Scott Boras was speaking with Baltimore media Monday. But he was really talking to David Rubenstein.

During new Orioles outfielder Tyler O’Neill’s introductory video news conference, his agent, Boras, was asked about the market for pitcher Corbin Burnes and whether Baltimore is interested in bringing the ace back.

Of course, Boras didn’t answer the question, but in the middle of his lengthy answer was his belief that who wins the Burnes sweepstakes ultimately “boils down to ownership.”

“Why players go places has a lot to do with their winning component,” Boras said over a video call. “But really this boils down to ownership. When you have competitiveness in a market, ownership has to respond, and to compete with fellow ownership about these elite talents, it’s something that normally when you’re new to it, it’s not as understood.”Rubenstein, 75, is in his first season as Orioles owner after purchasing his hometown ballclub in March. The private equity billionaire said earlier this offseason he wanted to “speed up the effort” to win a World Series because of his age.

It’s early in his tenure and the offseason isn’t halfway done, but that desire has yet to result in a free agent splash. With the starting pitching market moving quickly, it’s possible the last opportunity to do just that is with Burnes.

The right-hander was stellar in his first season in Baltimore after Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias swung a trade for the former Cy Young Award winner in February. But he entered the offseason seen as the best starting pitcher on the market, meaning he will likely receive more than the $218 million Max Fried got from the New York Yankees last week.

Boras, the most influential agent in baseball, suggested the Orioles should be more interested in the ace since 2024 served as a proof of concept after Burnes finished fifth in American League Cy Young voting and delivered a gem in the postseason.

“You’re fortunate that when you have a need for one and there’s one in the market that can fulfill that, and ironically that player has performed well in your market. And also ironically, that player has given you in the postseason exactly what you’d expect from a No. 1,” Boras said. “So all those unknowns that are coupled with free agency are known to Baltimore, which gives them more of an insight and I would assume an aggression to continue to make this team more and more of what it needs to be to be at a world championship level.”

During last week’s MLB winter meetings in Dallas, Boras said the Orioles have been more aggressive this offseason under Rubenstein. Boras said he talks to Elias “regularly” and that Baltimore’s GM “made it very clear that under this ownership they’re going to take steps forward that they haven’t taken in the past.”

Boras said Monday that the signing of O’Neill for three years and $49.5 million — the first multiyear contract Elias has given to a free agent since taking over Baltimore’s front office in November 2018 — “says a lot about what the Orioles want to do.”

“Mike Elias’ platform when he came there was one to build under the direction of an ownership that allowed him to do what he could do,” Boras said of the Angelos family, which owned the club before Rubenstein. “It’s very clear from the conversations that we’ve had with the new ownership, they are to retain the players they have drafted and brought through the system and are enjoying their success, and also attract the needed potentials that they have to allow them to compete in the very difficult AL East.”

After a few years of slow free agent markets, this winter has been red-hot with most players receiving more than expected. The name at the top of that list is superstar Juan Soto, a Boras client who signed with the New York Mets for $765 million earlier this month.

Boras said during the winter meetings that the owners whose “algorithms” account for a “broad breadth of market competition” are the ones who ultimately sign top free agents.

“The demand characterization of free agency is the hardest part for teams. It’s an unknown. You almost see a shock and awe when you tell them what the market is,” Boras said. “That’s the part where the adjustment comes. That’s a difficult step sometimes for owners, and those who do are rewarded for it.”

Whether Rubenstein fits into that description remains to be seen.

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