Scott Boras, Major League Baseball’s most famous player agent, held his annual press availability on Wednesday morning at the league’s general manager meetings in San Antonio, Texas.
Boras addressed various topics, including the ongoing free agency of top clients like outfielder Juan Soto (formerly of the New York Yankees), third baseman Alex Bregman (Houston Astros), and first baseman Pete Alonso (New York Mets).
Below, CBS Sports has compiled three takeaways from Boras’ press availability, including some insight into what Soto is seeking from his next employer.
1. Soto prioritizing “winning” owner (and money)
Soto, according to Boras, is yearning to sign with a team whose owner is committed to “winning.” That doesn’t mean the money is irrelevant; in fact, it can be safely assumed that one of the ways Soto and Boras will deem an owner fit (or unfit) is their willingness to pay him whatever the magic number ends up being.
That isn’t meant to be a cynical observation, either. We’re all adults here. We can understand that athletes have limited career spans, and that it only makes sense for them to pursue the greatest payday made available to them. There’s no moral or character failing (at least in our book) to acknowledge as much.
2. Bregman recovering from elbow surgery
As for the aforementioned Bregman, he’s currently recovering from elbow surgery to remove bone chips, Boras revealed Wednesday. That operation is not expected to impact him in any meaningful way heading forward.
Bregman’s name had been part of the news cycle already this week, with Astros general manager Dana Brown acknowledging that he would like to re-sign him. At the same time, Brown said the organization is reluctant to give out super long-term deals.
It’s to be determined if that predilection will end up causing a split between Bregman and the only franchise he’s ever suited up for as a professional ballplayer.
3. Regrettable puns
Boras is, in addition to being a skilled negotiator, a showman of sorts. It’s become an annual tradition for him to address his clients’ statuses with an unchecked (and occasionally unwelcomed) series of puns — and for the attempted wordplay to then be quickly shared on social media, thereby allowing for his message to spread quicker, and perhaps more effectively, than if he had provided the same information sans flair.
For posterity’s sake, we’ll reprint just one of Boras’s witticisms. Of Alonso: “There’s been a lot of talk about this being a Bear market for first basemen, but for Pete’s sake it’s the Polar opposite.”
Onward we march. Onward.
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