Why Scott Boras-Blake Snell is good thing for the Tampa Bay Rays

Tampa Bay Rays superstar left-handed pitcher Blake Snell announced he was switching representation to Scott Boras this past week.

The Tampa Bay Rays star pitcher has been hitting the headlines the past few weeks. Blake Snell caused a stir when he publicly and earnestly shared his thoughts on the owners’ proposal for the 2020 season and the revenue split.

While his candor was appreciated – at least by me – his tact could have used a little polish. I would venture to guess that any controversial remarks made by Snell in the future will be a little more filtered.

Why? Snell switched his representation to the legendary super-agent, Scott Boras. While some have viewed the move as a deeper dive into his own egotistical indulgence, I think it was a good move.

I appreciate the open door into a player’s mind that Snell has gifted to us. Thank you for that Blake.

Signing with Boras will certainly help with his delivery of such messages (or put an end to them) as the goal now is to make Snell worth as much money as possible.

Blake Snell is a long-term investment for Boras. Snell is currently under contract with the Tampa Bay Rays through 2023 season, signing a five-year extension last spring.

Why Scott Boras is good for the Tampa Bay Rays

Scott Boras has been the man at the negotiating table for many of the biggest contracts handed out in the league. As of September of last year, according to Forbes, Boras had $2.4 billion of contracts on the books. That was before this past offseason.

MLB Trade Rumors projected Boras’ clients to rake in $842 million in contracts in the past hot stove session. Boras spit at their prognostications by totaling $1,077,500,000 in guaranteed money.

That total included the likes of Gerrit Cole ($324M), Stephen Strasburg ($245M), Anthony Rendon ($245M), Hyun-Jin Ryu ($80M), Nick Castellanos ($64M), Mike Moustakas ($64M), and Dallas Keuchel ($55.5M).

This man knows a big-money player when he sees one. If Scott Boras sees Blake Snell as an elite free agent at age 31 in 2023 then what does that mean for Tampa Bay?

In order for Blake Snell to reach the heights he and Boras envision for him (think Scrooge McDuck diving into a pool of gold coins), he has to sustain an elite-level of performance until he hits the market.  As a Rays’ fan, you have to love what Boras said to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.

"“The main idea right now is that we’re going to work with the team to provide every resource and to make [Snell] a better Ray,"

Boras knows how to get the most out of his players on the market, and in order for that to happen, he has to get the most out of them on the field.

It was already highly improbable that Snell would spend the rest of his career in Tampa, that’s just the nature of the business down here. For all of our sakes, we hope Blake Snell becomes the next $300-million pitcher.

The Rays will only benefit from this arrangement. They get the on-field production that will lead to his eventual big contract and it raises his trade-value, should the opportunity arise. It’s a win-win-win for the Rays. The third win is perhaps Boras will provide a little more censorship on his public declarations in an effort to maximize marketability.