MLB free agent rumors: Will Scott Boras go over Yankees GM Brian Cashman’s head to Hal Steinbrenner for Bryce Harper?

Bryce Harper’s agent Scott Boras likes to pull an end-around on general managers when trying to get big-name clients signed. Will he do that with Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner of the Yankees?

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Yankees general manager Brian Cashman likely doesn’t have the green light to spend upward of $300 million without consulting owner Hal Steinbrenner.

So, will Scott Boras, who represents free-agent outfielder Bryce Harper, sidestep Cashman and go straight to Steinbrenner? That strategy has been used by Boras with big-name, big-money free agents, ESPN’s Buster Olney reminds us.

With prominent players, Boras will appeal directly to the club owners. He makes no secret of this, and it’s a strategy that has worked for him repeatedly, particularly with the late Tigers owner Mike Ilitch, as well as the Lerner family, which owns the Nationals. And really, it makes sense Boras would approach it this way when players who might command nine-figure contracts are involved, because on deals that big, few — if any — general managers would have the autonomy to unilaterally take on a contract like that.

When those big deals are completed and news conferences are held to announce the deal, some agents choose to stand in the shadows, out of range of the cameras and the questions. When Bryce Harper signs, Boras will be on the dais, next to his client, center stage.

That’s not necessarily good news for Yankees fans, who recall the team got stuck with Alex Rodriguez, who worked out his final (opt-out, opt-back-in) deal with Steinbrenner. That disaster cost the Yankees $66 million over his final four seasons.