strasburg, Scherzer, and Patrick Corbin, while Harper, Rendon, and Turner have all been shown the door.

Soto, however, might be a generational player even beyond that star-studded threesome. On the one hand, there are few players in the game as talented as Harper, Rendon, and Turner. But on the other hand, Soto might just be one of those guys, and his youth makes him all the more likely to garner a “lifetime” contract like those mega deals signed by Manny Machado, Mookie Betts, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Harper himself.

What might be worrying for Nats’ fans is that Harper’s a pretty darn good career comp for Soto, and while they made an earnest effort to re-sign Harper, they were ultimately okay with letting him walk.

At the very least, Nats apologists can point to Strasburg and Ryan Zimmerman as two players they were intent on keeping – and did. From a personality standpoint, Soto’s understated confidence and humility might fall more in line with Strasburg and Zim than the more vivacious Harper.

If Washington feels about Soto the way they have about Stras and Zim, he should be a National for life. Regardless, it doesn’t look like we’ll know for sure until the winter following the 2024 season.

NL East Notes: Conforto, Martin, Haseley

By Mark Polishuk | April 4, 2021 at 10:01pm CDT

Extension talks between Michael Conforto and the Mets “have yet to grow serious,” according to MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo, who also reports that the two sides never got to the point where numbers were exchanged. An earlier report two weeks ago stated that the Mets made an initial offer to Conforto, though both items aren’t necessarily contradictory — it could be that the Mets never got an official counter-offer back from Conforto’s representatives at the Boras Corporation, or perhaps the Mets’ offer was more exploratory in nature. Regardless, it remains to be seen if any negotiating will take place before Conforto hits the free agent market after the season. The outfielder told DiComo, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post, and other reporters today that he was “not interested in really talking about” the subject any further, and agent Scott Boras told Davidoff in a text message that “as is the custom when the season begins, [we are] focusing on the performance of the players.”

In other news, Conforto revealed that he and his fiancee tested positive for the coronavirus during the offseason, about two weeks before Conforto reported to Spring Training. His fiancee suffered some moderate symptoms while Conforto didn’t suffer much beyond some shortness of breath.

Nationals Will Make Extension Offers To Juan Soto, Trea Turner In Near Future

By TC Zencka | March 8, 2021 at 9:58am CDT

The Washington Nationals have famously fielded top-heavy rosters typically built around a core of strong starting pitching. Since Washington’s first playoff appearance in 2012, they’ve advanced to postseason play five times in nine years, always on the backs of their starting pitching. The starting pitching units on their playoff teams (2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019) ranked 1st, 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 3rd in the Majors by FIP and 5th, 2nd, 1st, 2nd, and 1st by fWAR. Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmermann, Tanner Roark, Max Scherzer, and Stephen Strasburg each posted multiple 3.0+ fWAR seasons for Nats’ playoff teams, and Patrick Corbin is halfway there after a 4.7 fWAR season in 2019.

On the position player side, a core of Bryce Harper, Jayson Werth Ryan Zimmerman, and Ian Desmond added Anthony Rendon in 2014. They morphed by swapping Daniel Murphy and Trea Turner into the core group for Desmond and Werth by 2016. Before 2019, this unit faced their most monumental change yet, letting Harper leave for Philly as Juan Soto developed in his place. Rendon left after the title team in 2019, and it’s now been three years since Zimmerman aka “Mr. National” played a central role in the offense.

Present day, the Nats’ offensive core is a smaller unit than it’s been in year’s past, but it might be the strongest foundation of a Nationals team to date. Soto is one of the best offensive players in the game, compared today to Ted Williams by the Athletic’s Jayson Stark. Turner is one of the game’s most dynamic and underrated superstars.

Victor Robles certainly seemed like a key member of this core unit in 2019, and they hoped Carter Kieboom might step into Rendon’s place at the hot corner, but neither cemented their place in the inner circle during a rough 2020 season. The slow ascent of Kieboom and Robles has made Soto and Turner all the more important to the Nats’ future. Beyond their obvious talents, at 22 and 27 years old, they’re the youngest ties to the 2019 title team.

Starting pitching has been this team’s past, but Scherzer is 36, Strasburg is 32 and twice lost seasons to injury, and Corbin is 31. Their top prospects are a couple of power arms in Jackson Rutledge and Cade Cavalli, and Cole Henry, Andry Lara, Jeremy De La Rosa, and Tim Cate provide some backing in that regard, but there’s much uncertainty in projecting arms. The Nationals future seems to lie in the hands of Soto, Turner, and to a lesser extent, Robles and Kieboom.

The clock is ticking, however, and the cost is rising. Turner will make $13MM this season with one more year of arbitration before free agency after 2022. Soto became arbitration eligible for this first time this winter as a Super Two player. He’ll make $8.5MM in 2021 with three more turns through arbitration before free agency after 2024. He’ll be just 26 years old.

The conversation inevitably turns to potential extensions, and there have been internal discussions about what it might cost to lock their two superstars into long-term deals. In fact, there will be long-term contract offers on the table in the near future, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (via Twitter).

They’ve made offers in the past, however. Per MLB.com’s Jessica Camerato (via Twitter), GM Mike Rizzo said earlier today, “We’ve discussed internally with ownership about it. We’re in the midst of making decisions on what a timeframe would look like … We certainly have made & will make a long-term extension offer to both players sometime in the near future.”

Since the Braves extended Ronald Acuña Jr. to a well-below-market eight-year, $100MM extension, and the Padres extended Fernando Tatis to a 14-year $340MM extension, Soto might be the best young player without a long-term deal in place. Acuña signed his deal after winning Rookie of the Year with a 4.3 bWAR season in 111 games. Tatis signed after two years of service time and 7.0 bWAR through 143 total games. Soto has just 0.143 more service time than Tatis, but he’s begun the arbitration process, played in 313 games, won a World Series, and accrued 9.7 bWAR. How much will it cost to extend the next Ted Williams? That’s a difficult question, especially when he’s represented by Scott Boras.

If there’s any organization comfortable dealing with mega-agent Boras, it’s the Nationals, who have dealt with him over the years both to sign long-term deals in the case of Strasburg and Scherzer and to not sign those deals with Harper and Rendon. The Nats should have a pretty clear idea about what it would take to sign Soto – or if it’s even possible.

As for Turner, the CAA client might want to wait and see how next winter’s free agent market shakes out. One way or another, a market price will be set for star shortstops as Francisco Lindor, Javier Baez, Carlos Correa, Marcus Semien, Trevor Story, and Corey Seager all sign new contracts. If he does wait, 2021 could be a make-or-break season for Turner. While he’s flashed tremendous potential, he’s also dealt with injuries that have cut short some of his most productive seasons. He finished 7th in MVP voting during the shortened 2020 season.

Xander Bogaerts signed a six-year, $120MM extension in April 2019 with the Red Sox, which could be used as a comparison point. You can check MLBTR’s Extension Tracker to find your own comps. Bogaerts – a Boras client – signed after 5.046 days of service time at 26 years old with 759 games and 15.6 bWAR under his belt. Turner is at 4.135 days of service time right now. He’ll be in the territory of Bogaerts’ 5.046 service time days by the time he turns 28-years-old in June. At present, Turner has notched 541 games and 16.6 bWAR.

One thing we know about Washington and long-term deals is that money will have to be deferred. That said, they’ve shown willing to spend high-end money for the right players. Even though they’ll pay Strasburgh $35MM a season through 2026, and Corbin escalating salaries of $23.4MM, $24.4MM and $35.4MM through 2024, the Nats have some long-term payroll flexibility. Schezer’s $42MM deal comes off the books after this season, as does deals for Brad Hand, Starlin Castro, Daniel Hudson, Yan Gomes, Jon Lester, Alex Avila, Josh Harrison, and Zimmerman. They can also takes a $3MM buyout for Kyle Schwarber over an $11MM option. That’s a total of $73.6MM that could come off the books following 2021. Of course, in that circumstance, Rizzo would also have to back-fill nine roster spots.

NL Notes: Bell, Pirates, Boras, Cubs, Marlins

By Mark Polishuk | December 26, 2020 at 5:21pm CDT

Before the Pirates traded Josh Bell to the Nationals, the team had some cursory negotiations about an extension with the first baseman’s agent Scott Boras, Bell told reporters (including Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic). The two sides went “back and forth” on a long-term deal, Bell said, “but in regards to numbers or anything like that, I don’t think it ever got to that point.” Bell is eligible for free agency after the 2022 season, when he’ll be 30 years old.

Given how the Pirates appear to be open to dealing virtually anyone as they rebuild their team, it’s fair to wonder whether even an extension might have kept Bell in Pittsburgh — some clubs might have intrigued at having additional years of control and added cost certainty. Then again, given how Bell struggled in 2020, trade suitors might have balked at paying significant guaranteed money to a player coming off such a tough year. Regardless, Bell will need a strong bounce-back year with the Nationals to ensure himself at least a bigger arbitration raise in 2022, and to help build his case for either an extension with Washington or a notable free agent payday in two years’ time.

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