Boras Will Have To Settle For Less

With all this talk about his new contract and where he will play it is pretty safe to say that Alex Rodriguez will opt out. Rodriguez is coming off one of his best years in his career, batting .314 with 54 HR and 156 RBI. But he has struggled massively in the post season, which I think will hurt him in contract negotiations. But, he can hit at least 35 home runs for the next several seasons and bat close to .290 or .300. His agent, Scott Boras, is calling for a 10 year deal worth 300 million dollars. Now we all know that Boras has done this before with Carlos Beltran and others, but 300 million is outrageous for someone who hasn't helped the Yankees make it to a World Series. Other than Rodriguez, the other nine regular starting third baseman batted a combined .273 with an average of 13 homers and 67 RBIs while making an average 5 million dollars. A-Rod made 22 million dollars. Yes he did give them an extra 41 home runs but baseball is too much a team sport where superstars can't do everything. Look at the teams in the playoffs. They are built on a minor league system, and letting their younger players develop. Theo Epstein has gone out and done was is best for the team. Look his leading the Red Sox right now-two players he acquired from the Marlins, Mike Lowell and Josh Beckett. He has stuck with Tim Wakefield after all these years and his given guys like Youkilis, Pedroia, and soon Ellsbury a chance to shine. The Indians are the same way such that fourteen players on their playoff roster have been with the Indians their whole career. Two of them came over after their first year. That kind of chemistry and trust from the manager and Front Office really goes a long way with a team like that. "Once you're on the field … payroll is not a factor. It's just two teams playing baseball."—Indians GM Mark Shapiro. The Yankees, on the other hand, have 12, but five of them are rookies this year. Do I even need to mention the Rockies or Diamondbacks? I have no doubt that a team like the Dodgers, Giants, or Angels will throw a 8-10 year deal worth 220-230 million dollars. He will still be making close to thirty million, with the overall pay down. Hopefully they will get a couple opt clauses in case Rodriguez crumbles as he gets older, but I do not think Boras will allow something like this. Some team is willing to give Boras whatever he wants, and they will ultimately pay in the end.

Phil Rogers, Source