As Opening Day nears the top free agents have still yet to sign. Could the Phillies overpaying this year lead to more opportunities next year?
We now sit only 50 days from Phillies Opening Day. Pitchers and catchers report in less than a week. But the lack of free agent signings has sparked a possibility that a free agent team will be formed for Spring Training.
So why aren’t free agents signing? Not enough money? No long term deals? Usual buyers like the Yankees and Dodgers are not as interested as previous years? Or maybe it is because of super agent Scott Boras.
It is very hard to find a true sports fan who does not know Scott Boras. He has been described as the most powerful agent in sports history. With his list of clients it is hard to argue. He represents current superstars such as MVPs Bryce Harper, Jose Altuve, and Kris Bryant. In addition he has Cody Bellinger, Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Matt Harvey, Troy Tulowitzki, Michael Conforto, Marcell Ozuna and Anthony Rendon. He has landed record deals for former clients such as Alex Rodriguez. Former clients Ivan Rodriguez and Greg Maddux have been inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame.
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But this offseason Boras has about 20 unsigned free agents. Jake Arrieta, J.D Martinez, Mike Moustakas, Eric Hosmer and Greg Holland are all huge names who haven’t signed under the representation of Boras. Hosmer and Martinez have both reportedly turned down massive deals.
Players like Hosmer or Martinez are of little interest to Klentak and the Philadelphia Phillies. The main roster need continues to be a veteran pitcher.
While many still believe Arietta is unrealistic, the chance of the Phillies signing him increases every day.
Signing Arietta would obviously help the the Phillies on the field this upcoming season, but how could it help them off the field in 2019?
I once heard a theory about the super agent. Basically, the theory described the control agents have over a franchise. If they have a star player on the team they could land several more clients there and get them slightly over paid to keep the star and the agent happy. They could end up filling the majority of the roster, giving the agent almost as much control as the general manager. It also could let said agent’s minor league clients get called up quicker than slightly better players.
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Take Boras and the 2017 Washington Nationals for example. Bryce Harper, Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Stephen Drew, Gio Gonzalez, Oliver Perez, Anthony Rendon, Matt Wieters and Jason Werth were all represented by Boras. He has one player in the farm system, Erick Fedde. The entire core of the Nationals team is under Boras’s representation. The Nationals likely were able to add some of these players due to previous work with Boras.
What if the Phillies could do this in preparation for further years? They’ve already done work with Boras already this off season when they signed relief pitcher Francisco Rodriguez.
They could do more work with him if they bring back Jeremy Hellickson or Jason Werth. But the big piece would obviously be Arietta.
Recently, Matt Gelb of the Athletic tweeted the Phillies projected payroll is ranked 29 out of the 30 MLB teams. They could add another 25 million dollar salary and rank in the bottom 10 of the league. Arietta would definitely take up more than 25 million. He has reportedly wanted five to six years of 200 million. A six-year deal is unrealistic. But perhaps a three year 90-100 million deal could lure in Boras and Arietta.
Then, this triggers the Boras effect. When top names like Harper, Dallas Keuchel and Zach Britton hit the market next offseason under Boras the Phillies could have their connection. The team’s larger salary room would attract Boras and his clients and could make the Phillies a easy landing spot for some of Boras’s top clients.
Next: Which FA starting pitcher best fits
As the days till Opening Day decrease, the Phillies odds of signing a top pitcher increase. But there is a lot more than on the field play that makes Arietta the best option. If they can get an in, like many teams that have before, Scott Boras could be the true most valuable asset on the path to a championship.