Werth hires Boras. What's the bigger picture?
Hours after hitting a walk-off home run to cap an incredible comeback by the Phillies, Jayson Werth hired Scott Boras as his new agent, a source confirmed.
Werth hires Boras. What's the bigger picture?
Matt Gelb
Hours after hitting a walk-off home run to cap an incredible comeback by the Phillies, Jayson Werth hired Scott Boras as his new agent, a source confirmed.
CSNPhilly.com was the first to report the move late Sunday night. Boras has not returned messages for comment. Werth has yet to file paperwork with the Players' Association to make the move official.
Of course, Boras' name needs little explanation. The superagent has negotiated some of the wealthiest deals in baseball history. In Philadelphia, he will forever be known for the J.D. Drew saga.
This time, Boras might actually be helping the Phillies. We'll explain later.
Werth began shopping for a new agent earlier in the season when he fired Jeff Borris of Beverly Hills Sports Council. The 31-year-old outfielder figures to be a top commodity on the free-agent market along with Tampa Bay outfielder Carl Crawford.
Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. has never ruled out re-signing Werth but the two sides have had few negotiations, especially with Werth changing representation.
"Doesn't mean anything to me," Amaro said last week about Werth's agent shopping. "That's his issue. I don't have any problems with agents."
But the hiring of Boras will have a great effect on how the Phillies approach the Werth situation -- and this goes beyond whether they can sign him or not.
Because really, the Phillies face a near impossibility in signing Werth. The 2011 payroll already is approaching $150 million and that is with money committed to just 16 players.
Werth is likely due a massive deal on the market. He is posting career-high numbers in batting average and OPS. He leads the Phillies in slugging percentage.
"It will play itself out in the off-season," Amaro said last week.
So back to how Boras can help: With him in the fold, the Phillies are even more likely to offer Werth arbitration. Even before Boras entered the picture, this was a move the Phillies were likely to make. Now, it's a no-brainer.
Why does this matter? Werth will be a Type A free agent. If the Phillies offer arbitration and another team signs Werth, the Phillies will receive two compensatory draft picks, including a first-rounder from the team that signs Werth.
But there is occasional risk in offering arbitration. If Boras and Werth decide there isn't a team willing to offer the multi-year deal they will seek, they could accept the Phillies' offer for arbitration on a one-year deal. Boras could make that a very lucrative one-year deal through arbitration. Then, the Phillies would either have to make the expanded payroll work -- or more likely trade Werth away.
That's a hard scenario to envision. There appears to be a substantial market for Werth.
Generally, Boras clients have rejected arbitration offers with the hopes of landing a multi-year deal on the market. And generally, that has worked out.
The Phillies have had limited dealings with Boras since the Drew incident in 1997.
One case shows Boras' willingness to avoid accepting arbitration. Following the 2003 season, Kevin Millwood was a free agent and Boras initially rejected a three-year, $30 million deal from the Phillies, saying there were longer and more lucrative deals for Millwood on the market. Eventually, Millwood accepted arbitration and signed a one-year deal for $11 million.
Other than Werth, Ryan Madson is the lone player currently on the Phillies roster represented by Boras. He negotiated a three-year, $12 million deal for Madson before the 2009 season began.
The team tried to re-sign a Boras client, Kyle Lohse, following the 2007 season. The Phillies offered as three-year deal around $21 million. Boras rejected it. Lohse ended up signing with St. Louis for a one-year deal worth $4.25 million.
They battled with Boras in arbitration over Travis Lee's salary in the 2001 off-season. Boras lost that case. He was seeking $1.6 million. Lee was awarded $800,000.
Werth will not accept arbitration. He's coming of two solid years (this year and last) and will not want to have to prove himself for a big contract through another season. This is his one shot at a big deal. Phils will not re-sign him, which won't be a huge loss in terms of overall numbers once Dom Brown becomes an everyday guy, the issue will be the lack of right-handed bats in the lineup, (there will also be some defensive drop off). The only way I see Werth being a Philly next year is if the Phils trade Victorino (very moveable contract) and/or Ibanez (unmoveable contract) to free up cash. However, I agree that starting their own Network is not a bad idea as a new revenue stream and to capitalize on the team's status in this city— Billingham
Goes to show that Boras isn't the genius he seems to think he is. Millwood and Lohse should have signed the deals that the Phils gave them. Cost them a lot of dough.
JW is gone....Boras or not.— Servo- 3 million fans multiplied by $5 (average increase in ticket price) = $15 million = keep Jayson Werth!— themadhacker2000
- I like that no one is irreplaceable... I am sure they can get an outfielder at reasonable price if Werth is unreasonable... Keep Brown as a fourth outfielder and rotate him in he gets 300 abs... good plan get some left relievers instead. I agree the game is turning to pitching for a while not hitting— BBAX
- Thank you "ceocreates"....nice to see some smarts by a poster...I also dig you GM remark....some of these people commenting are just plain dumb and or fans of WIP....— will_wonders_never_cease
- Good player. Not $18M/yr good. See ya Werth, don't let the door hitcha on the way out.— TheDude
meh... not too concerned with Werth once you talk about 10 million +...- Correct, Billingham... to those who say they "like the idea of offering arbitration" as a way to keep Werth, he and Boras have to accept it. The value of offering arbitration is the 2 draft picks you get when he signs elsewhere. Any payroll increases next year will be to fill out other positions/bullpen, etc. This has nothing to do with sellouts, etc. as the team's income has maxed out anyway, and their business model sets payroll relative to that. Agree/disagree, that's the way it is. With a relatively high-priced nucleus and pitching staff, they need relatively cheap/young talent in support positions. (Hello, Dom Brown.) They're going to compete and be in contention for 5 more years, so let's all just chill a bit about Jason.— wmichael
- Let's hope the Phillies offer arbitration and then Werth signs with Pittsburgh. We'd get a top talent in return and another guy of quality.— 4thand10
- this is a business. we should all still love werth regardless of what happens. he is a champion and he is an important piece of our puzzle. after we win another title and celebrate a parade this season, then we can give him a grand farewell and wish him well.— drumminge6
- Couple other things to note: Moyer will be coming off the books next year, Romero (has a $4.5MM club option which likely won't be picked up) and Blanton & Durbin are also FA's. The money from these FA's will likely be poured into fresh bullpen arms. Also, there will be other outfielders avail for the Phils to look at to fill Werth's spot and split time with Brown: Jason Kubel, Michael Cuddyer, Brad Hawpe just to name a few— Billingham
- FYI: If a team signs a FA that is ranked higher than Werth and they also sign Werth, we will get a 1st round sandwhich and a second round pick. Same holds true if one of the 15 worst records sign Werth.— EarlKeese
Nope!!!!!— EJAY- Dave Clemens, that is funny stuff.— fla
- I will never forgive Boras for the J D Drew walk-off. Werth, it has been nice but have a great career elsewhere. By signing with Boras, Werth has sealed his fate. Another Ballplayer who is more interested in money than play baseball and winning. good luck have a nice career except against the Phillies.— jpelle36
