2012 International Free Agent Market

[davell]

Law made it sound like they could post him immediately, to pocket the cash, in his chat today, unless I read it wrong. Some good Cubs stuff in there too that should get posted.

[Guest]

Law made it sound like they could post him immediately, to pocket the cash, in his chat today, unless I read it wrong. Some good Cubs stuff in there too that should get posted.

He has to sign with Nippon Ham before they can post him.

[davell]

I asked Badler and he said if they DID do that, his contract still would have to fall under new IFA rules. That said, it wouldn't affect Nippon at all evidently. Unsure though if posting fee ALSO would count under 2.9 as well. Granted, no real reason for Otani to potentially lose money, because only Rangers have full IFA budget currently and if they lost the poting, Otani would be getting less money.

[KaiserCesar]

I asked Badler and he said if they DID do that, his contract still would have to fall under new IFA rules. That said, it wouldn't affect Nippon at all evidently. Unsure though if posting fee ALSO would count under 2.9 as well. Granted, no real reason for Otani to potentially lose money, because only Rangers have full IFA budget currently and if they lost the poting, Otani would be getting less money.

 

But NPB players acquired via the posting system don't normally count against the IFA cap? Would Otani have to be signed for a certain amount of days (or years) before he could negotiate a contract free of those restrictions? It would seem like the best approach to get the most money immediately out of an MLB team.

[davell]

I asked Badler and he said if they DID do that, his contract still would have to fall under new IFA rules. That said, it wouldn't affect Nippon at all evidently. Unsure though if posting fee ALSO would count under 2.9 as well. Granted, no real reason for Otani to potentially lose money, because only Rangers have full IFA budget currently and if they lost the poting, Otani would be getting less money.

 

But NPB players acquired via the posting system don't normally count against the IFA cap? Would Otani have to be signed for a certain amount of days (or years) before he could negotiate a contract free of those restrictions? It would seem like the best approach to get the most money immediately out of an MLB team.

It's because he's 18 and not 23. I wonder though, if incentives count inside the 2.9 figure? I figure they do, or else it'd be extremely easy to exploit.

[Guest]

Does anyone have the Cubs stuff davell mentioned from the Law chat?

[Guest]

I asked Badler and he said if they DID do that, his contract still would have to fall under new IFA rules. That said, it wouldn't affect Nippon at all evidently. Unsure though if posting fee ALSO would count under 2.9 as well. Granted, no real reason for Otani to potentially lose money, because only Rangers have full IFA budget currently and if they lost the poting, Otani would be getting less money.

 

But NPB players acquired via the posting system don't normally count against the IFA cap? Would Otani have to be signed for a certain amount of days (or years) before he could negotiate a contract free of those restrictions? It would seem like the best approach to get the most money immediately out of an MLB team.

 

Even if you're coming from professional leagues in Cuba or Japan, you won't avoid the $2.9 million IFA cap if you're under 23.

[Guest]

Does anyone have the Cubs stuff davell mentioned from the Law chat?

 

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chat/_/id/45820/mlb-insider-keith-law

 

Dale (KY) Given Matt Szczur's athletic ability, could the Cubs change his swing enough for you to see him as a solid prospect? Seems like the other parts of his game are pretty good.

 

Klaw (1:38 PM) It would be a swing overhaul, and he's not a good defensive centerfielder - his reads aren't very good and he's a 60 runner, so not fast enough just to run down his mistakes. I'm really not optimistic.

 

tim (Cal.) HI Klaw,,,what do your metrics tell you about what you have seen out of Almora? did you see him at all this year in Ariz.? what kind of upside stat lines do you see from him on the high end? what kind of floor?

 

Klaw (1:39 PM) Saw him this summer, and I think he's an All-Star, a plus defender who'll hit for high averages with average or better power.

 

Dale (KY) Re: swing overhaul....sounds like the Cubs are going to try this with Brett Jackson as well? Optimistic about that, or desperation?

 

Klaw (1:40 PM) Better player overall - and also necessary for him to ever reach his athletic potential. I don't think he can make enough quality contact with his current swing.

 

Dale (KY) Any Cubs prospects not named Soler, Almora, Baez you are particularly interested in or intrigued by?

 

Klaw (1:46 PM) Paniagua comes to mind. Electric arm.

 

Jeff (Bloomington, IN) Thanks for the great chats. How difficult is it to adjust swing mechanics? On a scale of 1 to 10...1 being easy, 10 extremely difficult.

 

Klaw (1:51 PM) 8 or more.

[Guest]

Thanks raisin!

[CUBZ99]

Quick question for those that have looked at the trade-ability of international signing money. When does the budget money become trade-able?

[davell]

The numbers haven't been given to the teams yet. But they will be soon, because they're able to be dealt over the offseason.

[Clem Fandango]

Teams can trade their IFA budget money? Didn't know that.

[davell]

Teams can trade their IFA budget money? Didn't know that.

Each team will be given 4 different pools of equal money, dependent on last years finish. We have 2nd highest amount(somewhere between 4.3-4.9mill). You can only trade your IFA budget in 1/4's. Not saying you can't acquire a teams entire IFA allotment, just you can't get 3/5 of it basically. That said, you can only acquire extra IFA money up to half your own original allotment. And once you start spending it, its half of whatever you have at the time of the trade.

[Clem Fandango]

Well... alright then.

 

http://i.imgur.com/n1Afo.gif

[CUBZ99]

The numbers haven't been given to the teams yet. But they will be soon, because they're able to be dealt over the offseason.

 

Thanks.

 

Hypothetically, if a team wanted to sign a major IFA which would exceed the IFA budget and make them forfeit their pool money the next year, what would stop them from trading all of their IFA pool money prior to the signing? Granted they would be taxed a great deal, but still.

[davell]

Nothing would stop it, but it'd have to be the perfect situation for something like that to go down. In all honesty, as volatile as trying to project 16 year olds is, I'm not sure how many teams will actually be trying to get extra money here. It'll be interesting to see how much(or how little) teams value their budget here.

[davell]

Otani is signing with the Ham Fighters.

[davell]

Can't link from my cell, but Brett posted an article that's very sad. An 18 year old RHP, Yerinson Tatis, that may have been signing a 450k deal with us the following day, was killed. He had been released from the Royals earlier in the year, it appears.

[Guest]

BA's Cubs 2012 international free agency recap: http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/prospects/international-affairs/2013/2614761.html

 

Top signing: RHP Juan Carlos Paniagua, Dominican Republic, $1.5 million.

Six-figure signings: SS Frandy de la Rosa (Dominican Republic), SS Danny Gutierrez (Venezuela), RHP Ramon Valera (Venezuela), RHP Wagner Disla (Dominican Republic).

Notable Cuban signings: OF Jorge Soler, LHP Gerardo Concepcion.

[Guest]

Some other details:

 

• Paniagua topped out at 100 at Boise.
  
• On Frandy de la Rosa:

  He stood out among Cubs position players at the team's Dominican instructional league, even with more advanced players like Marco Hernandez in attendance.

• SS Danny Gutierrez (Venezuela) got a $185,000 bonus but has been playing more 2B and OF.
  
• RHP Ramon Valera (Venezuela) got a $170,000 bonus.
  
• RHP Wagner Disla (Dominican Republic) got a $100,000 bonus.
  
• RHP Luis Hernandez (Dominican Republic) got an $80,000 bonus.
  
• RHP Oscar de la Cruz (Dominican Republic) got a $85,000 bonus and recently converted from SS.
  
• LHP Jose Morel (Dominican Republic) got an $80,000 bonus and is 6'6".

[davell]

Maybe a sign of how they approach young pitching? No 16 year olds out of the group. Love the projectability though. Dislan is 6'4 at 17, Hernandez is 6'5 at 18, DeLa Cruz is 6'4 at 17 and already hits 93 after just converting a year ago. Morel is 6'6 and a lefty that hits 89 at 18. Its great to see the "types" they're signing, all projectability-all the time.

[CubsWin]

Maybe a sign of how they approach young pitching? No 16 year olds out of the group. Love the projectability though. Dislan is 6'4 at 17, Hernandez is 6'5 at 18, DeLa Cruz is 6'4 at 17 and already hits 93 after just converting a year ago. Morel is 6'6 and a lefty that hits 89 at 18. Its great to see the "types" they're signing, all projectability-all the time.

If they can make Mesa or Boise by 19, then they are more than on track with stateside high school draftees. I too am in agreement with going "all-projectability all the time". It's easy enough to find and develop mid-to-back end of the rotation guys in the draft. Signing kids at such a young age it's difficult to really know what you're getting so you might as well as aim high.

[craig]

Maybe a sign of how they approach young pitching? No 16 year olds out of the group. Love the projectability though. Dislan is 6'4 at 17, Hernandez is 6'5 at 18, DeLa Cruz is 6'4 at 17 and already hits 93 after just converting a year ago. Morel is 6'6 and a lefty that hits 89 at 18. Its great to see the "types" they're signing, all projectability-all the time.

 

Q1: Do you just need to be 16, or 16.5 by the July 2 signing deadline?

Q2: Was BA listing present age, or age when they signed? Present, I think?

 

If it's present age, and they needed to already be 16.5 when they signed, it would be kinda hard to have many guys currently 16. If so, I'm thinking that Disla (17), de la Cruz (17), Hernandez (turned 18 in January) may all have been guys who weren't eligible before this July. So I'm not sure there's really a conscious orientation towards "older" pitchers.

 

I would imagine that if you're going to spend $80-170K on a projection guy, you'd probably like a tall project who might grow into serious velocity later, even if he doesn't have enough speed now to price himself out of your budget.

 

Will be interesting to see what the Cubs hopefully upgraded coaching procedures can do in terms of developing these project picks.

[Guest]

Maybe a sign of how they approach young pitching? No 16 year olds out of the group. Love the projectability though. Dislan is 6'4 at 17, Hernandez is 6'5 at 18, DeLa Cruz is 6'4 at 17 and already hits 93 after just converting a year ago. Morel is 6'6 and a lefty that hits 89 at 18. Its great to see the "types" they're signing, all projectability-all the time.

 

Q1: Do you just need to be 16, or 16.5 by the July 2 signing deadline?

Q2: Was BA listing present age, or age when they signed? Present, I think?

 

If it's present age, and they needed to already be 16.5 when they signed, it would be kinda hard to have many guys currently 16. If so, I'm thinking that Disla (17), de la Cruz (17), Hernandez (turned 18 in January) may all have been guys who weren't eligible before this July. So I'm not sure there's really a conscious orientation towards "older" pitchers.

 

I would imagine that if you're going to spend $80-170K on a projection guy, you'd probably like a tall project who might grow into serious velocity later, even if he doesn't have enough speed now to price himself out of your budget.

 

Will be interesting to see what the Cubs hopefully upgraded coaching procedures can do in terms of developing these project picks.

 

Q1: You need to be 16 by July 2nd to sign that day, but the age window of IFA extends to September 2nd. If you turn 16 between 7/2 and 9/2, you can sign on or after your birthday. You have to wait till next year if you turn 16 after 9/2.

 

Q2: BA listed present age.