The New York Yankees attempted to assist Scott Boras in avoiding an unprecedented offseason catastrophe.
They reportedly offered a $150 million contract to one of his clients, Blake Snell, during free agency, but he declined. The Yankees promptly shifted to sign Marcus Stroman for a fraction of the cost.
There is simply no time to spare, and almost everyone is done playing games with Boras, who has yet to get a single multi-year commitment for his five biggest clients ahead of the 2024 season. All of Snell, Matt Chapman, JD Martinez, Cody Bellinger, and Jordan Montgomery signed one-year contracts with (insert whatever stipulation extends after 2024). Not great for the guys who should have been in high demand.
Montgomery, the former Yankee, may have had the worst of it. He was coming off a stellar season and a World Series run that would have compensated practically any starting pitcher according to their criteria. Instead, Monty signed a one-year, $25 million contract with the D-backs (with a vesting player option for 2025… what??). Who believes Monty will stay in Arizona when Boras is fired?
The Yankees and Montgomery reportedly engaged in talks multiple times this offseason but the two sides couldn’t work out an agreement. Probably for the best anyway. But again, the Yankees tried.
As the offseason progressed, it was revealed the Yankees didn’t pursue Boras’ clients as aggressively this time around because Hal Steinbrenner felt like Boras “burned” him with the Carlos Rodón deal. The jury’s still out on that, but if you shelled out $162 million and saw what Rodón did in 2023, you’d flip out, too.
Well, chalk up a minor win for Steinbrenner and anybody else in the Yankees universe who is anti-Boras, because Montgomery fired the super agent on Thursday and switched over to Wasserman.
LHP Jordan Montgomery has hired Wasserman’s Joel Wolfe & Nick Chanock as his agents, per sources.
Montgomery was one of the Boras Four, who were unsigned late into free agency.
Boras no longer has a chance to cash in on a long-term Montgomery contract next offseason when the left-hander likely hits the open market and tries this all over again. After this historic dud, you can’t blame Monty for making the switch.
Also, it remains to be seen how Boras’ shortcomings affect the Yankees in the coming months. He also represents Juan Soto, who New York will undoubtedly be trying to re-sign when November arrives.
Might Boras relent and be willing to discuss a contract extension in season to make this stink go away? Or is he going to double down and be out for blood when the offseason arrives?
Either way, Boras could be losing steam after what’s happened over the last six months. If that’s the case, it’s a win for the Yankees. If not, they’ll be prepared for battle when negotiations arrive for Soto at the end of the season.
Fans are just glad there were some consequences for Boras after his long, unnecessary holdout as he seemed to be toying with players’ futures. And it helps the hammer was dropped by a former Yankee.
