Boras Takes Shot At Mets, Tells Them To Get With The Spending Program
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Scott Boras would like to see the Mets shoot for the stars.
The super agent, who represents some of the biggest free agents on the market this offseason, took a creative shot at the Amazin's on Wednesday, further aggravating a fan base that's highly sensitive to comments made about the team's apparent unwillingness to open its wallet to acquire better talent.
First, general manager Sandy Alderson joked about the issue on Monday, telling reporters as he entered the lobby of the Orlando, Fla., hotel where the GM Meetings are being held, "I was upstairs stacking our money," and then adding after pausing a few seconds, "Don't get excited. They were all fives."
Those comments and others, which were all intended to be jokes by the Mets' GM, annoyed the fan base. Calls were made to WFAN and comments were dropped on CBSNewYork.com all day lambasting the so-called humor.
Then on Wednesday, as mixed reports surfaced of the Mets possibly being ready to pull the trigger on a move or two, Boras had his say about how the Mets do their business.
"The Mets are like NASA," Boras said Wednesday afternoon at the GM Meetings. "They have big rockets, a lot of platforms and very few astronauts. Astronauts are hard to find. They've got one guy with the 'Wright' stuff. That's for sure. And they've got a lot of 'Arm'-strongs, too. But they're certainly a club that I'm sure is in a pursuit of a higher level of talent."
Boras said the Mets are only holding themselves back.
"Well, I think the ability to spend and actually spending are two different things," said Boras, who represents free agents including Jacoby Ellsbury, Shin-Soo Choo and Stephen Drew. "And that's only for the Mets to diagnose. Certainly their franchise value has gone through the roof -- they're in the well over $2 billion. They're a very successfully run business operation. The Mets have the ability to pretty much do what they want to do. But it's hard to find astronauts."
Boras said he did not intend to meet with the Mets during the meetings, which would lead some to believe they will pursue second-tier free agents, if any at all.
He was asked what he thought of Alderson saying the Mets would not sign a player to a $100 million contract this offseason.
"The hardest thing about limits is that it doesn't limit others. It limits you," Boras said.
Boras said the NL East is fast-becoming an arms race -- and not only on the mound. With the Braves improving and the Phillies still good and willing to spend to remain good, the Mets better not get left behind with their noses pushed up against the glass.
"The NL East is going to be a lot more difficult than it was a year ago," Boras said. "I think there's a couple of teams that could be very, very different and a lot more competitive. And even the teams that are not considered to compete are going to be a lot better. So it's going to be a lot harder to get wins in the National League East."
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