Larry Brown Sports

Jay-Z is reportedly set to extend his reach even further across the world of professional sports, and it looks like the first superstar player to help him do that will be New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano.

According to ESPNNewYork.com, Cano fired agent Scott Boras on Tuesday to join Roc Nation, Jay-Z’s entertainment company that is breaking into the sports representation business through a partnership with Creative Artists Agency (CAA).

“At this point in my career, I am ready to take a more active role in my endeavors on and off the field,” Cano said in a statement. “I am confident that the pairing of Roc Nation Sports and CAA Sports will be essential in helping me accomplish my short and long-term goals. I am making this important decision now so I can keep my focus on helping the Yankees succeed in 2013, while minimizing any distractions for me and my teammates.”

The Yankees made Cano a contract offer earlier this winter, but the two sides have not appeared to gain any ground. We all know Boras loves making sure his superstar clients test free agency no matter what offer they receive from their current team, so it will be interesting to see if Cano’s representation switch changes any of that.

Sources also told ESPNNewYork.com that Jay-Z himself plans to become a certified agent. He is reportedly planning to start with baseball and eventually take on clients from basketball and football. However, representing basketball players would require Jay-Z to give up his share of the Brooklyn Nets. Roc Nation, which represents artists like Rihanna, Shakira and Timbaland, is expected to eventually branch away from CAA and start its own sports agency division called Roc Nation Sports.

This will obviously give people like Scott Boras and other smaller agents some major competition if Jay-Z has success with Cano. Star power makes a signifcant difference, and Roc Nation already has plenty of that. It would also mean Jay-Z will have to be even more careful about doing stuff like this.

Photo credit: Twitter/Robinson Cano

Scott Boras is an agent and his job is to make his clients seem as appealing as possible to potential employers. I understand that. But some of the stuff that comes out of his mouth is just unbelievable. Going back a few years ago, what he said about Jason Varitek’s contract was laughable. Now, the way he’s billing free agent Manny Ramirez belongs in the same category. During an interview on MLB Network on Sirius XM Radio, Boras described some of the selling points of a veteran like Manny via Ben Maller:

I think the things that benefit Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez and players of that type is that they’ve been championship players, they played in big markets. They can go to young players whose careers are just beginning, who have a lot of expectancy associated with them, they’ve had success and now for the first time they’re being asked to repeat that success. That often doesn’t happen because there haven’t been mentors around those young players to give them a pathway where they are not out there trying to do too much to try to replicate the quality year that they’ve had. I’ve always felt those types of players are very helpful.

He’s exactly right — those types of players are extremely helpful and make a difference in the clubhouse. Johnny Damon does have that presence. Manny Ramirez does not. Are you kidding me? How can he actually place Manny Ramirez in the “mentor role” category? What’s next Scott, pitching Bengie Molina as a speed coach? You going to turn Tim Lincecum into a D.A.R.E. officer? Suggest Tommy Lasorda shills for a weight-loss company? Oh weight, forgot about that. Gimme a break Boras, go sell that stuff on another block because we’re not buying the spiel here.

If you’re in need of a good laugh, wait no further. We have Scott Boras to credit for the following knee slapper:

Agent Scott Boras told reporters that New York Yankees catcher Jorge Posada’s four-year, $52.4 million deal, which was agreed to last offseason, will serve as a benchmark for any team looking to land [Jason] Varitek.

God bless the almighty Rotoworld for passing that snippet along. Need I remind you that Jorge Posada batted .338, with 20 home runs, 90 RBI, and nearly a 1.000 OPS in his walk year? Needless to say Jason Varitek’s .220 and 43 RBI performance last season is worthy of a Posada-like contract. There was a time when their career numbers were quite similar, but there’s no doubt that Jason Varitek’s offensive production has fallen off a cliff the last three years. And if Boras thinks teams will pay $13 million a season for a defensive-minded catcher with a reputation for winning (don’t think that won’t change when he catches Cincinnati’s pitching staff), he’s absolutely on drugs. I wonder if Boras also planned to marry Heidi Klum coming out of college. Nothing wrong with setting your benchmarks high, right?

It’s been said for quite some time that Scott Boras is only interested in representing his clients’ monetary interests rather than personal interests. Alex Rodriguez admitted as much in a recent interview. He told the NY Daily News that he regrets not having signed with the Mets back when he was a free agent in 2000, the year he signed a 10 year $252 million contract with the Texas Rangers:

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Funny, just a few months ago I was wondering whether or not superagent Scott Boras was losing power in the baseball world. He had little involvement in the A-Rod negotiations, we were told, and he was fired by Kenny Rogers, all within a few weeks. But now this revelation by Jon Heyman of SI that the Red Sox slugger is switching over to Boras means that all is still straight in the baseball universe.

Much ado has been made over Manny’s contract situation recently. He has said this week that he wants to remain with the Red Sox for his career. On the other hand, Manny also said he would have no problem becoming a free agent after the year, rather than exercise his option for ’09. So what to make of this news? Ordinarily you wouldn’t figure a man intending to re-sign with his existing team would go out and hire the most notorious of all baseball agents. It’s as simple as putting A and B together: hiring Boras = pursuing free agent contract.

One thing to keep in mind is that the Red Sox do have several Boras clients on their team, including JD Drew, Dice K, Jason Varitek, Jacoby Ellsbury, Julian Tavarez, and Alex Cora. Clearly Boras and the team have a good working relationship, so the possibility that Boras re-signs certainly exists. I just don’t get why any player would switch to Boras if they didn’t have the intention of making a huge score in the free agent market. We’ll wait to see what happens.

First we had A-Rod go back to the Yankees sans Boras to negotiate his contract, per Yankee demand. True, it’s the largest deal in baseball history, but it had to be somewhat of a blow to Boras’ ego to be left out of the room, even if he did get the last laugh and wound up negotiating it. But getting fired by Kenny Rogers could not possibly have been on ol’ Scotty’s wish list for the Holidays.

This sure isn’t the first time an agent has ever been fired, but it’s a sign that Boras’ realm of power is somewhat smaller. There are teams out there that flat-out refuse to negotiate with Boras and players he represents. Boras banks on the idea that there is still always one team that will cave to his demands (the Yankees were the most recent), but maybe players are learning that it’s not always in their best interest to be represented by Boras. Rogers could be case in point.

If Boras takes the attitude that it’s his job to get his players the most amount of money possible — in turn resulting in the most money for himself — then is he always servicing his players’ best interest? Perhaps not. And rather than make an extra million or two on the free agent market, maybe Rogers just wants to be in Detroit where he’s happy. Money isn’t always everything — but it seems like it is to Boras, yet not to Rogers.