Juan Soto comes into free agency with an insanely strong hand. He’s not only the most coveted free agent this offseason, but he’s also a generational talent heading into the prime of his career.
The strategy of Soto’s agent Scott Boras is clear, as we’ve outlined here. He wants to incite a bidding war for the right fielder.
Part of Boras’s strategy is playing the media game, as we’ll explain later.
But let’s start with the latest developments on Soto first.
Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay, speaking on his afternoon show on ESPN-NY, suggested that Hal Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman may not be as susceptible to the Boras tactics as they once were.
In fact, Boras’s inability to deliver for clients like Jordan Montgomery this past offseason shows that his methods, like the man, might be aging.
Heard It Through the Grapevine
Now before Kay shared his Soto prediction on air, he did make an error. He claimed that former New York Mets infielder Carlos Baerga posted on X that Soto received an offer of $660 million over 15 years from the Mets.
Soto did meet this weekend with the Mets senior brass, including owner Steve Cohen, according to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman.
But Baerga’s only tweet about the Soto deal is one that is totally speculative. And it refers to the value of a potential deal, but not its length.
In a Spanish-language post, Baerga shared a picture referring to a meeting between Cohen and Soto, writing, “It is being said that they offered him 660 million.” Baerga then asked, “Is it true?”
Clearly, a lot is getting mixed up in the grapevine.
Michael Kay’s Prediction
Back to Kay. The Yankees broadcaster said, “But knowing Scott [Boras], he’s going to want it to be over $700 [million], because no matter what it’s worth, the benchmark now is the $700 million the Dodgers gave Ohtani.”
Then, Kay he shared some bad news for Yankees fans. Kay said, “This is not something that Yankees fans are gonna want to hear: I don’t think the Yankees are going to go there” — referring to the $700 million threshold.
Kay then said that he “heard from someone in baseball today that [Steve] Cohen is willing to go $50 million over what anybody offers. So it looks like the Mets really want to get this guy.”
The Mets are clearly driven. But the uncontrolled rumor mill this offseason may simply make Cohen bid against himself.
The Boras Game
It’s important to keep in mind that Baerga is a former Boras client. So while that may give him access to inside information, it could also make him a conduit for Boras’s strategic leaks.
Remember, this is the same Scott Boras who got Alex Rodriguez to opt out of his Yankees contract during the 2007 World Series. And as Soto and the Yankees were playing against the Dodgers this October, Boras opined to journalists that the right fielder could have stayed a Padre — presumably trying to bring his old team back into the mix.
Boras prefers protracted free-agent talks. So in all likelihood, we’re in for a long winter that will be filled with “leaks” like the ones we’ve heard in recent days.
This has all the appearances of a classic Scott Boras whispering game.
Globely News covers the game changers transforming the worlds of business, sports, politics, and technology. From AI and electric vehicles to the rise of China and the NFL's next stars, we've got you covered.