Tampa Bay Rays: Blake Snell and Scott Boras have been busy

Tampa Bay Rays star pitcher Blake Snell was recently in the headlines for something he said, now he’s in the headlines for something he’s doing.

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Blake Snell recently switched representation to super-agent Scott Boras.

Snell was recently in the news when he took to his Twitch account and declared in response to the proposed revenue split, “I’m not playing unless I get mine.”

Now Snell is ensuring that he does indeed get his. Scott Boras represents many of the highest-paid players in the game. Boras can be found at the center of Greg Maddux’s record-breaking extension with the Braves in 1997.

He was the agent behind Bryce Harper’s 13-year, $330 million deal with the Phillies last offseason. He helped his clients reach record deals all over the diamond, representing Ivan Rodriguez and his 4-year, $40 million contract with the Tigers. He negotiated Mark Texeira’s $180 million contract with the Yankees, Chris Davis’ 7-year, $161 million deal, Jose Altuve’s 5-year, $151 million contract, the famous Alex Rodriguez contract with the Rangers and then the 10-year extension with the Yankees. He got Jacoby Ellsbury his 7-year, $153 million deal and there are many others worth noting.

Boras represented all of the top free agents from the last offseason.

This is the man now representing Blake Snell. When a player mentions that he needs to get his money, it’s like a birdcall that summons the phoenix within Scott Boras and he flies in to save the day.

Boras was under some fire from Trevor Bauer recently as Bauer accused him of meddling in union affairs on Twitter.

This is in reference to an email Boras sent to the players. In the email. Boras told players they should stand their ground and not accept any further pay cuts as the owners make enough money from baseball operations to pay them. He went on to say that the only reason the owners should be losing money is due to their own risks and investments outside of operating the clubs.

Here is the full email via ESPN.com:

“Owners are asking for more salary cuts to bail them out of the investment decisions they have made,” Boras said. “If this was just about baseball, playing games would give the owners enough money to pay the players their full prorated salaries and run the baseball organization. The owners’ current problem is a result of the money they borrowed when they purchased their franchises, renovated their stadiums or developed land around their ballparks. This type of financing is allowed and encouraged by MLB because it has resulted in significant franchise valuations.“Owners now want players to take additional pay cuts to help them pay these loans. They want a bailout. They are not offering players a share of the stadiums, ballpark villages or the club itself, even though salary reductions would help owners pay for these valuable franchise assets. These billionaires want the money for free. No bank would do that. Banks demand loans be repaid with interest. Players should be entitled to the same respect.”

Now that Snell has inked a deal with Scott Boras, you have to wonder how long prior to the end of his contract until the Rays look to deal him. If he continues to pitch well the next couple of years, he should bring home quite a haul.