If he has a better offer than 5 and 125-150 then he should by all means take it for sure. Now we know what the sox have offered in terms of years but the $ figure remains a mystery. If Boras is in fact working for his client, he will pass on other offers to him as well as to the Red Sox. He knows I think that if they want to the Sox can match any offer out there. I hope that a limit and a deadline have both been set.
What if he has several offers better than five years and $125 million? Should Scott Boras play those teams off against each other?
If Boras has a firm offer from the Red Sox, should Boras email that offer to all teams and ask each team to top it?
I don't think negotiations are that specific.
Should the Red Sox tell Boras that they'll top any offer from another team? If so, what should Boras do with that information in negotiations with other clubs?
I'm very curious about the idea that maybe no other team has offered more than $125M/5 or $130M/5.
I'm not sure I'd rush to offer $150M/6 or set any deadline.
I'd try to ask Boras to give us the opportunity to match or top any offer another team presents to JD, but I'm not sure that is always something an agent will agree to do, especially if another team asks Boras not to tell any other team about an offer they give.
It's probably best to just give what you think he is worth, knowing full well you are overpaying with the market rate. Don't set a deadline, until you feel your option B or C is about to disappear, and you're not happy with plan D.
What if he has several offers better than five years and $125 million? Should Scott Boras play those teams off against each other?
What if he has none, and we're just bidding against ourselves. How much can you trust Boras to be honest about what other teams are offering?
Obviously I don't know Mr Boras personally nor do I know anyone who does, but clearly Mr Boras has an excellent reputation in baseball that's why he is so successful. Agents who aren't honest with the parties with whom they negotiate tend not to last long. Remember Boras has to treat the ballclubs with whom he deals ethically and fairly. That doesn't mean that he tells them everything he knows but it does mean he can't deliberately deceive them.
You don't think an agent that is trying to get the best possible deal for his client tells all the interested parties that this is the number ($x) they need to beat if they want him? Really? Of course they tell the other suitors. Unless a player has a hankering for one certain club, everyone knows the price they need to beat. Especially if there are several teams bidding.
Boras has a reputation of getting the most money for his clients, that's a little different from having an excellent reputation for being an ethical dealer. He seems to have done some questionable stuff over the years, based on the stories that have come out. The Johnny Damon negotiations being just one example. (The Red Sox claimed that Boras told them he would give them a chance to match the Yankees best offer, then didn't make the call.)
But he has obviously done very well overall to be where he is today.