Scott Boras does Juan Soto suitors a huge favor with stunning change of pace
By Mark Powell
Blake Snell signed a five-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night, adding to an embarrassment of riches for the World Series champions. Snell is a Scott Boras client, which is specifically-relevant to this offseason.
Just last winter, Snell was forced to sign a lucrative prove-it deal with the San Francisco Giants, as Boras overplayed his hand in the free-agent market. The same can be said of Jordan Montgomery, who eventually dumped Boras as his agent after signing with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
However, perhaps Boras learned a thing or two last winter. He doesn't control the market – the market controls him. That's good news for Juan Soto suitors. Soto is expected to earn over $600 million on a long-term contract, and wants to sign before the end of the MLB Winter Meetings. Given his agent was Boras, many pundits around baseball were skeptical Soto would meet that deadline. However, Soto is scheduled to receive offers soon (if he hasn't already, depending on who you believe)
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Scott Boras does potential Juan Soto suitors a huge favor
The teams with a realistic shot at Soto are the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox and Blue Jays. All four of those teams, it could be argued, would've taken a swing at Snell as well if he weren't in such a hury to sign. It's tough to blame Snell after the travesty he went through last winter, but Boras ought to know better.
By jumping at the Dodgers offer, Snell not only added a valuable piece to a superteam, but also may have left some money on the table. Although, it's tough to scoff at the perks Snell received from Los Angeles, a team that despite winning a World Series is in dire need of rotation help.
Snell, like many top talents the Dodgers have signed the last two winters, signed a deal that includes deferred money. It would be a surprise if Soto took a similar path, which may very well take Los Angeles out of the running for his services – though they would've been a dark horse anyway.
If anything, Boras has done the four frontrunners for Soto a huge favor by committing to his early-signing timeline and committing a boatload of money to the Dodgers payroll.