According to sources with direct access to the Sox' view, there is an increasing feeling that Boras is setting the stage, both privately and publicly, that there is not going to be a deal. "Unless he's being less than honest," one source said, "there isn't going to be a deal."
To date, there has been no movement to bridge the difference in how both sides value Matsuzaka, the 26-year-old Japanese pitcher who has been drawing raves in an informal survey of baseball people gathered here at the winter meetings. For Boras, it's cut and dried: Matsuzaka is one of the best pitchers in the game and should be paid accordingly. Estimates of what Boras is seeking have generally fallen in the range of $12 million a year for six years, while in talks with the Sox he has been known to cite the name of Astros ace Roy Oswalt, who recently signed a five-year, $73 million deal, with a $16 million option for 2012.
The Red Sox, meanwhile, maintain the position that they were willing to post $51.1 million to Matsuzaka's Japanese team, the Seibu Lions, to retain financial control over Matsuzaka for the next six years. He is not a free agent, they remind Boras, one who has yet to throw a pitch in the major leagues. For that reason, his situation should not be considered much differently than a Johan Santana, but a Santana with less big league service time: an outstanding pitcher, to be sure, but not one free to peddle his services to the highest bidder on the open market.
Santana, the two-time Cy Young Award winner with the Minnesota Twins, was a season away from free agency last February when he signed a four-year deal for $39.75 million. Should the Sox have to pay Matsuzaka even that much, on top of their initial $51.1 million investment? But that would fall far short of what Boras expects for his client.
It could hardly help the Sox' position that the market continues to soar for pitchers. Yesterday, the Dodgers were close to coming to terms with righthander Jason Schmidt on a three-year, $47 million deal, and reports persist that the Rangers are prepared to offer a six-year, $102 million deal to Barry Zito, another Boras client. If Zito is worth $17 million a year, one can only imagine what Boras has pegged the price for Matsuzaka.
