International Free Agency Thread 2018-2019

[davell]

https://twitter.com/keithlaw/status/1007416332655177728?s=19

 

Ok, back to normality evidently.

[Regular Show]

https://twitter.com/keithlaw/status/1007416332655177728?s=19

 

Ok, back to normality evidently.

 

That's a relief. I was wondering why no one else was commenting on this story (well, non-story now).

[Hrubes20]

Phew. Glad it wasn't anything. No need to add ammo for MLB's push towards an international draft.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Badler dashing our hopes:

 

The Yankees are tied to Osiel Rodriguez, a Cuban righthander who has reached 96 mph, throws a swing-and-miss breaking ball and has advanced pitchability for a 16-year-old. He has a case as the top pitching prospect in the class, with a bonus likely coming in just north of $1 million

 

Guess we have to hope for Victor Victor now. Also the Orioles are linked to absolutely no one and will be trading their bonus slots once again.

[Hrubes20]

Badler dashing our hopes:

 

The Yankees are tied to Osiel Rodriguez, a Cuban righthander who has reached 96 mph, throws a swing-and-miss breaking ball and has advanced pitchability for a 16-year-old. He has a case as the top pitching prospect in the class, with a bonus likely coming in just north of $1 million

 

Guess we have to hope for Victor Victor now. Also the Orioles are linked to absolutely no one and will be trading their bonus slots once again.

 

They must be trading for money. They were already connected to several big money IFAs, much like the Cubs.

[davell]

Well crap. Hopefully we've got something else fun up our sleeves. Surprised his bonus is that low.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Badler dashing our hopes:

 

The Yankees are tied to Osiel Rodriguez, a Cuban righthander who has reached 96 mph, throws a swing-and-miss breaking ball and has advanced pitchability for a 16-year-old. He has a case as the top pitching prospect in the class, with a bonus likely coming in just north of $1 million

 

Guess we have to hope for Victor Victor now. Also the Orioles are linked to absolutely no one and will be trading their bonus slots once again.

 

They must be trading for money. They were already connected to several big money IFAs, much like the Cubs.

 

Yeah, the Yankees are also linked to Antonio Gonzalez (no bonus mentioned) but he must be their top prospect besides Osiel Rodriguez, Kevin Alcantara (around $1 million), Augustin Ramirez (high six-figures), Cuban Denny Larrondo, Juan Carela and Marcos Cabrera.

[davell]

Navn, what does BA say about our class?

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Navn, what does BA say about our class?

 

Same 3 names we’ve heard (Venezuelan RHP Richard Gallardo, Dominican CF José Lopez and Venezuelan LHP Joel Machado) plus Dominican SS Rafael Morel (Christopher’s brother).

 

Lopez will get the highest bonus at $1.5 million even though Gallardo is considered a better prospect. Morel should get a similar bonus to his older brother ($800k).

 

The Reds are another team looking to trade their pool space since they’re in the penalty.

[davell]

Navn, what does BA say about our class?

 

Same 3 names we’ve heard (Venezuelan RHP Richard Gallardo, Dominican CF José Lopez and Venezuelan LHP Joel Machado) plus Dominican SS Rafael Morel (Christopher’s brother).

 

Lopez will get the highest bonus at $1.5 million even though Gallardo is considered a better prospect. Morel should get a similar bonus to his older brother ($800k).

 

The Reds are another team looking to trade their pool space since they’re in the penalty.

 

800k is a solid bonus, didn't realize he's Chris' brother. Pretty cool. Was hoping to see a few Mexican signings, to stretch our cash. Still, that's 3.6, not counting Machado. So, our cash is pretty well spent on those 4, plus some cheap guys to round out a class. Trading with the Reds would be fun, but I doubt they'd participate in getting us a guy who could haunt them. Thanks a bunch, Navin.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

The Marlins are gonna drop $3 million on Sandy Gaston and he’s universally not considered the best pitcher this July 2nd.

[davell]

The Marlins are gonna drop $3 million on Sandy Gaston and he’s universally not considered the best pitcher this July 2nd.

 

Holy horsefeathers lol. That's at least double what the top pitchers are getting.

[Hrubes20]

The Marlins are gonna drop $3 million on Sandy Gaston and he’s universally not considered the best pitcher this July 2nd.

 

Holy horsefeathers lol. That's at least double what the top pitchers are getting.

 

Yeah it is. Probably closer to 3 times as much. I guess you get out of touch with the market when you don't partake in the signing of higher quality IFAs for a few years.

[davell]

 

Damn, that pipeline busted. At least for now. I REALLY wish we knew what happened with Serrano now.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

 

Damn, that pipeline busted. At least for now. I REALLY wish we knew what happened with Serrano now.

 

This sucks for the Cubs (and the Padres and Dodgers) but is definitely good for the players who were taken advantage of by that loophole.

 

Hopefully MLB can figure things out soon because there’s bound to be talented players that were expecting to sign next month who are now in limbo.

[Hrubes20]

 

Damn, that pipeline busted. At least for now. I REALLY wish we knew what happened with Serrano now.

 

Wow. That's pretty big.

[davell]

https://www.thecubreporter.com/06222018/manfred-cracks-down-mexican-league

 

Hmm. I applaud our ingenuity, I hope we're not about to get busted for some shenanigans.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

[Regular Show]

https://www.thecubreporter.com/06222018/manfred-cracks-down-mexican-league

 

Hmm. I applaud our ingenuity, I hope we're not about to get busted for some shenanigans.

 

I don't think we're getting busted for doing anything shady. We purposely targeted these Mexican prospects because of the rules/cap on large signing bonuses and as long as we didn't offer any money "under-the-table" we should be fine. We definitely have a good pipeline going right now so this affects us perhaps the most of any MLB team.

 

I think this is more about how unfair the current system is for Mexican players/prospects and how their clubs get to keep the majority of the bonuses. It sucks that some kids might be unable to sign this July, but the new system should be better and more fair to the players.

[davell]

Navin, looks like Badler ranked the top 50, anyone in it that doesn't have a signing slot yet? And where do our guys fall in his list?

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Navin, looks like Badler ranked the top 50, anyone in it that doesn't have a signing slot yet? And where do our guys fall in his list?

 

Our guys are:

 

6. Richard Gallardo

27. José Lopez

46. Rafael Morel

47. Joel Machado

 

Guys not linked to any teams:

 

1. Victor Mesa

30. Ryson Polonius

31. Rainer Polonius (twins from Curaçao)

 

Mexican C Fernando Villalobos was supposed to sign with Milwaukee but obviously can’t now.

 

Also:

 

In general, scouts seemed more enthusiastic about last year’s strong 2017 class and another talented group ahead in 2019. That made it a challenge to line up the top prospects in the 2018 class, particularly with the reality that players have had commitments in place to sign with clubs for more than a year in some cases.

 

This year’s list also includes Cuban players who are subject to the international bonus pools. While 21-year-old outfielder Victor Mesa is an exception, most of the top Cuban players out now are in the same age group as the top 16-year-old players from the Dominican Republic and Venezuela. However, due to the circumstances of how Cuban players are scouted and become eligible to sign, there are Cuban players who might belong on the list but have been omitted until more information on them becomes available.

 

When I get a moment, I’ll tally up how much the Yankees are tied to but it’s a lot and it must be well over their cap.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Victor Mesa:

 

[Regular Show]

Victor Mesa:

 

 

Wow. That's a beautiful swing and he definitely has good (maybe elite) bat speed.

[profisme]

Victor Mesa:

 

 

Please trade for max international pool space and give it to him.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

The Fangraphs International Free Agency Board:

 

6. Richard Gallardo - projected bonus: $800,000

27. José Lopez - projected bonus: $1,500,000

35. Joel Machado - projected bonus: $400,000

 

Badler said Rafael Morel should get around $800k like his older brother Christopher did. That would mean the Cubs are tied to $3.5 million for their top 4 signings and have $1.483 million remaining.

 

Victor Mesa is #1.

 

Some interesting stuff here: https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/2018-international-prospect-board/

 

The last dominoes to fall during this international period will probably be the most interesting. Cubans enter into eligibility at varied, odd times because of the United States’ political relationship with Cuba and when they eventually do, a lot of the now finite money is already spoken for, some of it for over a year. This year, the top player on our board, Victor Victor Mesa, is in that very situation. We’re not even sure what country he’s in right now, what day his open workout will be (probably within a month or two) or any idea when he’ll be cleared to sign. Once early signings are done and some early accounting dust has settled, we’ll be able to see who has money left to make a conceivable run at Mesa and monitor trades for pool space.

 

This applies to Victor Victor, as well as his brother Victor Mesa Jr. and fellow Cuban Alex Vargas. Vargas is a talented shortstop whose skills befit a $2.0-$2.5 million dollar player, but he might have to wait until the 2019 period to get that kind of money because teams had already committed money to other players before he became eligible. Chatter amongst scouts is he just struck a deal for that amount or more, but for a deal in the 2019 signing year, for which he would wait 12 months to sign.

 

2019 Dominican SS Robert Puason is now linked to the A's and might get $5 million next year. He was a guy the Braves had an illegal deal with last year itself, part of the reason they got busted. (I'm sure Braves fans will rationally handle the fact that another team is linked to him over a year in advance.)