Dodgers’ Scott Boras relationship could poison key extension talks

Not everyone loves super-agent Scott Boras’ folksy metaphors and outlandish comparisons as much as the baseball media typically does during the Winter Meetings.

In fact, it now seems safe to say the Dodgers’ future has been dictated in part by which stars are represented by Boras, and which have sought other counsel. In an approximation of the man’s own words, the Dodgers’ have executed a more impressive Boras ouster than the British parliament.

Ken Rosenthal’s Athletic notes column from Monday morning was full of juiced-up nuggets for Dodgers fans, once again winking at the team’s potential pursuit of Jacob deGrom/Justin Verlander by reminding everyone how much Andrew Friedman’s group loves short-term, high-AAV deals (Verlander and the Dodgers are reportedly meeting this week).

Equally as important, though, Rosenthal colored in the unofficial line in the sand between Friedman and Boras, noting that the two sides haven’t done business on a multi-year deal since … ever.

The last Boras-Dodgers “mega-contract” was a relatively tame pact for Hyun-Jin Ryu back in 2012 under previous stewardship. LA bid for Gerrit Cole back in 2019, but reportedly came up well short.

That means Brandon Nimmo and Carlos Correa are pipe dreams. It also means that Julio Urías, a Boras client and the only thing that still resembles rotation stability in Los Angeles, might be headed the way of the dinosaur, Cody Bellinger and Corey Seager soon enough.

Dodgers let Cody Bellinger, Corey Seager walk due to Scott Boras ties?

Huh. No wonder the Dodgers obliterated his previous innings cap back in 2021.

Urías might be in Los Angeles for a good time … but not a long time unless he switches representation. In terms of Boras-based Dodgers losses, this one might slot in right behind the departure of Seager, who certainly earned the right to be a Forever Dodger with his 2020 postseason, cost be damned.

Might it someday be a bad idea to be paying a mid-30s Seager $32.5 million annually? Of course, but it isn’t right now, during the shortstop’s 30-homer peak. The Dodgers are one of very few teams that would be able to weather a storm like Seager’s expensive later years, and they might’ve been willing to do so for someone other than Boras.

It’s unclear where the wedge was first formed between the two warring factions, but it’s served as a pretty clear line of demarcation so far. While Urías is a different beast — not boom-or-bust, but remarkably consistent — Boras will look to sell 27-year-old (!) next offseason as one of baseball’s best pitchers, a comforting blanket during otherwise-daunting matchups with others teams’ aces.

The Dodgers will counter, expressing their doubt that Urías can keep this up into old age without overwhelming swing-and-miss stuff, claiming they’d rather drop one of their beloved short-term deals on a flamethrower instead.

In the end, it’s likely the sides will part, unable to find an agreement on equal value for Boras’ client and the Dodgers’ rotation’s version of the Calm App. Don’t say we didn’t warn you. The writing’s on the wall.

Dodgers News: Jacob deGrom, free agent pitching market, Scott Boras

The Los Angeles Dodgers will be active in 2022-23's free agent market, and must be growing more confident of signing Jacob deGrom by the day.