Boras Putting Out Bryant Rumors

Scott Boras spoke with 100-some-odd media members in San Diego, where baseball’s Winter Meetings are being held. During the talks, Boras was, of course, asked about his MVP, Rookie of the Year, Minor League Player of the Year, and Golden Spikes Award winner – Kris Bryant.

This was certainly going to happen as Bryant’s name and rumors have taken over the first 36 hours of the meetings. From rumors with Atlanta and Philadelphia and Washington – it seems like he’s the prize of the ball.

Of course trading Bryant isn’t the only option. The Cubs could shock the haters and actually sign the superstar third baseman.

“We are always in communication with them,” Boras said when asked about a potential Bryant extension. “Our doors are open [and we are] more than willing to discuss anything like that on a long-term basis. We are discussing his arbitration value and numbers. I have to leave it up to them, if they want to explore that.”

That last little tidbit seems to suggest something I have been saying for months – the Cubs haven’t confronted Boras about an extension. With Theo saying that the Cubs would love for Bryant to be a part of the next championship team, he mentioned that they would sit down and talk about how signable Bryant is. From Boras’s statement, I don’t believe that has actually happened yet.

There has been some talk that the Cubs are perfectly content waiting for the grievance to be determined and then shop Bryant to teams that missed out on Anthony Rendon and Josh Donaldson. Perhaps they have already decided that Bryant is the player they will move, which is why they haven’t approached Bryant’s camp?

The other side of this is, maybe they already understand the numbers that a Bryant extension would need to look like. They have several player (Nolan Arenado, Giancarlo Stanton, Manny Machado, Bryce Harper, and Jose Altuve) deals they can look to and project something like an eight-year $230 to $250 million deal.

Everyone in baseball understands the Bryant number, including the Cubs, but not knowing what it will take to get a deal done with someone like Javier Baez creates the mystery. Sure, a Baez deal has as much urgency as a Bryant deal does, but there is a bigger cloud of uncertainty to what it would take to sign Baez.

Bryant has been the star guy his entire career and will continue to be that guy for years to come. Baez, on the other hand, has really created his stardom over the past two seasons. After a couple of seasons of being a super-utility type and then becoming an everyday fixture in 2018, Baez took off. But who exactly is Javier Baez and what is he worth?

Is he the MVP candidate that the Cubs saw in 2018? Is he the 30 homer, the dynamic bat that was around for five months in 2019? How does the market pay an undisciplined bat that doesn’t get on base or shows he can hold a top of the league OPS?

Regardless, it does seem like Boras is properly preparing Bryant for whatever happens next.

It comes with the territory when you get near free agency,” Boras said. “That discussion always takes place. Many times nothing comes of it. Other times it does. I think in these markets with great players, their names are always bandied about as a potential trades in the marketplace. It happens every year. You can go back every year and see that if a great player is not signed to a multi-year contract and is an MVP-type player, they always get that kind of attention.”

Boras on the idea of a player like Kris Bryant getting moved: “It’s hard to think how you ever replace them, and so when you get into those (elite) levels, historically, it’s normally not something that’s done.”

— Jesse Rogers (@ESPNChiCubs) December 10, 2019

There has been a lot of hate on Bryant, some warranted and most certainly most of it has not been. He did hit .282/.382/.521 in 2019 with 31 homers and 108 runs scored. A lot is said about his ability to come through with RISP, but he ended 2019 with a .887 OPS in those situations. Then there are the questions about coming up in clutch moments.

That’s an average OPS of .973 in the most clutch moments of a game. But narratives be narratives and I’m certain no one on the internet would dare change their perspective regardless of how much evidence is shown to contradict their opinion.

Lastly, the Scott Boras issue. Yes, Bryant has Boras as his agent, and I am telling you right now if you were a baseball player you would want him as your agent. But, Bryant has publicly stated that Scott works for him. Bryant has publicly said he wants to stay in Chicago and sign a long-term deal here. If you’re the type that says Boras clients don’t sign extensions, well, Stephen Strasburg’s last contract was an extension to stay in Washington. He used one of his opt-outs, and after looking around baseball – where there was a TON of interest – he again opted to stay in Washington.

So no, just because Boras is Bryant’s agent doesn’t mean that he will not sign in Chicago. Sure, it does mean that the club will have to show a fair market offer for them to stay, but maybe, just maybe, the Cubs should pick up the phone and try that out for once?