Could Scott Boras Be Inadvertently Hurting Cody Bellinger and Blake Snell’s Free Agency Chances?

Many call Scott Boras the most successful agent in the history of American sports. Even though today some may be singing praises of Nez Balelo and Joel Wolfe, Boras has a history of doing right by his clients where paychecks are concerned. After all, the man who eclipsed the NBA to get Alex Rodriguez the most lucrative MLB deal in 2000 deserves some merit. But is he still doing good by Cody Bellinger and Blake Snell today?

Cody Bellinger is fresh off a comeback season with the Chicago Cubs, whereas Blake Snell just won an NL Cy Young. And yet, both these players are sitting empty-handed despite boasting Scott Boras as an agent. Is it because of a certain Bryce Harper comment that the free agents’ future looks murky?

Scott Boras Choosing Bryce Harper Over Blake Snell and Cody Bellinger?

Contracts get broken all the time, but is an agent’s word worth the same? A talent that everyone wanted, Bryce Harper spent most of the 2018 offseason in headlines. Finally, in March 2019, the slugger joined hands with the Philadelphia Phillies on a massive 13-year, $330 million contract, with no opt-outs. Five years in, Harper wants an extension, or so Scott Boras said at MLB’s Winter Meetings at the beginning of December. What interesting timing to hurt Cody Bellinger and Blake Snell.

All of MLB was poised to hear where two of the biggest names of the season, Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, would land first. It was understood that the market would pick up once they decided on teams, which incidentally happened to be the Dodgers. But neither OF Bellinger nor LHP Snell have contracts yet.

The Harper move was clearly made in an attempt to increase his Average Annual Value (AAV), which will not even be among the top 20 next season. But given that not even half of the Phillies’ slugger’s contract time has passed, it makes the situation a bit iffy for MLB clubs wanting to deal with Boras’ clients.

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The veteran agent already has a reputation around the league for being money-minded. The man who helped Alex Rodriguez break his own record for the most lucrative MLB contract will undoubtedly evoke certain emotions in MLB executives. But in choosing Harper, is Scott Boras inadvertently hurting Snell and Bellinger?

In an almost dead market waiting to pick up, both players have reasons for teams to hesitate. Bellinger just had a career renaissance but it was after three consecutive bad seasons in LA due to bad form and injuries. Snell, admittedly a two-time Cy Young winner, has never received a single vote in other years for his performance.

Can Boras afford to choose one client over another like this? Especially when the one he’s favoring already has a city’s love behind him, and the talent to prove it. But the ones he’s overlooking are already struggling?

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