The Blue Jays signed amateur free agents Adonis Cardona and Gabriel Cenas, according to the team. Cardona, a right-handed pitcher, and Cenas, a third baseman, will begin in the Dominican Summer League. The Blue Jays have been aggressive on international free agents under GM Alex Anthopoulos, bidding on Aroldis Chapman and signing Adeiny Hechavarria.
News of Cardona's deal first broke in May from ESPN's Keith Law, but the pitcher could not be officially signed until July 2nd. According to this Shi Davidi tweet, Anthopoulos confirmed the Cardona signing was for $2.8MM - a record for a Venezuelan amateur, according to Baseball America's Ben Badler. The Badler link also contains a scouting report. Davidi also learned from Anthopoulos that Cenas was signed for $700K.
Thats what I’m talking about!
Good work AA!
He’s pushing hard to these international FA and it’s a good sign if you’re a Blue Jay’s fan. This guy is serious about getting some quality talent and building a winning team. Now it’s a matter of development.
I have my full trust in AA. He’s so passionate about returning a winning team to Toronto.
I can tell. But he’s not the one that has to develop the players.
I’m surprised by AA’s aggression- but I’m liking it!
Good. They need prospects.
I honestly believe that looking into international talent is very smart. You can get a lot of steals. The Pirates are doing so and I believe they could be really good in a few sum years.
As a Blue Jay fan, I’ll just say JP Ricciardi’s firing was the best decision in a long time. AA continues to impress me with everything he’s done so far. Next, get rid of Vernon Wells’ autrocious contract.