Scott Boras' latest attempt to stoke a Juan Soto bidding war crossed a line even for him

At this point, Scott Boras' reputation precedes him. From Alex Rodriguez to Gerrit Cole, Stephen Strasburg to Jose Altuve, if you can think of an eye-popping contract over the last 25-30 years, chances are Boras is behind it. But he's more than just MLB's preeminent agent: He's baseball's boogeyman, capable of ginning up a nine-figure bidding war out of thin air — and willing to do or say whatever best suits that end at any given time.

The boogeyman appeared to lose a bit of his power last offseason. Boras controlled most of the biggest names available in free agency, but unlike past years, he wasn't able to land top dollar for players like Cody Bellinger, Blake Snell, Matt Chapman and Jordan Montgomery, all of whom waited until just prior to or even after spring training to finally sign (and none of whom got paid what they were projected to at the start of the winter).

With another Hot Stove season around the corner, Boras is once again a power broker, with Juan Soto reportedly heading toward a contract that could climb as high as $600 million. Boras has no intention on letting 2023 repeat itself, working overtime in recent days to get the rumor mill going and get all the richest teams in the biggest markets bidding against themselves for Soto's services. But some things should be more important than money, and Boras appears to have crossed a major line with his latest maneuver.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work onThe Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop between now and the MLB offseason.

Scott Boras uses late Padres owner Peter Seidler as pawn in Juan Soto free agency sweepstakes

Before Soto was taking the New York Yankees to the World Series, he was starring for the San Diego Padres, the team that acquired him from the Washington Nationals at the 2022 trade deadline. Soto was a smash in Southern California, helping San Diego get back to the NLCS for the first time since 1998. But the 2023 Padres had a disappointing year, missing the playoffs entirely — and raising questions about Soto's future with the team, with just one year of team control remaining ahead of free agency.

Then, last November, San Diego's owner, Peter Seidler, passed away at the age of 63. Since purchasing the Padres back in 2012, Seidler had consistently helped the club punch above its weight financially, running payrolls that ranked in the top 10 in baseball and spending far more than his predecessors ever did. Seidler's death was a tragedy that also threw San Diego's finances into turmoil. And two weeks later, the team decided to cut bait with Soto, sending him to New York rather than running the risk of losing him for nothing in free agency.

Flash forward to October of 2024. Soto is wrapping up arguably the best season of his already sensational career, and Boras is trying to line up as many potential suitors for the outfielder's services as he can. But there's a problem: Word has gotten around that Soto isn't wild about returning to the West Coast, which could rule out the Los Angeles Dodgers as a viable option. Boras needs to change the narrative, so he does what he always does: He spins to the media, telling USA Today's Bob Nightengale that Seidler's death is the only reason Soto isn't still in San Diego.

“If Peter Seidler were still alive," Boras said, “none of this would be happening. Juan would have been with the Padres. He never would have been traded to the Yankees."

Maybe that's true. Seidler had an uncommon appetite for putting money into his team, and the Padres did have the advantage of being able to sell Soto up close and personal. Maybe Seidler would've been more confident in the team's chances of re-signing him, and chosen to keep him around for 2024. But to trot out his memory as a negotiating tactic is beyond the pale, even for Boras; if you want teams to know that Soto is willing to play anywhere in the country, talk to your client and go from there. Don't drag a dead man's name back into the headlines just to line your own pocket.