MLB Fastball 11.17.07: A-Rod’s Back In Pinstripes
Posted by Neil Borenstein on 11.17.2007
With Scott Boras in the background, Álex Rodríguez has crawled back to the New York Yankees. What was once a finished relationship is now back on for another 10 years at a whopping $275 million. In this edition of MLB Fastball, Neil Borenstein examines this issue as it pertains to Rodríguez, the Yankees and even Boras.
Photo Credit: flickr.com
A-Rod will be returning to NY after all for $275 million over 10 years.
Álex Rodríguez' inevitable return to the New York Yankees is both a surprising turn of events and reassuring that players are not always controlled by their agents – even if it's Scott Boras.
As soon as Monday, a new 10-year deal between Rodríguez and the Yankees will become official. That's also the day it's expected Rodríguez will receive his third American League MVP Award, the second with New York. And just like that, the Yankees' search for a new man to play the hot corner ends with re-signing the one they already had. It all pretty much happened without Boras.
Boras is one of the top villains in baseball today. I'm not quite sure if he's No. 1 or 2, since Barry Bonds has a lot of heat, as well. But Boras is largely responsible for surging player costs that result in massive overpayment beyond a player's actual talent. He gets his clients the money he and they want regardless of how that needs to occur.
For the most part, he comes through in the clutch for his players. In that respect, he's extremely good at his job. Boras earns the label "superagent" because he can actually deliver on mega-deals like no other agent in professional sports today. His methods are not always popular. Telling recently drafted players to hold out for more bonus money in their contracts rubs teams the wrong way and will sometimes prevent them from drafting Boras clients. But Boras produces for his clients, thus doing what he is supposed to do.
But even Boras' ego can become too inflated and it will steer him in a very poor direction. When he made the decision to have Rodríguez opt out of his contract and somehow convinced Rodríguez it was a good idea, he laid the groundwork for getting showed up by both his client and the Yankees.
The only reason negotiations started up between Rodríguez and the Yankees was because A-Rod took the initiative to contact them. He went through a third-party to get in contact with Yankees brass, and left Boras behind. When Rodríguez spoke with the Steinbrenners, the only person he brought with him was his wife, Cynthia. Together, they felt comfortable in New York and really wanted to stay with the team. Rodríguez expressed that to Yankee executives and also listened to the team's concerns.
When it was all said and done, the team and player outlined a contract paying Rodríguez $275 million over 10 years, with the potential to make a believed $25 million more if he breaks Bonds' home run record of 762 long balls. Currently, Rodríguez is 244 homers off the mark with 518 in his career.
And though Boras was not completely absent from the process, his role was much more minimal than he's accustomed to. He advised Rodríguez and maybe dealt with the little intricacies of putting together a contract. But the big business was done between the Yankees and Rodríguez, with Boras quite heavily in the background.
When Rodríguez opted out, Boras demanded that the Yankees have at least $350 million ready to offer his client just to meet with him. This is coming after both general manager Brian Cashman and senior vice president Hank Steinbrenner made it obnoxiously clear that if Rodríguez opted out of his contract, they would not try to re-sign him.
Rodríguez headed into free agency without any offers from New York. They were prepared to offer him a contract extension worth between $25-30 million per season at around five years before he dismissed the final three years of his deal. But once the Yankees lost the $21.3 million being paid by the Texas Rangers, they decided it wasn't worth working out a new contract with Rodríguez. Aside from putting his loyalty and priority toward the team in question, the money was just going to be too much, even for New York.
Apparently, it was too much for the other Major League Baseball teams, as well. The market simply wasn't there like Boras thought it would be. Not only did the Yankees not want to give A-Rod $350 million, but the other 29 teams didn't either. Maybe Boras was just starting to get jealous of David Beckham's deal. Whatever the case, he overvalued Rodríguez.
Lets be honest here. If the Yankees feel a certain amount of money is too much, who the hell isn't going to feel that same way? No team can actually outspend New York. If New York legitimately wants a player, they will pay for him. The Yankees have the resources to do that. And if they determine a certain player is not worth damn near $35 million a season, where in the bluest of all hells did Boras think he was going to cash in at that amount? And remember, that was the bare minimum he wanted New York to offer just to meet with A-Rod, not necessary the final offer he wanted for his client. Boras flat out lost his freakin' mind.
Rodríguez was forced to take matters into his own hands. He had to prove he was loyal and wanted to remain in New York. And by taking a cut from what Boras perceived to be his value on the market, Rodríguez made his compromise with the team by taking a raise of just $2.5 million a year.
Boras really messed with Rodríguez here, though. And I think that deep down, Rodríguez didn't really want to opt out, but did so because Boras wanted him to. I mean, an agent is who you look toward to take care of your contractual needs. And Rodríguez was convinced opting out was in his best interest. But the fact that he came back to New York is an indication to me that he never really wanted to leave the Bronx in the first place. He just got fooled into believing there was a lot more money out there and maybe the Yankees would be willing to pay it if Boras could come through in the clutch like he normally does.
I have mixed feeling about the Yankees bringing Rodríguez back.
I will admit that I'm a Rodríguez fan. He's is without a doubt one of the best regular season players in the game today and puts up stats that other players simply cannot reach. He will break the home run record pending he remains healthy, and will likely be coveted as one of the top five players of all time. He is now the posterboy for baseball, especially if he remains clean throughout the rest of his tenure in the MLB.
But the Yankees just cannot win in the playoffs with him on the roster. It's true that he's not the only player that's doesn't show up come October, but that doesn't erase the fact that he is one of them – and he's one of them every year! The past three seasons, the Yankees have struggled and been ousted in the first round. Conveniently, who's been on the Yankees' roster for the past three season? Hmmm …
When A-Rod opted out and the Yankees were committed to just letting him walk, there was an opportunity to move in a new direction. There was a chance to move on. Let the Yankees start fresh and let Rodríguez continue his career with a change of scenery. In New York, Rodríguez was just going to be remembered as the best player in baseball that couldn't come through in the clutch for his team when it mattes the most – in the playoffs.
Now that he's coming back, though, on another 10-year deal, the same questions will continue to pop up – can Rodríguez come through for the team when they need him to in the playoffs?
Rodríguez was one of the big reasons the Yankees at least made the playoffs in 2007. But he once again fell off in production in October. Will that ever change? Can Rodríguez turn his postseason aura around and actually come through in the clutch? Will the Yankees now be stuck with this $27.5 million postseason detriment for the next 10 years?
I think the Yankees would better serve themselves spending that cash on something else. They could have used that money on a cheaper third baseman and some pitching. Right now, the Yankees are running with a starting rotation of Chien-Ming Wang, Mike Mussina, Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain and I guess Ian Kennedy. If Andy Pettitte returns, he will probably boot Kennedy out of there. Regardless, this is not a typical Yankees starting rotation.
First off, the Yankees need to forget about re-signing Mariano Rivera at this point. He's not the Mo he once was and shouldn't be paid even $15 million a season over three years, let alone the fact that Rivera wants more money and another year added to the offer. He had an ERA over three last season and is going to 38 years old on Nov. 29. Enough. Let him walk and replace him in the closer role with CHAMBERLAIN! Don't even bother experimenting with Chamberlain in the starting rotation; just make him the freakin' closer. He's probably a better option than Rivera at this point anyway. It's not a knock on Rivera. But he's no longer worth as much as he thinks he is.
Then, the Yankees need to get their starting rotation in order. Chien-Ming Wang and Phil Hughes are going to be the two big starters for New York in 2008. If Andy Pettitte comes back, he will be big in the rotation. But right now, we'll figure he calls it a career since I'd rather view this as a worst-case scenario situation. Mike Mussina cannot be relied upon as heavily as he once was, but he's still at the very least a No. 4 option. The Yankees should make a pitch for Johan Santana to become their ace, and then put Wang in at two, Hughes at three and Mussina at four. That leaves the No. 5 spot open, which can be used for experimenting between young players, such as Ian Kennedy. If Pettitte comes back, Mussina would be pushed back to that No. 5 spot.
With all of this, the money that's being spent on Rodríguez (and even Rivera) could be put toward giving Santana a long-term deal.
Instead, the Yankees have tossed away an opportunity to start over without the one player who has continuously been an underachiever when it counts the most in October. And now we have to wait and see if having Rodríguez around will continue to bite them in the butt, because they have to live with him for the next 10 years. Nobody will be willing to pick up his tab for the remainder of his career if the Yankees eventually realize they would have been better off moving on without him.
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