Scott Boras Calls Out Lack of Spending by Much of MLB

Agent Scott Boras, who represents several of MLB’s highest-profile players, spoke candidly on the lack of spending across much of the league in recent years. Though Scott Boras helped Juan Soto land an astounding 15-year, $765 million contract this offseason. and also saw Pete Alonso, Alex Bregman and Blake Snell sign new deals, he says that many teams don’t even spend 50% of their revenue on their roster.

“When we look at the number of teams that spend 50% [of their revenue], you would think a lot,” Boras said on Foul Territory. “No, it’s a very small number. … The Yankees spend 40%, they used to spend 55%. You’re gonna have Boston in that area. You’ve got a number of teams that are spending below $100 million. Last year there were six teams spending below $100 million and the money they get from the general fund is above that. We really need to have a competitive commitment measure to say, ‘On your 40-man roster, how much of your revenues are you spending?”

Boras’s comments are especially notable with the recent talk about spending across MLB. The Los Angeles Dodgers have been the most aggressive team in free agency over the past two years, and a narrative has emerged that majority of MLB can’t keep up with how much they money they use on acquiring talent. Though that is true to an extent for several teams, it can also be true that some teams are still not doing and spending as much as they can to improve their organization.

Boras was complimentary of the Red Sox, who look to be shifting away from their recent low-spending ways with the signing of Bregman on a three-year, $120 million deal.

“It was clear that they wanted to change course,” Boras said of the Red Sox. “They had had enough of what went on the last four or five years. They really wanted to make sure their club was going to be competitive.”