Scott Boras was just spotted exactly where Mariners fans don't want to see him

Is there a vibe re-shift going on in the AL West? The Seattle Mariners are off to a rough start to 2026 after winning the division for the first time in 24 years last season. And now, the Houston Astros are already rolling and may or may not have something cooking with Scott Boras.

Javier Gonzalez, Astros beat writer for Pelota Cubana, spotted the super-duper agent at Daikin Park on Wednesday. Perhaps he was just having a chat with Carlos Correa, who's certainly one of his higher profile clients. Or maybe… he was there for other business?

This is just speculation. But given that Boras represents shortstop Jeremy Peña and ace Hunter Brown —both are confirmed extension targets for Houston — we're not talking about idle speculation.

Scott Boras' presence in Houston should make the Mariners uneasy

If there is comfort to be found here, it's in how Boras isn't known for doing contract extensions. He tends to avoid the darn things like the plague, preferring instead to get his guys to free agency.

These are unusual times, though. There's a sudden extension craze going on that even the Mariners got in on via their deal with Colt Emerson on Tuesday. And while this craze has mostly applied to young, unproven players, it's hard not to see the upcoming CBA expiration in the background.

Now may be time for all players to consider getting theirs while the getting's good, and Peña and Brown are certainly in a position to do so. Peña has posted 5.3 rWAR per 162 games since his debut in 2022, while Brown is fresh off achieving acehood in 2025. They are under club control through 2027 and 2028, respectively.

Neither player is one the Mariners want to see stick in the AL West for the foreseeable future. As much as it felt like the Mariners gained the upper hand last year, the reality is that the Astros are still a threat. And if they are able to lock down Peña and/or Brown, they'll basically be trying their hand at beating the Mariners at their own game.

With Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodríguez and now Emerson signed to long-term extensions and possibly one of the homegrown aces up next, the Mariners are trying to build their dynasty on maximizing their development machine. It's what they have to do, given their relatively limited resources as a mid-market team.

The Astros? It's more like something they can do. They've run their payroll up over $200 million three years in a row, owing in part to the sort of expensive free-agent deals that Seattle has largely eschewed under Jerry Dipoto. For the Astros, locking up what homegrown stars they can only gives them greater flexibility to pursue more of those big-money deals in the future.

The Mariners, then, must hope that Boras was in Houston merely to catch up with Correa. The last thing they need is the Astros taking their competitive model and potentially improving on it.