May 31, 2007
Negotiating to the Max
In June 2006 the Arizona Diamondbacks under the direction of Mike Rizzo selected Max Scherzer with the eleventh overall pick in the annual amateur draft. This began an 11 month roller coaster ride as the team attempted to negotiate with Scherzer’s agent the infamous Scott Boras. Max Scherzer who was the 2005 Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Year was a talent that was not supposed to last in the draft. Signability concerns coupled with a couple of injuries left the right handed pitcher on the board when it was time for the Diamondbacks selection. Arizona has had a philosophy of selecting the best available talent regardless of how difficult it may be to negotiate a contract. Scott Boras had notified teams of contract expectations and it appears as though Rizzo and Boras were aligned. The problems began shortly afterwards when negotiations passed from Rizzo to Diamondbacks general manager Josh Byrnes after Rizzo left the organization to accept a position with the Washington Nationals. Contract talks stalled shortly thereafter and the sides appeared deadlocked. During this time Scherzer became the only first round draft pick unsigned from the 2006 draft class. Facing a 9 PM May deadline it did not look as if the Diamondbacks and Boras could reach an agreement. If the deadline passed, Max Scherzer would re-enter next week’s draft.
