MLBTR is reporting (via Peter Gammons) that Scott Boras is looking for a record setting bonus for the highly touted San Diego State pitcher.
ESPN.com’s Peter Gammons heard from some club officials that top amateur pitcher Stephen Strasburg and his agent, Scott Boras, could demand $50MM over six years if he’s selected first overall by the Nationals in the June draft. If the Nationals pick Strasburg and seem unwilling to pay him as much as he wants, Boras could threaten to send the prospect to pitch in Japan for a year. If the Nats are scared off, the Mariners and Padres are next in line for Strasburg.
So how could an amateur player get away with these lofty demands? Strasburg has struck out 74 and walked only seven in the 34.1 innings he’s pitched for San Diego State and scouts rave about his stuff.
For some context, last year’s top draft pick Tim Beckham signed with the Rays for 6.15 mil, and only 2 other players (Hosmer/Alvarez) got as high as 6 mil each. The all time record to this day is still Mark Prior (10.5 mil 01 draft) followed by Mark Teixiera (9.5 mil 01 draft) and David Price (8.5 mil 07 draft).
At that price tag, its not inconceivable he might fall to one of the big market teams at the bottom of the draft. If the Red Sox (28th pick in 09) were willing to pony up 100 mil for Dice-K and the Yanks (29th pick) could spend 42 mil for the immortal Kei Igawa, then neither team would blink at that price tag for a once in a generation talent like Strasburg. It’s also possible that if any of this happens Strasburg might end the MLB amateur draft system as we know it. If a perfectly healthy pitcher was to fall that far in the draft simply due to salary demands, it would be obvious to all involved that Boras is steering the high end talent to the big market teams, which shatters the whole premise of giving the teams with the worst record (typically small market teams) the top picks and a chance to get better via the draft.
A team could still select him and call Boras’ bluff, but they would run the risk of having the player go unsigned and wind up without a 1st round pick in 09. They would retain the same pick for next year’s draft, but that still represents a year of lost development time and a wasted 09 draft pick. A player like Strasburg might be ready to play in the bigs before that team selects again in the draft. But things like this have happened before, and chances are this is just Boras blowing smoke.
Stay tuned . . .
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0 Responses to Boras Wants 50 mil for Strasburg
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TIQ IQ
The Yankees really would need to get ahead of Boston for him to ever fall. It is wishful thinking , anyhow, Washington will pick him.
Yeah, Boras pulls this shit every year. A team will take him, most likely the Nats and he will simply squeeze every dime out of them and sign at the last minute.
Boras said he would get Manny 6 years/100 mil. He said he wouldn’t accept less than 100 mil for Dice-K, didn’t care what the posting fee was and would up signing for half of that.
Boras is good copy, but I don’t take him too seriously.
Also, this being a Yankee site, I had to tie in the Yanks to this somehow.
Lol. Otherwise, I would have gone all Donald Trump on you!!!
Tim Beckham. Not Gordon.
Maybe the Red Sox will do something bad and have their first pick stripped away (like the Patriots). :)
Doh! Right, Gordon went to the ChiSox.
I need some sleep.
The “play in Japan” threat is a pretty empty one. When Alfonso Soriano played in Japan for one year, he earned $40,000.
Boras isn’t going to pass up 9-10 mil just because he asked for 50.
I would like to see one of you’ll pick-up on the Draft angle and see where it would lead…it may be a big time story line. Take a wing at it Steve.
If there’s a story here, it would be trying to find out if the scouts that are raving about this kid have any ties to Boras. The stuff they’re saying is just unreal.
The stuff they’re saying is just unreal.
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I’ll buy that! I’ll have to see it to believe it but, wow!
Not a chance he gets a deal like that…hell, he has never faced good pro hitters. Even Herb Score took three years (I think) to make it to the big leagues, as a 22/23 year old fireballer.
I just think it is a mistake to expect him to jump to the majors in 2 or 3 years, if he doesn’t, they will have spent $15/20 mm a year for a minor league player. Pitchers at his age are susceptible to injury, big time. I think, if he were to fall to the Yanks (funny, funny), Cash would make a reasonable offer for him of maybe $10mm…anymore then that is a wast!
I don’t think he will fall that far. Some team will take him even if Boras commands $50M. Someone like the Tigers, Angels, Oriols, Mariners or Rangers.
Nats were willing to pay over a hundred million for Tex, they’ll pay for Strasburg.