International Free Agency Thread 2018-2019

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Badler just linked us to Gallardo.

 

He sure did. Said he was the standout there today despite not having the best FB velocity, with the best combination of fastball, offspeed stuff and control. He's 6'1", 187 lbs. Gallardo is the second 7/2/18 IFA linked to the Cubs. The first is 16-year old Dominican SS Rafael Morel.

 

Of the other two guys in my post above with Kiley McDaniel tweets, Starlyn Castillo is linked to the Phillies and Badler didn't link Abraham Calzadilla to any teams.

 

The hardthrowing Cubans will pitch tomorrow.

[CubsWin]

[tweet]

[/tweet]

 

[tweet]

[/tweet]

 

[tweet]

[/tweet]

 

Haven't seen any of these three linked to teams by Ben Badler thus far.

Maybe is just a trick of the camera shooting thru the backstop mesh, but Castillo seemed to have impressive action on his fastball thrown to the outside of the plate and it tailing back over the heart of it.

 

Nice. And for as much effort is present in his delivery, he finishes very balanced and under control.

 

I realize the Cubs can't sign them all, but he looks impressive. Not being publicly linked to anyone yet makes him all the more intriguing...

[CaliforniaRaisin]

[tweet]

[/tweet]

 

[tweet]

[/tweet]

 

[tweet]

[/tweet]

 

Haven't seen any of these three linked to teams by Ben Badler thus far.

Maybe is just a trick of the camera shooting thru the backstop mesh, but Castillo seemed to have impressive action on his fastball thrown to the outside of the plate and it tailing back over the heart of it.

 

Nice. And for as much effort is present in his delivery, he finishes very balanced and under control.

 

I realize the Cubs can't sign them all, but he looks impressive. Not being publicly linked to anyone yet makes him all the more intriguing...

 

Badler linked Castillo to the Phillies yesterday. Same article he linked Gallardo to the Cubs.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Here's one of the Cuban teenagers, Sandy Gaston. Not shocked from this clip to see he has control issues:

 

[tweet]

[/tweet]

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Man, I really want the Cubs to sign him:

 

[tweet]

[/tweet]

[CubsWin]

Badler linked Castillo to the Phillies yesterday. Same article he linked Gallardo to the Cubs.

Oh, it was the Calzadilla guy who hadn't been linked yet. Thanks for catching that!

[CubsWin]

Man, I really want the Cubs to sign him:

 

[tweet]

[/tweet]

Damn, that's a sharp, late breaking curve ball/slider. Almost Darvish-esque.

[Regular Show]

Man, I really want the Cubs to sign him:

 

[tweet]

[/tweet]

 

Wow, that's one hell of a breaking ball. Not a great delivery though lol.

[Hrubes20]

Badler just linked us to Gallardo.

 

He sure did. Said he was the standout there today despite not having the best FB velocity, with the best combination of fastball, offspeed stuff and control. He's 6'1", 187 lbs. Gallardo is the second 7/2/18 IFA linked to the Cubs. The first is 16-year old Dominican SS Rafael Morel.

 

Of the other two guys in my post above with Kiley McDaniel tweets, Starlyn Castillo is linked to the Phillies and Badler didn't link Abraham Calzadilla to any teams.

 

The hardthrowing Cubans will pitch tomorrow.

 

I can't find anything on this kid.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Badler just linked us to Gallardo.

 

He sure did. Said he was the standout there today despite not having the best FB velocity, with the best combination of fastball, offspeed stuff and control. He's 6'1", 187 lbs. Gallardo is the second 7/2/18 IFA linked to the Cubs. The first is 16-year old Dominican SS Rafael Morel.

 

Of the other two guys in my post above with Kiley McDaniel tweets, Starlyn Castillo is linked to the Phillies and Badler didn't link Abraham Calzadilla to any teams.

 

The hardthrowing Cubans will pitch tomorrow.

 

I can't find anything on this kid.

 

Badler mentioned him back in November: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1739#p227788

[davell]

Badler just linked us to Gallardo.

 

He sure did. Said he was the standout there today despite not having the best FB velocity, with the best combination of fastball, offspeed stuff and control. He's 6'1", 187 lbs. Gallardo is the second 7/2/18 IFA linked to the Cubs. The first is 16-year old Dominican SS Rafael Morel.

 

Of the other two guys in my post above with Kiley McDaniel tweets, Starlyn Castillo is linked to the Phillies and Badler didn't link Abraham Calzadilla to any teams.

 

The hardthrowing Cubans will pitch tomorrow.

 

I can't find anything on this kid.

 

I think I read he's a defensive guy, that has the body to grow into some pop. But, I'm not sure where I got that from or if I'm even remembering the right guy.

[davell]

In Kiley's chat today, he listed Gallardo as the 2nd best pitcher there. Said there were a few guys not there, but no idea if he meant pitchers. He did say that the group he listed were all signing for at least 500k and some of them were getting over 2 mill.

 

Connecting the dots.....If Gallardo is the 2nd best(behind Rodriguez) and multiples of the 5 he listed were getting over 2 mill, we're probably giving him over 2 mill......

 

And considering Rodriguez is evidently an immediate top 100 prospect, according to some.....We're not likely able to nab him too. Unless we trade for quite a bit of IFA money.....

[Hrubes20]

 

He sure did. Said he was the standout there today despite not having the best FB velocity, with the best combination of fastball, offspeed stuff and control. He's 6'1", 187 lbs. Gallardo is the second 7/2/18 IFA linked to the Cubs. The first is 16-year old Dominican SS Rafael Morel.

 

Of the other two guys in my post above with Kiley McDaniel tweets, Starlyn Castillo is linked to the Phillies and Badler didn't link Abraham Calzadilla to any teams.

 

The hardthrowing Cubans will pitch tomorrow.

 

I can't find anything on this kid.

 

Badler mentioned him back in November: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1739#p227788

 

Thanks. Maybe I shouldn't have been so lazy and actually looked through this thread first.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

 

I can't find anything on this kid.

 

Badler mentioned him back in November: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1739#p227788

 

Thanks. Maybe I shouldn't have been so lazy and actually looked through this thread first.

 

No worries. Wasn't trying to be a jerk by linking my post - BA has contacted Tim before about posting too much premium content.

[Hrubes20]

 

Badler mentioned him back in November: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1739#p227788

 

Thanks. Maybe I shouldn't have been so lazy and actually looked through this thread first.

 

No worries. Wasn't trying to be a jerk by linking my post - BA has contacted Tim before about posting too much premium content.

 

Didn't come off jerky at all. And I remember reading something about that. Didn't Law also contact somebody here, or was that a different message board?

[Hrubes20]

In Kiley's chat today, he listed Gallardo as the 2nd best pitcher there. Said there were a few guys not there, but no idea if he meant pitchers. He did say that the group he listed were all signing for at least 500k and some of them were getting over 2 mill.

 

Connecting the dots.....If Gallardo is the 2nd best(behind Rodriguez) and multiples of the 5 he listed were getting over 2 mill, we're probably giving him over 2 mill......

 

And considering Rodriguez is evidently an immediate top 100 prospect, according to some.....We're not likely able to nab him too. Unless we trade for quite a bit of IFA money.....

 

I wouldn't make that leap. Pitchers don't generally get as much as the hitters do in IFA. Actually, I'm struggling to think of the last pitcher to get $2 million in IFA. Did Espinoza get that from Boston, or did either of those 2 Rays pitchers get it when they went over their spending budget? But we see $2-3 million dollar position players every year.

 

I wouldn't be shocked to see that he signed for $1 million.

[davell]

In Kiley's chat today, he listed Gallardo as the 2nd best pitcher there. Said there were a few guys not there, but no idea if he meant pitchers. He did say that the group he listed were all signing for at least 500k and some of them were getting over 2 mill.

 

Connecting the dots.....If Gallardo is the 2nd best(behind Rodriguez) and multiples of the 5 he listed were getting over 2 mill, we're probably giving him over 2 mill......

 

And considering Rodriguez is evidently an immediate top 100 prospect, according to some.....We're not likely able to nab him too. Unless we trade for quite a bit of IFA money.....

 

I wouldn't make that leap. Pitchers don't generally get as much as the hitters do in IFA. Actually, I'm struggling to think of the last pitcher to get $2 million in IFA. Did Espinoza get that from Boston, or did either of those 2 Rays pitchers get it when they went over their spending budget? But we see $2-3 million dollar position players every year.

 

I wouldn't be shocked to see that he signed for $1 million.

 

Ah, when I skimmed thru, I didn't notice he had just also posted the 5 best hitters. That definitely changes things, as his comment wasn't necessarily meant for the pitchers.

 

I agree that they don't typically get as much. And I'd amend my initial thinking on Gallardo. I'd still bet Rodriguez gets well over that though. Every team has at least 4.75 mill now to spend. I'd guess the players see their bonuses go up a bit anyway, just because of that.

[Hrubes20]

In Kiley's chat today, he listed Gallardo as the 2nd best pitcher there. Said there were a few guys not there, but no idea if he meant pitchers. He did say that the group he listed were all signing for at least 500k and some of them were getting over 2 mill.

 

Connecting the dots.....If Gallardo is the 2nd best(behind Rodriguez) and multiples of the 5 he listed were getting over 2 mill, we're probably giving him over 2 mill......

 

And considering Rodriguez is evidently an immediate top 100 prospect, according to some.....We're not likely able to nab him too. Unless we trade for quite a bit of IFA money.....

 

I wouldn't make that leap. Pitchers don't generally get as much as the hitters do in IFA. Actually, I'm struggling to think of the last pitcher to get $2 million in IFA. Did Espinoza get that from Boston, or did either of those 2 Rays pitchers get it when they went over their spending budget? But we see $2-3 million dollar position players every year.

 

I wouldn't be shocked to see that he signed for $1 million.

 

Ah, when I skimmed thru, I didn't notice he had just also posted the 5 best hitters. That definitely changes things, as his comment wasn't necessarily meant for the pitchers.

 

I agree that they don't typically get as much. And I'd amend my initial thinking on Gallardo. I'd still bet Rodriguez gets well over that though. Every team has at least 4.75 mill now to spend. I'd guess the players see their bonuses go up a bit anyway, just because of that.

 

Makes sense. I think you may be right on Rodriguez as well. Dude looks legit.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

In Kiley's chat today, he listed Gallardo as the 2nd best pitcher there. Said there were a few guys not there, but no idea if he meant pitchers. He did say that the group he listed were all signing for at least 500k and some of them were getting over 2 mill.

 

Connecting the dots.....If Gallardo is the 2nd best(behind Rodriguez) and multiples of the 5 he listed were getting over 2 mill, we're probably giving him over 2 mill......

 

And considering Rodriguez is evidently an immediate top 100 prospect, according to some.....We're not likely able to nab him too. Unless we trade for quite a bit of IFA money.....

 

I wouldn't make that leap. Pitchers don't generally get as much as the hitters do in IFA. Actually, I'm struggling to think of the last pitcher to get $2 million in IFA. Did Espinoza get that from Boston, or did either of those 2 Rays pitchers get it when they went over their spending budget? But we see $2-3 million dollar position players every year.

 

I wouldn't be shocked to see that he signed for $1 million.

 

Ah, when I skimmed thru, I didn't notice he had just also posted the 5 best hitters. That definitely changes things, as his comment wasn't necessarily meant for the pitchers.

 

I agree that they don't typically get as much. And I'd amend my initial thinking on Gallardo. I'd still bet Rodriguez gets well over that though. Every team has at least 4.75 mill now to spend. I'd guess the players see their bonuses go up a bit anyway, just because of that.

 

FYI, I don't think anyone who gets paid to do this has said Rodriguez is a top 100 prospect. I surmised as much just reading the glowing write-ups for him. At the end of the day, he's a 16-year old pitcher, so immediately being a top 100 prospect will be tough. That said, he is the best pitching prospect in this class and showed up late, so I think he'll easily clear $2 million.

 

I've added the the teams linked to these guys. No idea on Azuaje, the Cuban pitchers or Rosario. Looks like Calzadilla is linked to the Diamondbacks.

 

12:49

Kiley McDaniel: Those hitters:

Diego Cartaya, C, VZ Dodgers

Noelvi Marte, SS, DR Mariners

Marco Luciano, SS, DR Giants

Orelvis Martinez, SS, DR Blue Jays, likely the biggest non-Cuban bonus

there’s a bunch of candidates for the 5th spot, but I’ll go with the guy that ran a 6.37 in the 60: Alexeis Azuaje, SS, DR

12:50

Kiley McDaniel: Best Arms:

Osiel Rodriguez, RHP, Cuba

Richard Gallardo, RHP, VZ Cubs

Sandy Gaston, RHP, Cuba

Abraham Calzadilla, RHP, VZ Diamondbacks

you can either take projection with Jerming Rosario, RHP, DR or now velo with Starlyn Castillo, RHP, DR Phillies

12:51

Kiley McDaniel: I would assume/already know all of those players get $500K on July 2nd or soon thereafter

12:51

Kiley McDaniel: and there’s more than a couple millionaires in there, probably a few over $2M. A couple top guys weren’t at the event, but not that many.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

 

I wouldn't make that leap. Pitchers don't generally get as much as the hitters do in IFA. Actually, I'm struggling to think of the last pitcher to get $2 million in IFA. Did Espinoza get that from Boston, or did either of those 2 Rays pitchers get it when they went over their spending budget? But we see $2-3 million dollar position players every year.

 

I wouldn't be shocked to see that he signed for $1 million.

 

Ah, when I skimmed thru, I didn't notice he had just also posted the 5 best hitters. That definitely changes things, as his comment wasn't necessarily meant for the pitchers.

 

I agree that they don't typically get as much. And I'd amend my initial thinking on Gallardo. I'd still bet Rodriguez gets well over that though. Every team has at least 4.75 mill now to spend. I'd guess the players see their bonuses go up a bit anyway, just because of that.

 

FYI, I don't think anyone who gets paid to do this has said Rodriguez is a top 100 prospect. I surmised as much just reading the glowing write-ups for him. At the end of the day, he's a 16-year old pitcher, so immediately being a top 100 prospect will be tough. That said, he is the best pitching prospect in this class and showed up late, so I think he'll easily clear $2 million.

 

I've added the the teams linked to these guys. No idea on Azuaje, the Cuban pitchers or Rosario. Looks like Calzadilla is linked to the Diamondbacks.

 

12:49

Kiley McDaniel: Those hitters:

Diego Cartaya, C, VZ Dodgers

Noelvi Marte, SS, DR Mariners

Marco Luciano, SS, DR Giants

Orelvis Martinez, SS, DR Blue Jays, likely the biggest non-Cuban bonus

there’s a bunch of candidates for the 5th spot, but I’ll go with the guy that ran a 6.37 in the 60: Alexeis Azuaje, SS, DR

12:50

Kiley McDaniel: Best Arms:

Osiel Rodriguez, RHP, Cuba

Richard Gallardo, RHP, VZ Cubs

Sandy Gaston, RHP, Cuba

Abraham Calzadilla, RHP, VZ Diamondbacks

you can either take projection with Jerming Rosario, RHP, DR or now velo with Starlyn Castillo, RHP, DR Phillies

12:51

Kiley McDaniel: I would assume/already know all of those players get $500K on July 2nd or soon thereafter

12:51

Kiley McDaniel: and there’s more than a couple millionaires in there, probably a few over $2M. A couple top guys weren’t at the event, but not that many.

 

Alexeis Azuaje is connected to the Phillies.

[davell]

Raisin, anything of note in the new Badler article?

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Raisin, anything of note in the new Badler article?

 

No new players were linked to the Cubs in either his shortstop article or his pitcher article. That said, some of the players he mentioned weren't linked to any teams:

 

Osiel Rodriguez, RHP, Cuba

Sandy Gaston, RHP, Cuba - possibly could sign with the Marlins but not linked to any teams

Jerming Rosario, RHP, Dominican Republic

Rainer Polonius, SS, Curacao

Ryson Polonius, SS, Curacao

 

Badler said Osiel Rodriguez and Richard Gallardo (the pitcher linked to the Cubs) were the most impressive pitchers at the MLB Showcase last week. Annoyingly, Badler mentioned bonus amounts for many of the pitchers in his article but not Gallardo. Only one pitcher Badler mentioned is currently expected to get a 7-figure bonus (Dominican RHP Starlyn Castillo to the Phillies).

[davell]

Raisin, anything of note in the new Badler article?

 

No new players were linked to the Cubs in either his shortstop article or his pitcher article. That said, some of the players he mentioned weren't linked to any teams:

 

Osiel Rodriguez, RHP, Cuba

Sandy Gaston, RHP, Cuba - possibly could sign with the Marlins but not linked to any teams

Jerming Rosario, RHP, Dominican Republic

Rainer Polonius, SS, Curacao

Ryson Polonius, SS, Curacao

 

Badler said Osiel Rodriguez and Richard Gallardo (the pitcher linked to the Cubs) were the most impressive pitchers at the MLB Showcase last week. Annoyingly, Badler mentioned bonus amounts for many of the pitchers in his article but not Gallardo. Only one pitcher Badler mentioned is currently expected to get a 7-figure bonus (Dominican RHP Starlyn Castillo to the Phillies).

 

Thanks man. We've got the SS and Gallardo as the only names known at this point. I'd love to see us add one other big bonus pitcher and spend the rest on hitting(if there's anything left)

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Raisin, anything of note in the new Badler article?

 

No new players were linked to the Cubs in either his shortstop article or his pitcher article. That said, some of the players he mentioned weren't linked to any teams:

 

Osiel Rodriguez, RHP, Cuba

Sandy Gaston, RHP, Cuba - possibly could sign with the Marlins but not linked to any teams

Jerming Rosario, RHP, Dominican Republic

Rainer Polonius, SS, Curacao

Ryson Polonius, SS, Curacao

 

Badler said Osiel Rodriguez and Richard Gallardo (the pitcher linked to the Cubs) were the most impressive pitchers at the MLB Showcase last week. Annoyingly, Badler mentioned bonus amounts for many of the pitchers in his article but not Gallardo. Only one pitcher Badler mentioned is currently expected to get a 7-figure bonus (Dominican RHP Starlyn Castillo to the Phillies).

 

Thanks man. We've got the SS and Gallardo as the only names known at this point. I'd love to see us add one other big bonus pitcher and spend the rest on hitting(if there's anything left)

 

If I had to guess, they probably have about $2 million tied up with Gallardo and the SS Rafael Morel.

 

With the hard IFA caps in the new CBA, it's tougher to sign multiple top IFAs so it would be a pleasant surprise if they could still get Osiel Rodriguez and end up signing the top two pitchers in this class. You get the top two pitchers in the class and you have a better chance that one will be a healthy top 100 prospect by AA ball. That said, I'm guessing they're already linked to a few mid-6 figure guys and might not have enough money for a guy like Rodriguez who basically is a pop up guy.

[davell]

 

No new players were linked to the Cubs in either his shortstop article or his pitcher article. That said, some of the players he mentioned weren't linked to any teams:

 

Osiel Rodriguez, RHP, Cuba

Sandy Gaston, RHP, Cuba - possibly could sign with the Marlins but not linked to any teams

Jerming Rosario, RHP, Dominican Republic

Rainer Polonius, SS, Curacao

Ryson Polonius, SS, Curacao

 

Badler said Osiel Rodriguez and Richard Gallardo (the pitcher linked to the Cubs) were the most impressive pitchers at the MLB Showcase last week. Annoyingly, Badler mentioned bonus amounts for many of the pitchers in his article but not Gallardo. Only one pitcher Badler mentioned is currently expected to get a 7-figure bonus (Dominican RHP Starlyn Castillo to the Phillies).

 

Thanks man. We've got the SS and Gallardo as the only names known at this point. I'd love to see us add one other big bonus pitcher and spend the rest on hitting(if there's anything left)

 

If I had to guess, they probably have about $2 million tied up with Gallardo and the SS Rafael Morel.

 

With the hard IFA caps in the new CBA, it's tougher to sign multiple top IFAs so it would be a pleasant surprise if they could still get Osiel Rodriguez and end up signing the top two pitchers in this class. You get the top two pitchers in the class and you have a better chance that one will be a healthy top 100 prospect by AA ball. That said, I'm guessing they're already linked to a few mid-6 figure guys and might not have enough money for a guy like Rodriguez who basically is a pop up guy.

 

I'm thinking more along the lines of trading for extra IFA money. Now that you can't go over, but can buy 75% more(if you can find it), its the best way to rebuild the system quickly. Especially since you can do this every year. You've got to do it for smaller increments at a time, but there's always teams out there with 300-500k left over. And Baltimore with all of theirs lol. I'm hopeful we take advantage of this, since the acquisition cost of 500k or under in IFA money is small.