Scott Boras is the awkward uncle of his family. His awful puns in the offseason make him a little more human than the reputation he gets as a ruthless agent. The representative of several key New York Mets free agents and a few other targets, we’re going to hear from him plenty in the coming months as he helps spread more MLB rumors in the hot stove season.

Boras had something to say about Yusei Kikuchi, an intriguing free agent whose talents haven’t always translated well into the box score. Traded midseason by the Toronto Blue Jays to the Houston Astros, the qualifying offer wasn’t an option. As a result, Boras claims he is becoming very popular.

Regarding Yusei Kikuchi's free agency, Scott Boras said "without having a qualifying offer, you see a whole menu of teams that would not normally be participating for a starter at that level. For that reason, he's one of the most sought-after players in free agency."

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) November 6, 2024

The Mets handed out three qualifying offers. Two obvious candidates and Boras clients, Pete Alonso and Sean Manaea, are going to turn it down. As for Luis Severino, Boras just gave him some extra incentive to accept it.

Luis Severino might be pinned into taking the qualifying offer and testing free agency again next year

Severino shouldn’t feel too bad about getting a qualifying offer from the Mets. It’s generally done for a couple of reasons. One is to invite a player back for a larger annual salary the following season. Worth $21.05 million in 2025, it should be more than what Severino would get as a free agent.

The move has further implications as signing a player who rejected a qualifying offer comes with a variety of penalties. Teams have to weigh if a player who rejected the QO is worth whatever their specific penalty may be. In some cases, a team will be willing to take one penalty but not tax themselves further as each addition adds to punishment.

If Severino was coming off of the year he had with, let’s say the New York Yankees, would the Mets be in the market for him? Probably not. They’ve avoided signing players who received the QO many times in the past. The most recent player they nearly did add was Carlos Correa.

Severino turns 31 next February which isn’t unfashionably late to free agency. Turning in another year similar to what he did in 2024 with the Mets can benefit him. In fact, it only further proves he is officially back.

Somewhat unbelievably, Severino has only four seasons of 100+ innings pitched in his career that began way back in 2015 at 21-years-old. He managed to stay healthy and toss 182 this past year with the Mets. They should want him back on the QO deal. Seeing how a peer like Kikuchi has gained a lot of attention because he wasn’t eligible for the QO should have Sevy thinking long and hard about taking the money and staying put.