Rob Long: Securing Wieters Future?
Jon Heyman, who appeared on the Scott Garceau Show with Jeremy Conn Wednesday, broke the story of contract talks between the Baltimore Orioles and All-Star catcher Matt Wieters.
Heyman first reported the news on CBSSPORTS.com that the O's had "reached out" to the star catcher, "but there's no evidence or belief the sides are anywhere close to a deal."
What's interesting is that Wieters' agent, Scott Boras, was once known as the agent who did not do contract extensions. He usually lets his client's contract run out, allowing the player to maximize their deal in the free agent market. There are times when the player ends up back with their original team, but not at a "hometown discounted" price.
Timing is everything and this year, Boras has been on the short end of the stick with two situations. First, one of his young studs, Elvis Andrus signs an eight-year, $120 million extension with the Texas Rangers. Now some of you are wondering how Boras could be a loser with an extension like that. If you look at the fact that the Rangers really needed to get this deal done to restore some faith with the fanbase, maybe the agent feels he could have held out for more.
Secondly, Boras was canned by another star client, Robinson Cano. The second baseman chose to ditch Boras for a team led by rapper Jay-Z. This could be either a great time to approach Boras because he's desperate to get a great deal, or a bad time if he sees another extension as being yet another loss.
We've seen in the past, Wieters is in charge of his contract situation. Hopefully, this is still the case.
