Is superstar agent Scott Boras losing his luster?
Boras had a rough 2024 offseason after his top free-agent clients were unable to secure the long-term deals they were seeking, and his 2025 campaign didn’t get off to a great start this month.
New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole opted out of the final four years and $144 million of his contract days after the franchise’s World Series loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
To avoid the opt-out, the Yankees would have needed to add an additional season at $36 million to the end of the deal. However, the Yankees called Cole’s bluff.
According to The Athletic’s Eno Sarris, “Yankees general manager Brian Cashman relayed the team’s disinterest in adding another year. The team banked on Cole’s zeal to remain with the Yankees and the market’s concern about a 34-year-old pitcher with an elbow injury. Rival executives did not believe Cole could find a new club willing to beat his current deal. In the end, the two sides agreed that Cole could remain on his original contract and take a mulligan on the opt-out.”
Cole missed the first two-and-a-half months of the season and didn’t make his first start until June 19. Overall, he made 17 starts, pitched 95 innings, and struck out 99 batters with a 3.41 ERA.
One rival agent told Sarris that “the Yankees didn’t blink,” and a team executive described Boras as “a little out of touch.”
However, some industry figures offered praise for Boras.
“He’s also got millions of people paid,” an unnamed executive told The Athletic. “He’s one of the best at what he does. I mean, (Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations) Andrew Friedman doesn’t win the World Series every year, and he’s one of the best at what he does.”
Scott Boras starring with Juan Soto this offseason
Despite recent setbacks, Boras remains at the center of the offseason as his star client, Juan Soto, will likely command a contract in the $600 million range or above.
Several teams have reportedly lined up to meet with the duo, including the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, and Toronto Blue Jays.
“You can really see that owners, general managers, they’re called upon to be championship magicians,” Boras told reporters last week at the general managers meetings, via The Athletic. “It’s what they’re asked to do. It’s hard to do, to put together that magic of a championship run. Behind every great magician, obviously, is the magic Juan.”
ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel predicts Soto will receive a 13-year, $611 million contract.
