Agents and teams have fought like cats and dogs for years, but there may never have been a time when the opinions were more divergent on the topic of spending money.

The Tigers, intent on cutting payroll, came out of recent organizational meetings feeling that virtually everyone but Justin Verlander was available in a deal. Which means the Yankees could go get Curtis Granderson. Or that the Red Sox could put 26-year-old Miguel Cabrera on their short list (along with Adrian Gonzalez) of possible middle-of-the-order bats.

In Toronto, the best player who ever wore a Blue Jays uniform, Roy Halladay, is there for the taking. Cincinnati is making everyone available, with the possible exception of Joey Votto. The Cardinals say they’re reducing payroll. The Rays picked up Carl Crawford’s $10 million option, but the reality is they might deal him, because even that is too rich for them. Welcome to Houston, Brad Mills; now we’re cutting the payroll.

There’s more talk about cutting than ever.

But Scott Boras doesn’t buy it.

“We heard a lot last year about the impending doom of the economics of baseball, and they had another record year of revenues, $6 billion again this year, and the economy is better,’’ said the game’s most prominent agent. “So the real truth of baseball right now is a lot of teams are starting to identify their ownerships from the following perspective: that they have an ownership that’s going to pay off their debt by getting the revenue sharing and money they’re getting from central baseball - $80 million-$90 million a year - and they’re going to turn around and draw 1.5-2 million, make $40 or $50 a head. All of a sudden, they’re sitting there with $200 million in revenues and they’re spending $50 million, $60 million, $70 million on players. Those are obviously owners that are going to have to be looked at .’’

According to Boras, baseball revenues have increased from $1 billion to more than $6 billion since 1990.

“We’ve seen a number of teams that are just sitting back,’’ he said. “We have clubs who aren’t successful getting $80 million before they ever sell a ticket. The question is always going to be, in the end, what are they doing with that money? For most of them, they’re paying off their debt to purchase the franchise. So they become owners, debt-free, but they have not done a lot to contribute to the success of the game.

“The fans have to look at it and realize that kind of revenue is available. The other part of it is I think we’ve proven time and time again that investment in players produces revenue streams and success points for franchises. Even in an economy where many businesses are struggling, in our industry, as I said last year, we’ve been able to keep revenues at a record level.’’

Which is why Boras believes owners aren’t giving their fans much to root for.

“While that growth was going on - which is phenomenal growth - every offseason there were statements by teams that the industry was headed south,’’ he said. “Go back and look at the quotes and who’s making them. If I’m a fan, I really have to question it and look at the history of my franchise and the others and evaluate what commitment each franchise is making.

“Some are doing a good job of it. Some are making decisions going forward, and there are others basically using our industry as a method for acquiring hundreds of millions of dollars in assets on the backs of the industry.’’

Boras makes valid points, but the owners who are getting squeezed in their other businesses are worried that spending a lot of money in this economy probably isn’t good business.

So the logical conclusion is that this offseason may be like last offseason. John Lackey, Matt Holliday, Jason Bay, and maybe Chone Figgins will make good money, though a National League general manager said of Holliday, who stands to be the highest-paid free agent, “Won’t get what Mark Teixeira got. No chance. Lackey may get A.J. Burnett money, but I’m not even sure anyone would go that high.’’

The predicament the Tigers find themselves in is the most interesting, for they have been a big-market team with an owner always willing to spend to win. He tried to go all out with last year’s team, eating Gary Sheffield’s $14 million in spring training, allowing Magglio Ordonez to have his $18 million option kick in based on plate appearances. They spent big for Dontrelle Willis.

They are unlikely to retain free agent Placido Polanco, one of the best second basemen in the business. They may move Granderson to the Cubs, White Sox, or Yankees. Are they desperate enough to entertain a deal for Cabrera, who had an incident involving alcohol at the end of the season and who will be paid $20 million-$22 million a year between now and 2015?

“I think it’s going to be a market where you’ll see more trades,’’ said a longtime National League talent evaluator. “I think teams are going to sit back for a while and see if it goes like last year. If it does, then there’s going to be a lot of bargains.

“We also have to watch the list of non-tenders. There are going to be some pretty decent players from those lists. So if you’re a team looking at the bottom line, you might be able to pick up a very good player at under market. I think a lot of teams are going in that direction.’’

There will always be teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, and Mets, who will go after a player they desperately need and won’t be afraid to offer a big salary. Even teams like Seattle, Milwaukee, and San Francisco will be aggressive to make sure they don’t miss out on the players they want. But so many others will bottom-feed.

Boras also makes a good point that there are some teams content to make the playoffs two or three times over five or six years, teams that will never go the extra mile for the franchise player to put them over the top. He points out the Yankees were the one team that made the commitment last season, and they won a championship.




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