The Braves Are Doing The Right Thing for the Organization by Not Dealing with Scott Boras

The Atlanta Braves are the envy of Major League Baseball in a lot of ways. 

President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos and the team's front office have built one of the deepest and strongest MLB rosters in the game, with amazing amounts of team control over every single defensive position and at good prices, too - no Braves player projects to receive over $22M per year at any time in their contracts with Atlanta. Not MVP Ronald Acuña Jr, not MLB's 2023 home run leader in Matt Olson, and not MLB's 2023 strikeout leader in Spencer Strider. 

And while the Braves are projected to be the best team in baseball next season, there are several free agents out there that could conceivably help them get back to the World Series, like reigning NL Cy Young winner Blake Snell or postseason hero Jordan Montgomery. 

The only problem with going after one of those players is that they're represented by MLB super-agent Scott Boras, and Atlanta's doesn't have much of a relationship with Scott Boras. 

It's not a 'never deal with Scott Boras' thing

The Braves don't refuse to sign Boras clients - Atlanta signed pitcher Dallas Keuchel in 2019 to a one year deal, and he went 8-8 across his 19 starts for the team that season with a 3.75 ERA - but it doesn't happen often. 

(Also, Atlanta attempted to trade for Chicago White Sox starter Dylan Cease this winter, who is represented by Boras.) 

It's not a matter of the money - Boras clients are typically some of the best options on the free agent market and subsequently demand the highest annual salaries, but Atlanta's willing to come above their $22M "cap" for the right player - Josh Donaldson signed for $23M on a one year deal in 2019 and both the final deals offered to Freddie Freeman (5 years, $140M) and Aaron Nola (6 years, $162M) would have exceeded that amount as well. 

(Keuchel's prorated full season salary would have come close but not exceeded $22M - the team waited to sign him until June so that they'd be past the compensatory pick deadline, so his prorated $13M salary for the season would have been $21.2M)

But the fact remains that Atlanta typically stays away from Scott Boras clients, and with good reason. 

It's a 'we don't want to do that stuff' reason

Boras, perhaps more than any other agent in baseball, is known for three things: 

1) Getting his players to free agency, typically declining extensions in favor of reaching the open market 
2) Keeping his players on the market as long as possible...
3) To get the best possible financial and contractual terms for his clients. 

And for several reasons, that doesn't mesh with Atlanta's way of doing business. 

Anthopoulos prefers extending his own players, whether they were signed as international free agents (Ronald Acuña Jr, Ozzie Albies), drafted (Michael Harris II, Spencer Strider, Austin Riley), or acquired via trade (Matt Olson, Sean Murphy), versus signing from the free agent market.

And that typically means that Anthopoulos is able to get better deals that going after a free agent at the top of the market. 

The way with which Atlanta does those extensions is notable, as well - yes they always feature a 1% donation to the Atlanta Braves Foundation, but what's more notable is what they don't have: Player opt outs, player or mutual options, no-trade clauses, and deferred money. 

No, the Braves have only club options on their roster at the moment, with no money being deferred. No Braves player has the ability to opt out of their deal, and none of them have no-trade clauses in the contract. 

(MLB players can functionally earn a no-trade clause through what's known as "10-5 Rights" - spending ten years in the league and at least five with your current organization gives a player the ability to veto any trade they are involved in. No current Braves player currently has 10-5 rights, but several project to earn them during the life of their current contract with the team and Anthopoulos has vowed that trades of those players that have signed long-term "will not happen" in the meantime.)

Additionally, Anthopoulos likes to strike early in the offseason (when possible) to acquire the players he's identified as good fits for Atlanta before the market can move and change the acquisition price, another factor that puts him at odds with Boras. 

This offseason, Atlanta has re-signed relievers Joe Jiménez & Pierce Johnson, traded with the Seattle Mariners for OF Jarred Kelenic, with the Chicago White Sox for reliever Aaron Bummer and with the Boston Red Sox for starter Chris Sale, as well as signed free-agent pitcher Reynaldo López all before the end of December. 

The Braves don't need Scott Boras

The top four free agents currently on the market - Snell, Montgomery, and position players Matt Chapman and Cody Bellinger - are all still available as spring training games have started with the Dodgers vs Padres on Thursday afternoon. 

(Side note - there's a column for another day about if Scott Boras is bad for baseball. Let us know your comments on this on social media.) 

The fact remains that the way Scott Boras does business - love it or hate it - isn't that compatible with how the Atlanta Braves do business. And it's unlikely Boras is going to change, so that means Atlanta would have to, mostly by both paying more money per year and giving in on player-friendly contract structures. 

But Atlanta's gotten to their current level of success mostly without the help of Scott Boras and his extensive client list. And at this point, it's hard to say they should be doing anything differently. 

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