Pirates have their eyes on SS Machado
PITTSBURGH – The last time the Pittsburgh Pirates negotiated with agent Scott Boras, it got ugly, really, really ugly. The Pirates chose Pedro Alvarez with the second overall pick in the 2008 first-year player draft and thought they had the Vanderbilt third baseman signed to a minor-league contract with a $6-million bonus just minutes before the Aug. 15 deadline for agreeing to terms with selections.
A little more than a week later, Boras rightfully claimed the contract was invalid because Alvarez had agreed to it without proper representation. The two sides then had acrimonious negotiations before agreeing to a major-league contract worth $6.335 million over four years in late September.
Yet, after a year’s respite from Boras, certainly the most powerful agent in professional sports, the Pirates are ready to go to the mat with him again. All indications are that the Pirates will select Manny Machado, a Boras client, with the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft, which begins Monday night.
Knowing that Washington will select University of Southern Nevada catcher Bryce Harper with the top pick, the Pirates have been zeroed in on Machado, a shortstop from Brito Private School in Hialeah, Fla., a suburb of Miami, for weeks. They also like Jameson Taillon, a right-hander from The Woodlands High School in suburban Houston, and have looked hard at University of Mississippi All-America left-hander Drew Pomeranz.
The Pirates feel Machado can make the biggest impact in the major leagues over the long haul. Also factoring into their thinking is their belief that they will have an easier time striking a deal with Boras than they would with Taillon’s agents, Alan and Randy Hendricks.
It is hard to believe Pirates president Frank Coonelly and Boras could get along, as they have been bitter adversaries going back to Coonelly’s time as Major League Baseball’s chief labor lawyer. Yet the word is that Coonelly and Boras have a better shot at working together than Connelly and the Hendricks Brothers.
Perhaps there is hope for peace in the Middle East after all.
There is plenty to like about Machado beyond the idea that he apparently is willing to sign, though it can be assured both sides will stretch the contract talk out all the way to the mid-August deadline because that is how Boras historically operates.
The right-handed hitting Machado batted .639 with 12 home runs and 56 RBIs this spring as he had 55 hits in 86 at-bats. The 6-foot-3, 190-pounder also scored 43 runs, stole 17 bases and hit 27 doubles and five triples.
Because he is a big-hitting high school shortstop of Dominican descent from Miami, Machado draws comparisons to New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez. Machado fits the same description of Rodriguez when he was first overall pick in the 1993 draft by the Seattle Mariners from Westminster Christian High School.
It is certainly unfair to suggest Machado will be the next A-Rod and hit nearly 600 home runs in his career. However, multiple scouts believe Machado is a good enough to consistently hit .300 in the majors with at least average power and has the arm strength that will allow him to easily shift to third base if he outgrows shortstop.
Of course, Alvarez also plays third base and he is knocking on the major-league door at Class AAA Indianapolis. However, that’s a problem for a day that would be at least a few years away.
The Pirates’ farm system, though improved over the recent past, still lacks high-end talent, regardless of position, and Machado has that in spades.
Herald-Standard sports correspondent John Perrotto is editor-in-chief of BaseballPropsectus.com.