Jeremy Mand - Luba Lands Bauer Mega-deal And Blows Up Social Media

 

By Jeremy M

For a few days in the dead of winter, and then especially for a few feverish moments on Friday morning, Mets fans were brimming with anticipation at the thought of signing Major League Baseball's premiere free agent starting pitcher, Trevor Bauer. In doing so, they would create the kind of super rotation Mets fans have been dreaming of for most of the last decade, making their 2021 team almost certain World Series contenders.

Bob Nightengale, long-time USA TODAY Sports Major League Baseball columnist, on the evening of Thursday, February 4th, had just tweeted out:

Trevor Bauer and the #Mets have a deal.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) February 5, 2021

The deal with the Mets seemed all but done. But Bauer's camp quickly shot that down. 

Apparently this needs a Retweet 😂 https://t.co/k3jgoaL4Bn

— Rachel Luba (@AgentRachelLuba) February 5, 2021

This was still a two team race.

Bauer, the unconventional pitching engineer, with his socially savvy new agent, 28-year old Rachel Luba, teased Mets' fans (and other fan bases) for days. Bauer and Luba were so audacious as to post Mets merchandise in the hour before signing. 

Bauer's Linktree page had a new tab that read: "LFGM! NEW MERCH!"

Mets fans, myself included, were ecstatic, Bauer was coming to the Mets it seemed. But moments later, the banner was taken down. Bauer, the self-professed troll, was trolling his runner-up fan bases, but only he and Luba were in on the prank.

In fact, Luba and Bauer, were playing a high stakes game of poker with two of the wealthiest teams in Major League Baseball, Steve Cohen's Mets and the start-studded World Series Champion Dodgers. Probably the two teams with the deepest pockets and strongest ambitions at this moment in time.

Luba, who graduated in 2016 from Pepperdine Law School only 4 years ago, had willed her client into a scenario most agents dream of and have a chance to execute maybe a handful of times in their career - a true bidding war. Cohen, known for always getting what he wants, wanted Bauer and was willing to offer the most, accommodating all the conditions Bauer requested.

But buying a baseball player, Steve Cohen learned, is not like buying a Picasso. You don't always win with the highest bid. Players are human beings and you need to pay them, and sell them on why they should come and work for you too. Cohen has the former down pat, and Mets fans are more than appreciative of the effort, but when it comes to the latter, even Steve Cohen's deep pockets can't make the Mets the "Dodgers East" overnight.

Bauer would get his money, and he would keep his well-publicized promise to only sign 1-year contracts (through opt-out clauses). But Luba made sure he got the cherry on top! The Dodgers, who were apparently only willing to go 2 years, blinked, at the last moment. I'm not sure even Scott Boras could have pulled off this high wire act.

When word that the Dodgers won the Buaer sweepstakes, Twitter exploded! Shots were fired at Bob Nightengale for jumping the gun, and the 7-line armywas up in arms at the loss of what could have been.

Bauer got EVERYTHING! The money, the contract terms, the city, and the attention he wanted. It was a home run for him and for Luba, who I'm sure will attract more players after pulling off this hat-trick.

As for Mets fans, don't fret. Bauer is almost certainly not worth what he got paid, after all he has had a slightly above average career, with a handful of elite stretches, and we retain the flexibility to re-sign all of our upcoming free agents, fill out the back end of our roster, and still compete for the playoffs. With Cohen's ambitions and Sandy Alderson's track record as an excellent trader, I would be surprised if the mid-season trade market didn't bear more fruit for our team.