2014-15 International Free Agency Thread

[rawaction]

@JeffPassan: Selig on an international draft: "I believe in it, and I hope during the next negotiations we get it done.”

So next year we should have another window to go way over allotment.

 

Exactly what I was thinking.

The only concern would be that the draft would come in during the penalty period for the Cubs. They could then be denied a first round pick in the draft because of the penalty.

 

True. But seems like something that should be laid out before this happens.

[CubsWin]

Are there any early indications as to how the 2015 crop of IFAs are looking as compared to this year and last?

[davell]

Are there any early indications as to how the 2015 crop of IFAs are looking as compared to this year and last?

 

Supposedly better than this year. Obviously too early to know though.

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

don't know about next year, but this year was weaker than last year's crop.

[CubsWin]

don't know about next year, but this year was weaker than last year's crop.

Quite a bit, from what I've read.

[Guest]

http://www.baseballamerica.com/international/cubs-sign-venezuelan-pitcher-emilio-ferrebus/

 

The Cubs have signed 16-year-old Venezuelan righthander Emilio Ferrebus for $250,000. Ferrebus pitched at Major League Baseball’s international showcase in Januayr in the Dominican Republic, where he struck out three in two scoreless innings with two walks. At 6-foot-1, 185 pounds, his velocity varies but has touched the low-90s.

 

Scouts have praised his smooth delivery and feel for his secondary pitches, including a low to mid-70s curveball and a low-80s changeup. Ferrebus trained with Luis Camba and Henderson Martinez. Since the Cubs spent more than 15 percent beyond their 2013-14 international bonus pool last year, they won’t be able to sign any international players for more than $250,000 during the current 2014-15 signing period.

[davell]

So, 850k confirmed on 3,guys, with one guys bonus unknown. I can't imagine us spending it all, I hope we just roll over some for next year.

[jersey cubs fan]

So, 850k confirmed on 3,guys, with one guys bonus unknown. I can't imagine us spending it all, I hope we just roll over some for next year.

 

I thought $250k was the highest they could go with any one player.

[davell]

So, 850k confirmed on 3,guys, with one guys bonus unknown. I can't imagine us spending it all, I hope we just roll over some for next year.

 

I thought $250k was the highest they could go with any one player.

Crap, 4 players. Plus the SS with no bonus figures.

[Guest]

So, 850k confirmed on 3,guys, with one guys bonus unknown. I can't imagine us spending it all, I hope we just roll over some for next year.

 

I thought $250k was the highest they could go with any one player.

Crap, 4 players. Plus the SS with no bonus figures.

 

Yep:

 

Wander Cabrera, LHP, Dominican Republic - $250,000 bonus

Yeiler Peguero, SS, Dominican Republic - $250,000 bonus

Emilio Ferrebus, RHP, Venezuela - $250,000 bonus

Tony Rijo, 3B, Dominican Republic - $100,000 bonus

Francisco Garay, SS, Panama

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

Is there nothing out there on Garay at all? Anyone ask Badler?

[Guest]

http://www.baseballamerica.com/international/trainer-says-yankees-left-dominican-prospect-altar/

 

The Yankees backed out of a seven-figure signing agreement with a 16-year-old Dominican shortstop, according to the player’s trainer, but the team says there was never a deal in place.

 

Dominican shortstop Christopher Torres, according to his trainer Orlando Mazara, reached an oral agreement in October 2013 to sign with the Yankees for a $2.1 million bonus, with the understanding that Torres would officially sign when he became eligible on July 2. Instead, Mazara said the Yankees told Torres’ camp in June they would not be signing him, leaving Torres unsigned with other teams having spent their budgets on other players.

 

...

 

Yankees vice president Mark Newman denied that the Yankees ever had a deal in place with Torres, a switch-hitter listed by MLB as 6 feet, 170 pounds.

 

“It’s really simple,” Newman said. “We scouted the guy, we worked him out, we talked to the agent, we talked to the family. We did not make an offer. We did not sign the guy and we did not have an offer. We talked about various levels of interest on our part and their part, but there was never any offer.”

 

Newman confirmed that Yankees officials met with Major League Baseball to discuss a complaint Torres’ camp made to the commissioner’s office. He declined to comment about who the officials were and whether MLB took any action in relation to the situation.

[Guest]

@BenBadler: Yankees/Torres situation is uglier RT @tenpoundbrain Will they take as much flak for "dicking over minors" as the @astros did?

 

@kileymcd: What the Yankees are accused of with Chris Torres is just like what happened w/Aiken+Nix & when college coaches leave & kids can't transfer.

 

@kileymcd: The rules are always in favor of management, be it pro or college and in any sport. Can limit kids future w/verbal then change their mind.

 

@kileymcd: We haven't seen his medical, I didn't know I'd be offered this job, we never gave an offer bc that's "illegal", etc gives mgmt upper hand.

 

@kileymcd: I was told from December for months that Torres had a deal with NYY, then late he suddenly didn't & NYY had new targets. Sure seems to track

 

@kileymcd: The reason you're hearing about this is it was for so much money and with hard caps, Torres couldn't recover. MLB enables this w/rules.

[Guest]

http://www.baseballamerica.com/international/mlb-makes-significant-rule-changes-international-players/

 

In what appears to be an attempt to crack down on an industry trend of early agreements well before July 2, Major League Baseball has changed its rules with regards to how teams can evaluate international amateur players.

 

MLB sent teams a memo Tuesday stating that, effective today, international players are not allowed to be at a team facility until they are 16 years old or until six months before they become eligible to sign, whichever comes first. That means most players who become eligible to sign on July 2, 2015 won’t be able to enter a team’s Dominican academy—a vital component for teams to be able to evaluate players—until Jan. 2, 2015. For players who turn 16 between September and December, they will be allowed to go to a team facility once they turn 16. The only exceptions to that rule will be if a player participates in an event sponsored by MLB, such as an MLB-sanctioned league or showcase, or is part of the Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) program.

 

That rule change will have a major effect on how teams evaluate talent in Latin America. Most teams consider bringing players into their academies in the Dominican Republic the most important and efficient means of player evaluation. The academy allows teams to bring in players from all over Latin America and put them through whatever evaluation process they feel is optimal—simulated games, bullpen, situational drills—to get the best gauge of the player’s talent and personality.

[davell]

@dan_bernstein: I'm told #Cubs are steamed about this new #MLB rule limiting proprietary international scouting, feeling targeted. Won't say so publicly.

 

I kind of thought the same, then passed it off as too much homerism on my end. But this does hurt. But I guess it just means no prearranged deals. We'll still have the ability to go way over the limits if we want to and we've likely made plenty of inroads with next years class already. We just won't be hearing anything early, as Kiley eluded to a month ago.

[TruffleShuffle]

All this stuff is stupid. They're trying to put band aids on a ridiculously broken system. Just make them part of the draft.

[UMFan83]

This is ridiculous and I think the Cubs (and a couple other teams to a lesser extent) are being targeted.

 

Since Theo took over the MLB has:

-Completely overhauled the way teams can approach the draft by putting spending limits with strict penalties for going over, directly contrasting with how Theo built the Red Sox

-Completely overhauled the way teams can sign international FAs by also putting spending limits and strict penalties

-Gave every team in the NL Central besides the Cubs a sandwhich pick every year in the draft

-Limited contact between scouts and young international talent after the Cubs invested millions on a top of the line training academy in the DR

 

The MLB is so concerned with parity and closing the revenue gap yet look at who is currently in a playoff spot...Kansas City, Baltimore, Oakland, Washington, Milwaukee

[jersey cubs fan]

This is ridiculous and I think the Cubs (and a couple other teams to a lesser extent) are being targeted.

 

Since Theo took over the MLB has:

-Completely overhauled the way teams can approach the draft by putting spending limits with strict penalties for going over, directly contrasting with how Theo built the Red Sox

-Completely overhauled the way teams can sign international FAs by also putting spending limits and strict penalties

-Gave every team in the NL Central besides the Cubs a sandwhich pick every year in the draft

-Limited contact between scouts and young international talent after the Cubs invested millions on a top of the line training academy in the DR

 

The MLB is so concerned with parity and closing the revenue gap yet look at who is currently in a playoff spot...Kansas City, Baltimore, Oakland, Washington, Milwaukee

 

Their interest is in maximizing profits and they are doing that by holding down costs. They aren't targeting the Cubs, they are helping teams like the White Sox that don't want to have to invest. It is a disincentive to spend.

[BeerHere]

All this stuff is stupid. They're trying to put band aids on a ridiculously broken system. Just make them part of the draft.

this

[Cubswin11]

A draft probably hurts us the most

[gscool89]

This is ridiculous and I think the Cubs (and a couple other teams to a lesser extent) are being targeted.

 

Since Theo took over the MLB has:

-Completely overhauled the way teams can approach the draft by putting spending limits with strict penalties for going over, directly contrasting with how Theo built the Red Sox

-Completely overhauled the way teams can sign international FAs by also putting spending limits and strict penalties

-Gave every team in the NL Central besides the Cubs a sandwhich pick every year in the draft

-Limited contact between scouts and young international talent after the Cubs invested millions on a top of the line training academy in the DR

 

The MLB is so concerned with parity and closing the revenue gap yet look at who is currently in a playoff spot...Kansas City, Baltimore, Oakland, Washington, Milwaukee

 

Their interest is in maximizing profits and they are doing that by holding down costs. They aren't targeting the Cubs, they are helping teams like the White Sox that don't want to have to invest. It is a disincentive to spend.

Whoa it's almost as if Jerry Reinsdorf is buddy-buddy with Bud Selig

[SouthSideRyan]

@dan_bernstein: I'm told #Cubs are steamed about this new #MLB rule limiting proprietary international scouting, feeling targeted. Won't say so publicly.

 

I kind of thought the same, then passed it off as too much homerism on my end. But this does hurt. But I guess it just means no prearranged deals. We'll still have the ability to go way over the limits if we want to and we've likely made plenty of inroads with next years class already. We just won't be hearing anything early, as Kiley eluded to a month ago.

 

This hurts, but thinking the Cubs are being targeted for no apparent reason is crybaby talk

[Guest]

Their interest is in maximizing profits and they are doing that by holding down costs. They aren't targeting the Cubs, they are helping teams like the White Sox that don't want to have to invest. It is a disincentive to spend.

 

Seems like a pretty ineffective way to hold down costs. No one is required to build foreign academies. The academies themselves aren't a huge expense, and without them teams that want to have involvement in the region need people down there, maybe more than there are now. Seems like a more likely outcome is that the teams that don't want to spend are wanting to have competitive parity with those that do, so the rules are changing to accommodate that minority.

[jersey cubs fan]

Their interest is in maximizing profits and they are doing that by holding down costs. They aren't targeting the Cubs, they are helping teams like the White Sox that don't want to have to invest. It is a disincentive to spend.

 

Seems like a pretty ineffective way to hold down costs. No one is required to build foreign academies. The academies themselves aren't a huge expense, and without them teams that want to have involvement in the region need people down there, maybe more than there are now. Seems like a more likely outcome is that the teams that don't want to spend are wanting to have competitive parity with those that do, so the rules are changing to accommodate that minority.

 

They are a pretty big expense with no way of generating revenue on their own. If the handful of teams with those academies are going to monopolize all the talent the other teams will be forced to spend money on all the second and third rate prospects, or abandon the market. It isn't a perfectly efficient way to hold down costs, but they can't just do the real obvious ones without running into trouble with the law and/or the players' association.

[Guest]

http://www.baseballamerica.com/international/mlb-makes-significant-rule-changes-international-players/

 

In what appears to be an attempt to crack down on an industry trend of early agreements well before July 2, Major League Baseball has changed its rules with regards to how teams can evaluate international amateur players.

 

MLB sent teams a memo Tuesday stating that, effective today, international players are not allowed to be at a team facility until they are 16 years old or until six months before they become eligible to sign, whichever comes first. That means most players who become eligible to sign on July 2, 2015 won’t be able to enter a team’s Dominican academy—a vital component for teams to be able to evaluate players—until Jan. 2, 2015. For players who turn 16 between September and December, they will be allowed to go to a team facility once they turn 16. The only exceptions to that rule will be if a player participates in an event sponsored by MLB, such as an MLB-sanctioned league or showcase, or is part of the Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) program.

 

That rule change will have a major effect on how teams evaluate talent in Latin America. Most teams consider bringing players into their academies in the Dominican Republic the most important and efficient means of player evaluation. The academy allows teams to bring in players from all over Latin America and put them through whatever evaluation process they feel is optimal—simulated games, bullpen, situational drills—to get the best gauge of the player’s talent and personality.

So teams can still simply rent out a third party facility and have private workouts, but they just can't do it at their own places?

 

Stupid rule.