2013-14 International Free Agency Thread

[davell]

@JesseSanchezMLB: I'm told the Eloy Jimenez press conference tentatively scheduled for this wk is @iplbaseball_rd production & #Cubs might do something later

 

The Cubs sure seem to keep putting off making the Jimenez signing official.

Yeah, I'm not even sure I understand this. Is IPL announcing he's signing with the Cubs? Or is it for Round Production, whatever that is?

[Guest]

We'll see if Jimenez becomes official today.

 

Leonardo Molina, one of the top remaining unsigned free agents, turns 16 today. He's tied to the Yankees but is one of the prospects people have suggested the Cubs go after since they're ignoring the signing caps.

 

ETA: Molina just signed with the Yankees.

[Guest]

It's official:

 

@dSoldevila: Eloy Jimenez firma con los Cubs oficialmente por US$2.8 millones y US$250 mil de beca universitaria http://twitter.com/dSoldevila/status/363088375856631808/photo/1

 

That's a $2.8 million bonus plus $250,000 for college.

[Sosa21MVP]

I think this thread should be advertised and linked from the Transactions forum as a sticky or whatever. I had no idea this thread existed until now. I'm not just saying that because my thread over there got locked, I think it would be useful.

[davell]

Great that Jimenez is official. Is Tseng official? Muskat tweeted it, but linked an MLB article. Not remembering an official Cubs tweet anyway.....In the hopes we go further than we already have-a few names to keep an eye on are Luis Encarnacion, Rafael Devers, Angelo Serrano, and Cecilio Aybar. Encarnacion seems like a Phils lock on August 9th(birthday), Devers has me wondering now though. He's been 16, is the 3rd ranked IFA and supposedly has had an agreement with the Red Sox since we knew anything at all about any of these guys. But he's still not official for some reason. Serrano signed for 750,000 with the Cards last year, but lied about his age. He's older(Cards thought he was 17 at the time) so he's like Mejia. Aybar is 19 and fast as hell. Was going to be a top 3 player in the class, but is 19 and suspended til mid-April from signing.

[Guest]

Most of the luster with Aybar is gone since he's 19, not 16.

 

He has a really iffy hit tool that you could hope would eventually become a mediocre hit tool, but the projection is gone if he's hitting this poorly at 19.

[UMFan83]

Insane to project a 16 year old, but if he actually becomes the elite talent we hope he is, whats the likeliest year we can project him to make the majors? 2017-2018 ish?

[davell]

Insane to project a 16 year old, but if he actually becomes the elite talent we hope he is, whats the likeliest year we can project him to make the majors? 2017-2018 ish?

Jimenez is a bit raw himself, I think Torres moves quicker than he will. In either case though, assuming both are in the DSL next year, I'd say 2018 at the earliest.

[davell]

I asked Badler about Devers and Encarnacion, he doesn't see us in on them. Our best bet becomes pop up guys later in the year and early next year. The teams that spend their IFA money are most likely close to their cap and likely won't want to go over by just a bit. Putting us and Texas at odds over any of these types.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

So, can someone give me a quick rundown of who all we signed and where they ranked?

 

Also, are there any interesting names still unsigned?

[Guest]

So, can someone give me a quick rundown of who all we signed and where they ranked?

 

Also, are there any interesting names still unsigned?

 

OF Eloy Jimenez, Dominican Republic - age 16 - $2.8 millino + $250,000 for college - BA rank: #1

SS Gleyber Torres, Venezuela - age 16 - $1.7 million bonus - BA rank: #2

RHP Jen-Ho Tseng, Taiwan - age 18 - $1.625 million bonus - BA rank: #23

RHP Jefferson Mejia, Dominican Republic - age 18 - $850,000 bonus - BA didn't rank him because he was available to be signed last year but had age irregularities; BA's rankings are for newly eligible prospects

RHP Erling Moreno, Colombia - age 16 - $650,000 bonus - BA rank: #16

C Johan Matos, Dominican Republic - age 16 - $270,000 bonus

 

There are a few guys in BA's top 30 who haven't signed, but they're all linked to other teams so it seems unlikely the Cubs will surprise and sign any of them.

[davell]

Jimenez and Torres were basically 1 and 2 on everyone's lists and Cubs got both of them. Also got 3 very solid pitchers. Tseng was ranked in the 20s by most, but if not for being overworked and a subsequent loss of velo-he could have been the top pitcher available. Mejia is 6'7 and very projectable-wasn't ranked by most due to being ranked last year and having age issues. Would have been a definite top 20 guy. Moreno is ranked inside the top 20 as well by most.(another pitcher). Also signed a C for a 270k bonus that likely will fall around a top 60ish bonus given out. Not much CURRENTLY left out there thats unaccounted for. But guys WILL pop up as solid players between now and the end of the signing period, that hopefully we go after.

[Guest]

Also, using Bukie's formatting:

 

                          Standard          5% Over
---------------------------------------------------
Initial bonus pool      $4,557,000       $4,784,850
From Astros            +$  784,000      +$  823,200
From Orioles           +$  388,000      +$  407,400
To Dodgers             -$  209,000      -$  219,450
===================================================
Cubs bonus pool         $5,520,000       $5,796,000
===================================================
Signings:
Gleyber Torres          $1,700,000       $1,700,000
Jen-Ho Tseng            $1,625,000       $1,625,000
Jefferson Mejia         $  850,000       $  850,000
Erling Moreno           $  650,000       $  650,000
Johan Matos             $  270,000       $  270,000
Eloy Jimenez            $2,800,000       $2,800,000
Remaining IFA Budget:  -$2,375,000      -$2,099,000

[bukie]

Granted, it meant more when they were numbers the Cubs cared about. :)

[Guest]

@BenBadler: No. Wasn't their Plan A, either. RT @Hopjake do you like Cubs strategy to go way over and then not be able to sign players for above 250k?

 

@BenBadler: Yes. RT @sitrick2 Did they think they'd have an easier time trading for pool money than they did?

[Sammy Sofa]

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9lqc22Y2r1qedb29o1_500.gif

[Hairyducked Idiot]

That seems really credible because it supports what I already believed.

[Guest]

It's a big mistake in tactics but not in strategy. Also the money isn't that bad as its a one time cost. All in all, I don't really mind.

[davell]

Encarnacion signed with the Phils for a mill on his birthday. Anderson Franco is BA's only top 30 prospect left(not counting Devers, who's got paperwork issues going on) and he's heavily linked to the Nats.

[scarey]

It's a big mistake in tactics but not in strategy. Also the money isn't that bad as its a one time cost. All in all, I don't really mind.

 

I don't mind it so much. The Cubs brought in a ton of top talent this last year. At some point there is going to be a roster crunch with risk of some players being exposed to rule 5 who shouldn't be.

 

Next year, just sign a crap ton of low bonus guys and see if any stick. If none of them do, it diminishes the impact of the eventual roster crunch. If they do, it's not a bad problem to have more talent.

 

I'm not going to say it was some brilliant plan that was carried out by the front office. They obviously didn't want it to happen this way and neither did I. However, it's not the worst thing in the world to cast a larger net and see what you come up with.

[Guest]

It's a big mistake in tactics but not in strategy. Also the money isn't that bad as its a one time cost. All in all, I don't really mind.

 

I don't mind it so much. The Cubs brought in a ton of top talent this last year. At some point there is going to be a roster crunch with risk of some players being exposed to rule 5 who shouldn't be.

 

Next year, just sign a crap ton of low bonus guys and see if any stick. If none of them do, it diminishes the impact of the eventual roster crunch. If they do, it's not a bad problem to have more talent.

 

I'm not going to say it was some brilliant plan that was carried out by the front office. They obviously didn't want it to happen this way and neither did I. However, it's not the worst thing in the world to cast a larger net and see what you come up with.

 

Yep. Doesn't bother me at all, especially since some would even argue that spreading out the bonus money and going for quantity is a better way of getting talent anyway. Best of both worlds, sort of.

[ctcf]

I'd also note that, in contrast to Badler, Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller addressed this on the daily BP podcast and both seemed to be under the impression that it was a conscious strategy of the Cubs and seemed generally favorable of it.

[WrigleyField 22]

I'm sure they were aware of the risk and were willing to take it, but would have much preferred trading for the entire budget allocation they needed. They've still stayed within their tradeable budget range, so if this was their strategy to blow the budget all out, they kind of half added it.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I'd also note that, in contrast to Badler, Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller addressed this on the daily BP podcast and both seemed to be under the impression that it was a conscious strategy of the Cubs and seemed generally favorable of it.

 

That seems less credible to me.

[davell]

I don't think they were trying to go over the top. Texas or whoever made us up our offer to Jimenez, is my guess. And we wanted him bad enough to do it, then added Tseng on top of it for more potential impact. In the end, if you would have told me we would get 5 guys squarely inside the top 30 IFA prospects over a 2 year period, including two elite guys, ranked first and second, I'd have been satisfied. We just did it in one year and we may not even be done, for all we know. Take the quantity approach next year or trade off the space. Either way, we can make it work.