9:11am: The Rangers acquired pool money from the Marlins, tweets Soldevila. The Marlins have the sixth-largest pool at $3,395,200, and were expected to be willing to part with some of it. The Rangers can acquire up to half of their pool amount, which comes to $971,350, but they have to do it by acquiring slot values. If the Rangers went less than 5% over their pool they'll be subject to a 75% tax on the overage; the penalties increase from there.
8:32am: The Rangers signed shortstop Yeyson Yrizarri for $1.35MM, according to Ben Badler of Baseball America. The 16-year-old was born in Venezuela and raised in the Dominican Republic. BA ranks him seventh, while MLB.com has him 23rd. The Rangers also signed Dominican outfielder Jose Almonte for $1.8MM, tweets Dionisio Soldevila of ESPN Deportes. Badler kept Almonte outside of his top 30, noting that he "has been the subject of rumors regarding his potential bonus that seem to wildly outstrip his value as a solid but not premium prospect." MLB.com ranked him 13th.
BA notes Yrizarri is a nephew of former big leaguer Deivi Cruz. His stock rose quickly in recent weeks; Yrizarri has "gap power for now" and may wind up an above-average defender at second or third base. MLB.com has much praise for Almonte's bat, while Badler is more skeptical.
The Rangers have $1,942,700 in bonus pool money, so they're $235,950 over their amount with these two signings even if they acquire the maximum of $971,350. We'll await further details on the financial situation and keep you updated.
