International Free Agency Thread 2018-2019

[CubsWin]

Here’s the link if you want to read about Gallardo, Lopez or Machado: http://m.mlb.com/prospects/2018/?list=int

 

I like reading that Gallardo is considered to have good command and Machado is a strike thrower.

Richard Gallardo | Rank: 5 Hometown: Maracay, Venezuela

 

Position: P Age: 16 DOB: 09/06/2001

 

Bats: R Throws: R Height: 6'1" Weight: 187 lb. Watch

 

Scouting grades: Fastball: 65 | Curve: 50 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 60

 

The best pitching prospect out of Venezuela and the top hurler overall in this year's class, Gallardo is smart and fearless on the mound. Evaluators believe he can be a top-of-the-rotation type of pitcher if he stays healthy and continues to develop his tools at a normal pace. He projects to have average or above-average tools across the board and he's already considered advanced for his age.

 

The teenager's best pitch is his fastball, but he also projects to feature a good curveball and an above-average changeup. He already shows good command and feel for his pitches and the mix results in a lot of swing-and-misses. Gallardo is still growing, and the hope is that he will increase the velocity and overall command of his fastball with age.

 

Back in February, Gallardo mixed all of his pitches to strike out five of the six batters he faced at the MLB International Prospect Showcase in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He did walk a batter, but more importantly, he showed a plus fastball and emerging secondary pitches.

 

Gallardo is from Maracay, Venezuela, and trains with Andres Veliz. The Cubs are the favorite to sign him.

I like the sound of that...

[CaliforniaRaisin]

3:41

Justin : Hey Eric, thanks for the chat! Have you heard which teams are going after Rodriguez and Gaston, in IFA yet? Thanks in advance!

3:42

Eric A Longenhagen: I’ve heard noooo onnne throws like Gaston quite as fast as Gaston has an arm action with as much length as Gaston

3:43

Eric A Longenhagen: (Miami, like 800k)

3:43

Eric A Longenhagen: Rodriguez, which one? Osiel? Not sure.

[davell]

I'm pretty sure this means he's on hold until a team can trade for 2 mill of IFA money on July 2nd.

[Hrubes20]

I'm pretty sure this means he's on hold until a team can trade for 2 mill of IFA money on July 2nd.

 

That does seem likely. Just give the O's whatever AAAA player or two that they want and get all the IFA money we can.

[CyHawk_Cub]

Give the O's the entire non-Alzolay Iowa Cubs roster for all I care.

[Bear Cub]

All of the Iowa roster except Alzolay and Taylor Davis cuz he is a good dude.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

[Bobson Dugnutt]

 

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[CaliforniaRaisin]

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/victor-mesa-the-best-cuban-prospect-since-yoan-moncada-brings-elite-talent-to-mlb-clubs/

 

That is a big development. Mesa, known as “Victor Victor” (that name was even on the back of his uniform in Cuba), has star potential, the best young Cuban prospect to become available since Yoan Moncada signed with the Red Sox for $31.5 million in 2015.

 

Badler compared him to Victor Robles, though cautioned Victor Victor Mesa isn’t a top 10 prospect like Robles yet because of Robles’ success at AA. Badler did say he’d be a top 10 pick if he were in this year’s draft, possibly even pushing close to 1.1. He has the ability to play at high-A or AA. But he has bad timing to his potential bonus earnings:

 

And while every team on paper essentially has an international bonus pool of $5 million to $6 million for the 2018-19 signing period that opens on July 2, many teams have already unofficially committed the majority of their international bonus pools to 16-year-old players from the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.

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Check out that clip above. I'm very intrigued by what I've read and I hope the Cubs haven't promised away all their cap space for international FAs. I'm sure they could trade for some more from some crappy team like Baltimore or Miami that doesn't use it.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

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Check out that clip above. I'm very intrigued by what I've read and I hope the Cubs haven't promised away all their cap space for international FAs. I'm sure they could trade for some more from some crappy team like Baltimore or Miami that doesn't use it.

 

Not sure if you were able to read that article since it’s subscriber but I did try to summarize it the post above yours.

 

Sounds like the team that convinces Baltimore to part with their IFA funds might have the best chance.

[Tim]

Sounds like the team that convinces Baltimore to part with their IFA funds might have the best chance.

So...

 

Russell + Albertos + Hatch for Machado + IFA Funds (turns into Victor Victor).

 

Done. Let's move on it.

[davell]

There's probably a team of two out there that haven't committed their entire budget, or even extremely close to it..... But, it's definitely possible all teams are fairly close.

 

Making it conceivable that if a team could trade for the max they can get from the O's, it's land them Mesa AND Rodriguez.

 

Now, if the O's are smart, which they're not, they'd just use their money on these guys. And if they don't do that, the second option should be to sell off their money to 2 teams and not 1, creating a bidding war and keeping a singular team from nabbing both guys. And the 3rd Option should be to try and sell their space to teams that can add the MOST money anyway, meaning the teams that got second round comp picks this year, since they get 500k more than the other needy teams and a mill more than the non revenue sharers.

 

But, it's the Orioles. So, ante up and get the 3.75M or whatever you can get, Theo.

 

It sucks though, because even the O's will notice they're sitting on a gold mine, with 15-20 teams calling about this money......

[CaliforniaRaisin]

There's probably a team of two out there that haven't committed their entire budget, or even extremely close to it..... But, it's definitely possible all teams are fairly close.

 

Making it conceivable that if a team could trade for the max they can get from the O's, it's land them Mesa AND Rodriguez.

 

Now, if the O's are smart, which they're not, they'd just use their money on these guys. And if they don't do that, the second option should be to sell off their money to 2 teams and not 1, creating a bidding war and keeping a singular team from nabbing both guys. And the 3rd Option should be to try and sell their space to teams that can add the MOST money anyway, meaning the teams that got second round comp picks this year, since they get 500k more than the other needy teams and a mill more than the non revenue sharers.

 

But, it's the Orioles. So, ante up and get the 3.75M or whatever you can get, Theo.

 

It sucks though, because even the O's will notice they're sitting on a gold mine, with 15-20 teams calling about this money......

 

Sounds like the Orioles are the only team that hasn’t committed a lot:

 

And while every team on paper essentially has an international bonus pool of $5 million to $6 million for the 2018-19 signing period that opens on July 2, many teams have already unofficially committed the majority of their international bonus pools to 16-year-old players from the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.

 

The timing was different for Cuban center fielder Julio Pablo Martinez, but the problems Mesa will face as an international free agent are similar.

 

...

 

So unless you’re counting on the Orioles to make a big offer, it’s hard for a Cuban player to maximize his value when he’s being thrust into the system this late in the game.

[Cubswin11]

But, it's the Orioles. So, ante up and get the 3.75M or whatever you can get, Theo.

 

It sucks though, because even the O's will notice they're sitting on a gold mine, with 15-20 teams calling about this money......

During the Ohtani stuff, in which they were the one team who didn't do a bid/pitch, didn't they have some ridiculous comments come out about how they avoid international FA because reasons that were really stupid? Maybe they won't value that money at all. Also, could you just "buy" the money? Like could we just cut them a check for a few million for their IFA money? They seem like a team who might value real cash over prospects.

[profisme]

But, it's the Orioles. So, ante up and get the 3.75M or whatever you can get, Theo.

 

It sucks though, because even the O's will notice they're sitting on a gold mine, with 15-20 teams calling about this money......

During the Ohtani stuff, in which they were the one team who didn't do a bid/pitch, didn't they have some ridiculous comments come out about how they avoid international FA because reasons that were really stupid? Maybe they won't value that money at all. Also, could you just "buy" the money? Like could we just cut them a check for a few million for their IFA money? They seem like a team who might value real cash over prospects.

 

If that is possible, sign me up for that.

[davell]

Yeah, they're dumb. Not sure if you can actually pay money for IFA dollars or not. But, the fear is that even the light bulb will/has already clicked, because even they'll be like "Wow, there's been 22 teams wanting our IFA money, I bet we can get someone to give us something good!"

 

Because teams are competitive, REALLY want to add top prospects, they'll kind of get in their own way a bit here. I'm not saying their money costs a top 100 prospect, but my guess is it won't be the fodder they dealt it for recently either. Getting them to include it in a Machado deal would be the way to go......

[Bertz]

There is no way Manfred allows real money to be used for IFA money. The league doesn't like (doesn't allow?) straight money deals as is, something that would directly show that MLB is underpaying IFAs by 10x (or whatever the real number is) would be a real bad look.

 

It's hard to say what those slots are worth now. My guess would be something like 5x their dollar value. That wouldn't be too painful of a prospect, even from our diluted system.

[Regular Show]

But, it's the Orioles. So, ante up and get the 3.75M or whatever you can get, Theo.

 

It sucks though, because even the O's will notice they're sitting on a gold mine, with 15-20 teams calling about this money......

During the Ohtani stuff, in which they were the one team who didn't do a bid/pitch, didn't they have some ridiculous comments come out about how they avoid international FA because reasons that were really stupid? Maybe they won't value that money at all. Also, could you just "buy" the money? Like could we just cut them a check for a few million for their IFA money? They seem like a team who might value real cash over prospects.

 

I'm almost positive I read somewhere in the CBA that you can not trade IFA money straight up for cash. Everytime it's been traded it's for a prospect or part of a larger trade. I don't think we have to give up a top-10 prospect, but a decent one(s) will have to be sacrificed to obtain additional funds.

 

I bet Baltimore will include that money to get better returns in trades for Machado, Britton, Brach, et al.

[davell]

I'm not arguing what the value of IFA money has been, in the past. This is a different scenario. Last year, you had multiple teams pursuing Martinez. But, there were multiple teams that had money left over and also multiple teams that were willing to trade off money.

 

If it's true that all teams have spent their budget, you've got a bunch of teams that are going to be trying to acquire one pool of money. For what's evidently a much, much better player than Martinez, in Mesa. PLUS, a 16 year old kid that throws upper 90's and Keith Law said is an immediate top 100 type too.

 

Teams are competitive. I think they'll bid each other up quite a bit, in all honesty.

 

Side note, while teams may have spent their budgets, I DO figure there's some teams that'll have 200-300K left over that's unspent. Without plans to proceed after these guys. A smarter way could be to buy THOSE teams small amounts up. Find 10 teams like that, at 250K per, you've found 2.5M and enough to get at least one of Mesa or Rodriguez. For those small amounts, you're still giving up scraps. 10 scraps is much easier to give up than one actually interesting thing.

[Tim]

I'm really looking forward to the following sequence of events:

 

1) Cubs trade Russell, Albertos, ODLC and Hatch for Machado & IFA cap space

2) Cubs sign top 2 IFA and everyone else they were already in line for in July

3) Cubs win world series

4) Cubs announce a new deal with Machado, who takes a bit of a discount because he loved it here after his years of misery in Baltimore

5) Cubs find a taker for Heyward, somehow

6) Zobrist retires after winning his third title in four years

7) Cubs sign Bryce, who takes a bit of a discount because he wants to get past the first round of the playoffs

8) Cubs announce extension for Bryant, who loves it here and wants to play with his best buddy for the next 10 years

9) Cubs erect billboard across river from the arch, giving it a permanent middle finger

10) Cubs score 1200 runs next year, but cubs beat writers still complain about how the "feast and famine" offense still had 20 games where they scored less than 4 runs

 

Everyday lineup:

 

RF) Harper

3B) Bryant

1B) Rizzo

SS) Machado

LF) Schwarber

C) Contreras

CF) Happ/Almora

2B) Javy

 

Oh yeah, we also move back into the top 10 farm systems

[Regular Show]

I'm really looking forward to the following sequence of events:

 

1) Cubs trade Russell, Albertos, ODLC and Hatch for Machado & IFA cap space

2) Cubs sign top 2 IFA and everyone else they were already in line for in July

3) Cubs win world series

4) Cubs announce a new deal with Machado, who takes a bit of a discount because he loved it here after his years of misery in Baltimore

5) Cubs find a taker for Heyward, somehow

6) Zobrist retires after winning his third title in four years

7) Cubs sign Bryce, who takes a bit of a discount because he wants to get past the first round of the playoffs

8) Cubs announce extension for Bryant, who loves it here and wants to play with his best buddy for the next 10 years

9) Cubs erect billboard across river from the arch, giving it a permanent middle finger

10) Cubs score 1200 runs next year, but cubs beat writers still complain about how the "feast and famine" offense still had 20 games where they scored less than 4 runs

 

Everyday lineup:

 

RF) Harper

3B) Bryant

1B) Rizzo

SS) Machado

LF) Schwarber

C) Contreras

CF) Happ/Almora

2B) Javy

 

Oh yeah, we also move back into the top 10 farm systems

 

[Cubswin11]

I like Bote and would like to keep him, but I honestly wonder if the Orioles would really like him? He can play all over the IF (probably some OF too), is cheap and seems like he could be a second division starter for them. They lose Machado this year and Schoop is a FA after next year so they have IF holes. Maybe him and some lotto ticket arm would be enough for the full money?

[davell]

I like Bote and would like to keep him, but I honestly wonder if the Orioles would really like him? He can play all over the IF (probably some OF too), is cheap and seems like he could be a second division starter for them. They lose Machado this year and Schoop is a FA after next year so they have IF holes. Maybe him and some lotto ticket arm would be enough for the full money?

 

I'm a big Bote fan. Personally, I think we keep him and trade Happ for young pitching in the offseason, for when we get Bryce. I think Bote will be a very solid ML'er.

 

Baltimore may very well like him. I think the bidding will get higher than that, because of what you're getting in return......

 

I think I'd go Bote, Zagunis, Tseng or Mills, and one of ODLC or Hatch, to secure Mesa(and possibly Rodriguez too)