Scott Boras Calls Out Pirates and Other Teams That Haven't Spent in Recent Years

The Pittsburgh Pirates find themselves in one of the more intriguing positions in Major League Baseball this offseason. 

With Major League Baseball general manager meetings going on out in Las Vegas, the Pirates and other teams around the league have to hear agents make some comments that they might not love. 

A guy like Scott Boras, who has some of the top players in Major League Baseball on his client list, has always been outspoken. Boras, who isn't necessarily going to suggest that all of his guys should end up in Pittsburgh and typically looks for big-market teams who can pay his clients as much as possible, had some really interesting comments to make that almost seemed like a shot at teams like Pittsburgh. 

He spoke to reporters about what teams have to do, and the one point that should be looked at more than others is the fact that he believes that ownership has to give fans a chance to see their teams win. 

I think it's very fair to say that all Pirates fans would disagree with the fact that Bob Nutting has given his team a chance to win throughout his time as the owner.

“I think my point of it is in the business community, you have an obligation to your fans to compete," Boras said. "So if everybody else in your division or everybody else in the league is utilizing private equity and capital to grow their team, and you say, ‘I’m not doing that. I choose not to do that.’

“Then I think the fans will respond in a way that’s saying, 'Why don’t you do what [former San Diego Padres owner] Peter Seidler did? Why don’t you do what the Brewers did? Why don’t you create an inventive course of conduct that allows you to compete?’ Because that’s what they’re doing with less spending, or they’re doing with more spending or they’re doing by bringing in new owners,” Boras said, per Dominic Campbell.

There are many factors in comments like this that I don't think Boras necessarily, one, is considering, and two, really cares about. 

Again, his biggest focus is on getting his guys paid. We don't have to say that's the right or wrong thing, as his job is to quite literally get them paid. At the end of the day, guys only have so long to make money in this league, and Boras has continued to prove throughout his time as an agent that he's the best in baseball at getting his guys as much money as they're looking for. 

What makes that comment interesting, however, is the fact that the Pirates probably can't spend as much as teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers for other factors. Whether that be TV rights, not having the superstar-level talent that the Dodgers do, or the simple fact that Pittsburgh is a much smaller market than Los Angeles and doesn't offer as many business opportunities, the truth is the truth.

Does that give Nutting an excuse for not going out and doing what's necessary for this organization? I personally don't think so, but I can also understand why some Pirates fans are looking for a salary cap to at least attempt to even the playing field. 

There's so much that has to happen over the next few weeks to months to determine if Pittsburgh is going to benefit from a potential salary cap. There's also a scenario in which the Pirates aren't going to benefit from anything because Major League Baseball might not even have a salary cap. Regardless, it's obvious that Boras was trying to call out teams like the Pirates in situations like this, so it'll be intriguing to see what that reaction is around baseball.