From Bregman to Bellinger: Everything Scott Boras said (and meant) at the GM Meetings

MLB's lead executives are the main characters of this week's GM Meetings in Las Vegas. But on Wednesday afternoon, the stage belonged to one man and one man alone: Super agent Scott Boras, who descended on the Cosmopolitan to deliver his annual press conference (within ear shot of all 30 teams, naturally).

For those unfamiliar with this tradition unlike any other, Boras has made a habit of not just holding court each winter but doing so with as much wordplay as humanly possible. The point isn't to get insightful answers or ask piercing questions; the point is to give Boras some runway and get out of the way, letting him crank out some puns and do his best to build the market for all of his top clients.

This year, that group includes big names like Pete Alonso, Cody Bellinger, Alex Bregman and more. And while the performance is mostly the point for Boras, it's also worth reading between the lines a bit to see what he's actually saying under all that nonsense.

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Pete Alonso

What Boras said

A player with a nickname like the Polar Bear is catnip for Boras in front of a microphone, and sure enough, he didn't disappoint on Wednesday. Prepare for some serious alliteration:

Those are ... certainly a lot of P's. Whether or not we would classify first base as a "primary position", we do have to respect the effort here. Of course, Boras can also get serious when he wants to, and it should come as no surprise that when the subject turned to Alonso potentially leaving the New York Mets in free agency, he was all too ready to tug on some heartstrings.

What Boras meant

It's telling that Boras' pitch to the Mets and their fans didn't have all that much to do with on-field production. Instead, he sent Steve Cohen and David Stearns a veiled threat: Alonso has become a fan favorite in Queens, and if they choose to leave him out in the cold for a second consecutive offseason, he'll likely move on this time — and New York should prepare for some serious blowback if that does in fact come to pass.

Boras also fell back on one of his favorite rhetorical tricks, emphasizing the perils of playing in a big market and the ways in which that might not be for everyone. Alonso has indeed blossomed into one of the league's preeminent power hitters. But this is more an emotional case than a statistical one, because Boras knows that a 30-something righty first baseman who's already showing underlying signs of decline at the plate is a tough sell. He'll have to hope that Cohen blinks first when he faces life without Alonso, but given Stearns' small-market experience, I wouldn't hold my breath.

Cody Bellinger

What Boras said

I have no idea where this came from, but Boras decided that Top Gun would be the theme for Bellinger's portion of the press conference: The outfielder was deemed a "middle-of-the-lineup Merlin" who was a "true Ice Man" in New York last year, cooling concerns about his ability to hit behind Aaron Judge. Yes, really.

He also made sure that Brian Cashman knew where the leverage here truly lied, given the departures of both Bellinger and Trent Grisham in free agency.

What Boras meant

Anyone thinking that Bellinger's relative inconsistency prior to 2025 might dampen his market at all should think again. Boras suggested as much when he dropped this doozy to reporters, calling his client "the only five-tool free-agent outfielder".

Which, sure, is technically true enough. Bellinger, unlike Kyle Tucker, can credibly play center field and has an excellent throwing arm, skills that the Yankees saw up close and personal last year. Boras also repeatedly mentioned the fact that Bellinger is a former NL MVP with the Dodgers, which, again, sure.

But Bellinger doesn't boast anywhere near the consistency or reliability that Boras wants to pitch here. He struggled enough with the Cubs in 2024 that Chicago dumped him on New York for peanuts, and while that worked out great in the short term, paying him into his late 30s is another matter entirely. Boras will no doubt sell Bellinger as a well-rounded star you should have no qualms about paying, but his sketchy batted-ball profile and uneven track record tell a different story.

Alex Bregman

What Boras said

Bregman inspired arguably Boras' best pun of the afternoon.

If you were worried that Brexit wasn't local enough, don't worry, the Boston bits were only beginning.

"Prior to ’25, Boston has been the kind of club that has Dunkin’ well below the playoff line," Boras said. "I think it was a bad roast in Beantown. Give the owners credit in ’25, they went out and spent some Starbucks to bring in a Bregman blend that led them to the playoffs. I’m sure the Boston fans don’t want this to be a cup of coffee."

What Boras meant

Boras understands the pressure that Red Sox president Craig Breslow is facing this offseason, after a Wild Card elimination at the hands of the Yankees. The Garrett Crochet trade and the emergence of Roman Anthony bought some good will, but this is still a fan base impatient to return to real contention. It's also a fan base that fell in love with Bregman both on and off the field during his one season in Boston.

Boras realizes all of that, and he also realizes how shallow this infield market is. So it's no surprise that the agent made sure to mention that he expected the Red Sox to be "very aggressive" this winter: He wants to crank up as much heat on Breslow as possible, to the point where he feels like he can't afford not to pay Bregman whatever he asks for.

Dylan Cease

What Boras said

We're aging ourselves a bit here, but we did appreciate Boras getting some Bob Dylan jokes off when asked about arguably the top pitcher on the market.

On a more serious note, Boras made the predictable pitch for Cease, noting both his durability and his excellent strikeout rate despite an inflated ERA with San Diego this season. The ability to miss bats and eat innings is increasingly rare these days, and should have Cease paid like an ace despite the inconsistency of his top-line numbers over the years.

Boras was also asked specifically about Cease potentially signing with the pitching-needy Cubs, at which point he went into maximum overdrive.

What Boras meant

Boras understands better than anyone just how desperate all 30 MLB teams are for starting pitching right now, and he also understands how short this market is on quality, proven options. It's no coincidence that he almost immediately threw out Blake Snell's deal with the Dodgers last offseason: Snell was a similarly boom-or-bust case when he hit the market, and Boras will be looking for the same sort of deal (five years, $182 million) this time around. That's the going rate these days, even for someone who's something less than an ace; just look at how crucial Snell was for L.A. in the postseason, when the ability to hand the ball to a starter capable of working deep is even more crucial.

Tatsuya Imai

What Boras said

Boras isn't just limited to the biggest States side free agents. Unlike the past couple of offseasons, he also represents arguably the top international free agent as well: Japanese right-hander Tatsuya Imai, who's set to be posted for MLB teams on Nov. 19.

"When most teams talk to me about Imai, they say, 'oh my,'" Boras said. "He's that kind of guy. I think when you watch him pitch, he leaves an indelible mark on you. Kind of a Tatsuya. And so you kind of always remember what you saw and how that type of talent has converted over here and done so well."

Imai has indeed left an indelible mark on NPB, where he's emerged as arguably the best pitcher in the league over the last year or two thanks to his power arsenal and increasingly refined command. As for who might be in the bidding for Imai's services, Boras didn't hold back: "He loves big markets."

What Boras meant

At this point, the assumption for pretty much any prominent Japanese free agent will be that they'll eventually sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers. But Boras here has some other big markets in mind, specifically teams like the New York Yankees, New York Mets and Chicago Cubs — all of which figure to add pitching this winter, and all of which are desperate to gain more of a foothold in Japan moving forward.

Boras doesn't want other teams to assume that L.A. is an inevitability. He wants all the deepest pockets in the league to feel like they have a chance, and that all his Japanese clients (also including infielder Kazuma Okamoto) care about is the chance to win at the highest level.

Tarik Skubal

What Boras said

While he might not be a free agent until next year, Tarik Skubal still looms over this offseason and these GM Meetings, as extension and trade rumors swirl around the Detroit Tigers ace entering his walk year. Skubal's agent is, you guessed it, Boras, and he's never more excited than when he can turn the screws on a team that he knows has less than zero leverage.

Props for the Scooby Doo puns, although they were a little bit obvious. (Also, what does he think the Little Caesar's mascot is, exactly?) All jokes aside, though, Boras is deadly serious here, and Tigers fans should somehow feel even worse about the state of things now.

What Boras meant

Given the tenor of Boras' comments, it's hard to think that extension talks for Skubal are going well. If the Tigers were willing to pay full freight to keep the lefty around, you'd have to think his agent wouldn't feel quite as compelled to put ownership and president Scott Harris on blast. Boras knows that the court of public opinion is going to work strongly in his and his client's favor here, given how crucial Skubal is to the Tigers moving forward. The more he can make the case that Skubal wants to stay and it simply Detroit's negligence preventing that from happening, the angrier fans will be. And the angrier fans are, the harder it gets for the Tigers to walk away.