MLB Rumors: Are teams making a statement by not signing Scott Boras' clients?

For many years, super agent Scott Boras has held teams hostage in negotiations with his baseball superstar clients. He has driven the annual average value of contracts through the roof and has caused many general managers and scouts to have sleepless nights.

This season, the tide might be turning. One might say that, today, the owners have the upper hand.

With Boras superstar clients Cody Bellinger, Matt Chapman, Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery all without contracts, mainly due to Boras' high demands, teams are looking within their own farm systems or to cheaper alternatives instead. Other teams are simply opting to do without their services.

It appears as though the Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants and the New York Yankees might just learn how to thrive and survive without the above-named superstars and go with what they have in their own organizations.

Boras, who has a client list that also includes New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso, Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals outfielder Joey Gallo and about 60 other notable Major League baseball players, is getting a dose of his own medication, and it does not taste too sweet.

Here are the latest updates on the Boras Four, as things stand on Wednesday morning.

Cody Bellinger, Outfielder

On Opening Day at Wrigley Field, center field could be occupied with Pete Crow-Armstrong, who is Chicago's long-term answer to replacing Bellinger. According to owner Tom Ricketts, Boras went directly to him to try to negotiate the Bellinger contract, usurping president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer in the process.

Ricketts would have no part of it. He told reporters that he would not deal directly with Boras because that "undermines the credibility of your general manager. And so inserting yourself into that negotiation, I don't think that helps. So, I don't talk to him."

Bellinger, 28, hit .307 last season with 26 home runs, 97 RBI, 95 runs scored and 20 stolen bases en route to a career high .881 OPS.

While MLB insider Bob Nightengale believes the Cubs remain an inevitability for Bellinger, and that the outfielder has no other substantial offers, Chicago's leadership certainly isn't budging.

Matt Chapman, third base

The Cubs would love to have Chapman, a four-time Gold Glove winner, as well, but due to his pricey demands through Boras, the team is looking seriously at playing Christopher Morel at third base.

“Christopher’s done so much with the bat that it’s our job to figure out the best way to deploy him, My idea at the start of camp is to kind of focus mainly at third base. Let’s see where we’re at. Let’s evaluate that as we go. But let’s give him a chance at third base. Let’s give him some consistency at third base and see where we’re at, roster-wise, at some point in camp and then go forward from there.”

The Giants could be a soft landing spot for Chapman, according to MLB Insider Mike Rodriguez. Rodriguez has gone on the record as stating that the Giants are looking for another bat for their lineup and, according to his sources, it is Chapman. But, as is the norm, San Francisco hasn't budged much in recent weeks either.

Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi, who just opened the war chest for Jorge Soler, told Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic that at some point in time, you have to fish or cut bait, and that it is time to move on and get ready with the team that he's already assembled.

“It’s a little bit more disruptive to add at this point. And, you know, anybody who’s a free agent, we’ve theoretically had 3 1/2 months to figure out a deal and if it hasn’t happened yet, at some point organizationally, you just need to turn the page and focus on the players you have.”

Blake Snell, starting pitcher

The former San Diego Padres left-hander is now a free agent, and perhaps the top southpaw available at this point in time. Snell won the Cy Young Award last season, as well as in 2018, while he was with the Tampa Bay Rays.

The New York Yankees have been rumored to be interested in Snell, but as Brendan Kuty and Chris Kushner of The Athletic noted, a one-year $40 million contract would actually cost the Yankees $84 million with the luxury tax. A short-term desperation deal would actually be worse for them than a longer-term pact.

It does not appear as though the Yankees are going to want to take on that type of liability for a one-year starter. They are believed to have made a contractual offer to Snell, but it appears as though the terms are unavailable and it was rejected by Boras and Co. before the Yankees signed Marcus Stroman.

The Yankees were looking at signing Snell and Jordan Montgomery, as they need to bolster their rotation, but that seems to be unlikely at this stage of the game.

Any team that signs Snell would also face a qualifying offer penalty, since Snell rejected it from the Padres. That would mean that the Yankees would lose second and fifth round picks in next season's draft and $1 million from their international pool.

"The players that are out there right now, that, probably, a bunch of fans are talking about, we're not in the market for those players. But there are definitely other players that can have a positive impact on our team that [president of baseball operations Derek Falvey], I'm sure, is looking at."