3 2025-26 Scott Boras free agents who should be abandoning ship before next winter

Scott Boras' reputation has rebounded this offseason after his previous offseason's disasters with the likes of Blake Snell, Cody Bellinger, Matt Chapman, and Jordan Montgomery. Not only did Boras get Juan Soto to sign the richest contract in professional sports history, but he was able to get great deals for players like Snell, Chapman, and Corbin Burnes.

While Boras has had a better offseason in 2024 than he did in 2023, he still has two high-end free agents - Pete Alonso and Alex Bregman - still sitting on the open market. While it's entirely possible that Alonso and Bregman will sign solid deals eventually, it's abundantly clear that they are not going to get what Boras believes they are worth.

The super agent did quite well with Soto, but, for a second straight offseason, has struggled with the mid-to-upper-tier free agents. With that in mind, these three Boras-represented players who will hit free agency after the 2025 season should consider a change.

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3. Don't be surprised to see Pete Alonso enter FA and fail to cash in again

This might be cheating, but hear me out. Both Bregman and Alonso are Boras-repped players stuck in free agency. Based on recent Boras trends, considering how late the offseason is getting, there's a chance that one or both of these players will sign a short-term deal with opt-outs, giving them a chance to test the market next offseason. Bregman reportedly has a lengthy deal on the table, but Alonso does not, and there's a good chance he won't be getting one.

Alonso is one of the most prolific power hitters in the game, but he's also coming off his worst season. He's trending in the wrong direction and is a 30-year-old first baseman who is not good in the field or on the base paths, and does not get on base very much. Based on how first basemen are valued nowadays, it's hard to envision Alonso ever cashing in on a massive deal.

Assuming he re-signs with the New York Mets and hits behind Juan Soto, there's a good chance Alonso rebounds enough to where he and Boras trick themselves into thinking they can cash in during next offseason's free agency. As a 31-year-old playing a position that isn't valued highly, which team is going to give Alonso the huge deal that refused to do so this time around?

Alonso and Boras failed to cash in with Christian Walker as his primary competition. How's he going to do when all of the attention is on Vladimir Guerrero Jr.? The game has evolved past the point where older first basemen get monster deals. Boras seems to be the only agent not to see that.

2. Scott Boras will be unable to get Dylan Cease more money than other high-end starters

There's a lot to like when evaluating Dylan Cease. He's as durable as any starting pitcher in the game, has electric strikeout stuff, and has found success both in the American League and in the National League. With that being said, Cease is far from perfect as a pitcher.

Cease's 8.5 percent walk rate from this past season was the lowest of his career, which is good, but still ranked in the 41st percentile according to Baseball Savant. His inability to throw strikes consistently impacts his innings. Despite never missing starts, Cease does not have a single 200-inning season under his belt. The right-hander also only has one season in which he has posted a sub-3.40 ERA.

Cease is great, but is he better than the likes of Burnes and Snell? Boras is going to try and get him paid as if he is, but that will be a hard sell. There's a reason why Boras has had mostly a hard time trying to get his top arms paid. He asks for too much money. The same thing will likely happen with Cease if he doesn't jump ship.

1. Cody Bellinger will have a hard time earning his ideal payday even with a big 2025 season

Most players don't want to get traded, but there's a reason why Cody Bellinger was so excited to get traded from the Chicago Cubs to the New York Yankees this offseason. Part of it has to do with the fact that his father played for the Yankees, but also part of it undoubtedly has to do with getting to play half the time at Yankee Stadium. That ballpark can help Bellinger recapture some of that MVP magic that he once had.

Bellinger, a left-handed slugger, is coming off a down year with the Chicago Cubs, which saw him hit 18 home runs and post a .751 OPS. As disappointing as this past season was for Bellinger, he hit 24 balls that would have resulted in home runs at Yankee Stadium - his second-most at any ballpark.

Assuming Bellinger can start hitting the ball hard and in the air consistently again, would it be surprising to see him hit 30+ home runs playing half the time at Yankee Stadium? Absolutely not. However, even if he does and opts out of the final year of his contract to enter free agency, how many teams will be rushing to pay him big money?

Bellinger had as good of a prove-it year as a player could have in 2023 with the Cubs. He slashed .307/.356/.525 with 26 home runs, 97 RBI, and 20 stolen bases while playing his usual strong defense in 130 games. Despite that great year, Bellinger had to settle for a short-term, high-AAV deal with opt-outs. If he couldn't cash in then, when he was two years younger, why would he be able to now, even if he has a bounceback year in the Bronx?

Boras would try to get him that monster deal, but inevitably fail to come close.