The Washington Nationals introduced its first-round pick in this year’s MLB Draft, former LSU star Dylan Crews. The second overall pick, Crews, signed for a $9 million signing bonus, the largest for a position player.
During the introductory conference, Crews’ agent, Scott Boras, became emotional, tearing up, when discussing the Nationals’ late owner Ted Lerner. Boras said Crews represented the next player to fulfill Ted’s vision for the franchise.
Boras also requested that Crews meet the Lerners, specifically Ted’s wife Annette, as a final point of contract negotiations, per Chelsea Janes of The Washington Post.
“We all built a championship here and we did it with core players like Rendon, and Harper and Strasburg, and Werth. To see this next generation come with Mark and Judy… I wanted the Crews family and Dylan to meet that history,” Boras said.
As a super agent, Boras represented several of the Nationals core that became contenders in 2012 and won four NL East division titles, culminating in a 2019 World Series championship.
Boras’ list of clients includes World Series MVP Stephan Strasburg, two-time Cy Young winner with the Nats Max Scherzer, Jayson Werth, Bryce Harper, and Anthony Rendon, among others. One player he omitted, interestingly, was Juan Soto, whether intentionally or not.
Nonetheless, the message and emotions are clear. After winning the World Series, the Nationals got forced to rebuild after contract demands of its core outstretched the team’s means.
Since then, the Nats have acquired a plethora of talented prospects via trades and through the draft. Crews is one of the Nationals’ talented outfielders in the team’s farm system. Crews also represents the future. A future that the Nats hope will be even more successful than the past decade. Boras will also be present for this go around.
Nationals fans have developed a disdain toward Boras in large due to Soto’s departure. But, by his emotions and words, it’s clear Boras has a good relationship with the Lerners.
