Major League Baseball

Boras discussing Pete Alonso extension with Mets; says Cubs need to pay up for Cody Bellinger

Updated Nov. 8, 2023 6:10 p.m. ET

Baseball super agent Scott Boras is legendary for being one of the best agents in professional sports but also his fruitful analogies.

He struck again at MLB's annual GM Meetings on Wednesday.

"I think Chicago got the comforts of a full Belli. They're going to have to loosen their belts to keep Bellinger," Boras said about the Cubs with free-agent outfielder Cody Bellinger.

After back-to-back seasons where he struggled immensely at the plate — and was non-tendered by the Los Angeles Dodgers after the 2022 campaign — the 28-year-old Bellinger bounced back in 2023 with a slash line of .307/.356/.525 with 97 RBIs for the Cubs. The resurgent season makes him likely the most coveted slugger on the market outside of Shohei Ohtani.

Bellinger is one of a handful of notable free agents Boras represents from the 2024 class, including left-handed starting pitchers Jordan Montgomery and Hyun Jin Ryu, third baseman Matt Chapman and first baseman Rhys Hoskins.

Boras also serves two potential superstar trade candidates: Pete Alonso and Juan Soto, both of whom are in the final years of their contracts. Neither are likely to be moved this offseason, per Boras.

"When it comes to the Polar Bear, we're not in contract hibernation," Boras said about Alonso and the New York Mets working out an extension, adding that he and the club's new president of baseball operations David Stearns spoke "at length" Tuesday.

The three-time All-Star first baseman has maintained that he would like to sign with New York long term. Stearns later confirmed that the Mets are not looking to deal Alonso.

"I do not anticipate him getting traded," Stearns said. "I don’t draw lines in the sand, and I’m never going to say never, but I absolutely think it’s fair and don’t anticipate him getting traded."

Trade speculation also hovers over Soto, who is scheduled to hit free agency for the first time in his career after next season. Boras asserted that the 25-year-old outfielder is "definitely" in the San Diego Padres' plans for 2024.

Boras then weighed in on a couple other topics beyond his clients. He contended that the World Series should be played at a neutral site and the amateur draft shouldn't take place in the middle of All-Star Week. At the moment, the NFL is the only American professional sports league with a predetermined site for its championship game/series.

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