Corbin Burnes and Pete Alonso rumored after $1.3 billion MLB winter meeting

DALLAS – Scott Boras was exhausted Wednesday morning, his voice hoarse, spending most of the night on the phone negotiating with teams and now addressing the media. A flight to New York was scheduled Thursday morning for a press conference at Citi Field to officially announce Juan Soto’s historic $765 million contract.

But before he leaves town, he could land another big contract, with top pitcher Corbin Burnes expected to sign a $250 million deal – the third-richest deal for a pitcher in history.

Boras has had serious discussions with the San Francisco Giants about Burnes and spoken with the Boston Red Sox and others, acknowledging the possibility that Burnes’ deal could be agreed to soon.

“I think Corbin Burnes is a little like Elvis,” Boras said. “He has this burning love for a No. 1 starter. You really feel it today and every morning, I might add.”

Signing Burnes would cap a hectic week at baseball’s annual winter meetings in which $1.3 billion was spent on free agents, including three $180 million contracts and four trades involving 17 players.

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Certainly, it was a sharp contrast from last year, when only $138 million was spent and the largest free agent contract was starter Eduardo Rodriguez’s four-year, $80 million deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

“It provides a definition of resources for the teams,” Boras said. “Media (TV contracts) are being understood, more clearly defined as to what the plan will be going forward. I also think that expiring contracts mean something in this market.”

“But the real lesson is that star-level players, playoff-caliber starters and postseason power win consistently. And these are the things that the teams understood with great aggression.”

In fact, Soto has a World Series ring with the Washington Nationals and helped the New York Yankees reach the World Series. Max Fried, who signed an eight-year, $218 million contract with the Yankees, won a World Series with Atlanta and pitched in 20 postseason games over the last seven years. Nathan Eovaldi, who signed a three-year, $75 million contract to return to the Texas Rangers, won two World Series titles. Willy Adames, who signed the largest contract in San Franciso Giants history with a seven-year, $182 million contract, has been to the postseason five times in the last six years.

With Burnes now pitching in the postseason in four of the last seven years, winning a Cy Young Award and finishing in the top eight in four more seasons, he is expected to receive the third-largest contract in history for a pitcher behind Yoshinobu Yamamoto (325). million US dollars) and Gerrit Cole (324 million US dollars).

Boras also represents third baseman Alex Bregman, who has won two World Series championships and has appeared in the postseason every year since 2017. He could get a $180 million contract from the Houston Astros, Red Sox or Yankees.

“We have had numerous conversations with teams and owners and we all know what comes after an A (Alex) and a B (Bregman) are a C champion,” Boras said. “And it’s Bregman’s case, that’s C squared.” “All these teams know what a leader and champion he is, and besides, he’s in high demand.”

Boras could also get a similar contract for free-agent first baseman Pete Alonso, a four-time All-Star who hit 226 home runs in his six seasons.

“There is a big market move going on with regards to Pete,” Boras said. “The Polar Bear Express is rolling. … Power is such a commodity in this game, and when we filter the market, availability is a real core roster need for most teams.”

While the market for Alonso appears to be slow, Boras didn’t rule out a return to the Mets even after they invested heavily in Soto.

“I think it’s pretty obvious that the Mets have decided that they’re going to win and win for a long time,” Boras said. “They have made it very clear to us that they will not limit themselves to signing one great player, so you know they will be very consistent and will work hard to attract the best talent.

While Boras has refused to speak publicly about the Soto negotiations until Soto completes his physical exam, the rising price of the pitching market in these winter meetings has captured everyone’s attention and reached levels no one could have imagined . There were six pitchers who signed contracts with at least $20 million guaranteed per season, with Snell leading the way with his five-year, $182 million contract averaging $36.4 million per season.

“You see the real demand for pitching,” Boras said. “I think because of COVID-19, we used a lot of our Double-A and Triple-A junior starters. We got them to the big leagues. Some things worked, many things didn’t.

“And now we need experienced pitchers because we have big gaps and we need to complete the 800 or 900 innings of starting pitching.”

While most team managers and agents left Dallas following the conclusion of the Rule 5 Draft on Wednesday afternoon, a flurry of signings is expected next week before the Christmas break.

And yes, by the time teams report to spring training, there will continue to be a barrage of complaints from small and mid-market teams as the payroll gap widens.

“Part of the sports league is inequality,” Boras said. “There is always a Goliath. And there is always David. I don’t care what league it is. I don’t care if there are salary caps or not, you start seeing these things happen in sports. It’s always been that way.

“So I’ve listened to the differences in the market, the needs, etc., but the one thing that’s common is that any property that was bought for $100 or $200 million is now $2 to $3 billion. dollars is worth. “That’s the biggest thing about being in a sports league, and the inequality part is just a competitive decision you make while playing in a league that’s increasing in value at a dramatic level.”

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