Teams have been working aggressively to lock up the best available international prospects since this year’s July 2 signing period opened earlier this week. We’ll track all the noteworthy deals at MLBTR as the action continues today. The latest updates are up top:
- The White Sox agreed to sign Dominican shortstop Johan Cruz, Ben Badler of Baseball America reports. The 6'1" right-handed hitter has good hands, footwork and arm strength, Badler writes.
- Keith Law of ESPN.com introduces readers to the international prospects who have agreed to reported bonuses of $1MM-plus.
- There's no deal between the Blue Jays and Venezuelan left-hander Jose Castillo, Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportesLosAngeles.com reports (Twitter links). Rojas reported earlier that Toronto signed the prospect for $800K. Ben Badler of Baseball America placed Castillo sixth on this year's list of top international prospects.
- The Astros, Blue Jays, Pirates, Twins and Indians were among the teams to complete deals yesterday.
Excellent, another Venezuelan hot prospect for the Toronto Blue Jays.
Update it. Enrique has another tweet saying that the trainer of Castillo denies it.
How are the Blue Jays staying under the 2.9M international spending limit?
They didn’t sign Castillo.
I don’t think MLBTR would report this if it wasn’t confirmed. Does a tax apply to any money spent over $2.9M, or is the $2.9M limit a hard cap?
In Other News, Alan Farina was outrighted to Dunedin