As an Angel fan, one is expected to carry a seething rage towards Scott Boras. We all know who he is, the man who cheated the Angels out of Mark Teixiera and Adrian Beltre, possibly Jered Weaver and Kendry Morales in the near future. With the two young stars free agency looming in the near future one can only wonder what kind of master plan Boras is cooking up to screw over the Angels. It is almost as if this man has made it his life’s mission to publicly shame and dismantle the Angels franchise, but I can confidently tell you that he has failed miserably. You ask why? I’m going to need you to suspend your sense of disbelief untill the end of this sentence, because Scott Boras has put together the pieces the Angels need to win that elusive 2nd World Series title.
Has this man really put together the pieces the Angels needed to make a spectacular playoff run?
Or am I just a secret Boras lover?
Just to clear the air Scott Boras probably does have it out for the Angels and has done whatever it takes to publicly shame them, but he has (inadvertently) assisted the Angels in multiple ways. In order to fully understand the meaning of the last sentence we’re going to go back to the offseason following the 2008 season. After Mark Texiera posted an incredible season, helping the Angels achieve their 1st 100 win season, one would expect the Angels to do whatever it took to keep him in an Angels uniform. The Angels pulled a Yankees-esque move, offering Teixiera a massive 8yr/160 million contract, which would have been almost double that of their previous franchise record of Torii Hunter’s 5/90 contract. However, Scott Boras pulled the metaphorical rug from under the Angels feet after leading them on, eventually shipping Teixiera off to the Yankees. Now with an open hole at first base, the Angels had no choice but to bring up Kendry Morales. Lets compare Teixiera and Morales for a second here.
2009
Kendry Morales: 306./355./569. OPS: 924. HR: 34 RBI: 108
Mark Teixiera: 292./383./565. OPS: 984. HR: 39 RBI: 122
The Angels found lightning in a bottle when they brought up Morales, who is a very similar player to Teixiera. Kendry Morales can do whatever Mark Teixeira can do, and at $178 million less. Both players are switch hitters with awe inspiring power who can hit for a high average and will consistently get on base. Although Mark Teixera has the edge in power and OBP, Kendry Morales is the better player to have on your team as his contract won’t cripple the Angels (unlike the Teixiera contract) which will give them much more financial room to improve other spots. Thanks for that one Boras, but we aren’t done yet.
Angels [1] Boras [0]
The magic of losing the Teixiera deal doesn’t just stop at Kendry Morales, it also carried a trickling down effect. After losing out on Texiera to the Yankees the Angels recieved two complementory draft picks. Most people were frustrated by this deal, as two draft picks would do nothing to give the team the immediate help it needed and carried very low chances to turn a heavy profit, yet turn a heavy profit they did. The Yankees’ 1st round draft pick the Angels recieved brought the player that today most people see as the future of the club. Using the first round draft pick, the Angels brought Mike Trout on board. If you ask anyone who the future of the Angels is they will immediately reply “Mike Trout”, and why not? Mike Trout put up monsterous numbers in the minors, sporting a 344./426./489. slash line in two seasons. Aside from his offense Mike Trout is a spectacluar fielder and baserunner, sporting speed and a glove on par with Angels rookie phenom Peter Bourjos. Scott Boras singlehandedly etched the Angels future in stone with that move, and a bright future it is.
Angels [2] Boras [0]
Wait a second, I mentioned two draft picks back there didn’t I? What happened to the other one? The Angels used the supplementary pick to draft LHP Tyler Skaggs, and in two seasons with the Angels minor league system Skaggs posted these impressive numbers: ERA: 3.16, .643 W-L%, 0.6 HR/9, 9.6 K/9. Believe it or not, Tyler Skaggs brought what some would call “salvation” to the Angels starting rotation in 2009. Your most likely wondering how a minor league pitcher could save the Angels major league rotation, which was struggling pretty bad early last season.
With Jered Weaver, Ervin Santana, and Joel Pineiro doing their best to keep the team afloat while Kazmir and Saunders were dragging the team down pretty fast the Angels needed to do something quick to change things up, and what a change they made. On July 26th the Angels made a massive splash in the trade market by making a deal with the Diamondbacks for Dan Haren, with the centerpieces of the trade being Joe Saunders and Tyler Skaggs (along with Rafael Rodriguez and Pat Corbin). The Angels were able to turn these two draft picks for profit very fast. Not only do we have the future of our club waiting in the wings, but they brought along one of the better pitchers in baseball on board to co-ace with Jered Weaver to give the Angels arguably the best starting rotation in the AL.
Angels [3] Boras [0]
Aside from the Teixiera deal, Scott Boras played with the Angels in the Adrian Beltre fiasco. While the Angels were seen as the heavy favorites to land Beltre, Scott Boras made an unlikely and sudden deal with their division rivals, the Texas Rangers. While the Rangers claim to sign Beltre to improve the team, which makes sense since Michael young is on a sharp decline, they have destroyed the team chemistry which made them so special in 2010. With a disgruntled Michael Young in the clubhouse the Rangers are pretty short on team leaders, while the Angels prosper with Hunter and Wells. This move had all the symptoms of the “panic move”, doing little to improve the weak spots on the club.
In all likelyhood the Rangers probably signed Beltre to keep him away from the Angels, ignoring their substantial lack of pitching and attempt to buff up their offense. Granted, the Rangers have a powerful offense, but by irresponsibly throwing money at Beltre the Rangers are down $96 mil which should have gone to boost their pitching staff. Now the Angels are up $256 mil ($127 mil which has gone to Wells, Downs, and Takahashi), granted they still have a hole at third base, thats money that can be well spent in the coming offseasons. Once Beltre goes into a decline the Rangers will be stuck with a contract that will do much harm to the team. Lack of common sense on the Rangers part is guaranteed to knock them down a peg in the AL West, all thanks to Boras and his greedy “Money is all” mentality.
Angels [4] Boras [0] Rangers [-1]
Not only has Boras managed to inadvertently boost the Angels roster and playoff chances, he’s also brought down the Angels biggest divisional rival, which will make the AL much more manageable for the Angels to conquer in the coming seasons. When the Angels are celebrating yet another division win near the end of the season, we’ll have Boras and his ill-thought schemes to thank.