It was previously reported that the Yankees, after already signing Jacoby Ellsbury to a seven-year, $153 million contract, extended a $140 million deal to Shin-Soo Choo. It was said that Scott Boras wanted his clients to be paid the same, demanding an extra $13 million for Choo to match Ellsbury. The Yankees disagreed, pulled the offer, and signed Carlos Beltran instead. It turns out they might have been off by even less than that.
Heard NYY/Choo agreed at 7/140. Then Boras asked to make it $143, $1M over Carl Crawford. Angered NYY, agreed with Beltran instead.
— CJ Nitkowski (@CJNitkowski) December 20, 2013Scott Boras is well known for being a shrewd negotiator, but if he's asking for unnecessary contract terms, it kind of looks silly. I would take a demand like that to be as insulting as the $5 million raise that the Yankees offered Robinson Cano before he walked.
Still, to be this reactionary when considering two players makes it look like they really didn't care WHO they got, just as long as they got SOMEONE. That makes me think even more that there's no specific plan this offseason, but maybe that's just me.
I also find it hard to believe that Boras angered the Yankees, considering how tight he seems to be with the Steinbrenners. But what do you think?
