UTK Special 10/27/23

The Secret Free Agents

Aside from a couple signings, few would notice that free agent season is going full throttle. With Aaron Nola off the board and the Cardinals filling in the back-end with Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn, the pitching is getting thinner. However, the big two have created a much different environment. Not only are Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto both Japanese, they’re notably private. Their desires for secret meetings and a lack of leaks have forced teams to accede.

Even more than normal, this puts agents at the center, dictating the schedule. The ability for teams to do meetings via FaceTime also changes things. Players largely know facilities, teams, and such, but the key is personalities. They can get to know key front office people, position coaches, and more. One agent told me his client wanted to connect with “whoever runs the batting practice.” It’s not just what we think of, but how much time he could get in the cage, what machines and tech they have, and how they use it. What hath Curt Flood wrought?

One of the keys is silence this off-season. Besides the Japanese being able to meet with more teams quickly in what everyone sees as an elimination round, other agents are using those preferences to their purposes. We’re going to see less leaks and, according to one long-time agent, “more credible information. We’re going to see the [fakes] and aggregators get really hurt, or caught making [things] up.”