The White Sox have claimed righty Angel Sanchez off waivers from the Rays, tweets Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune. He will join the club’s Class-A affiliate.
The Rays claimed Sanchez off waivers from the Marlins last month, only to designate him to make room for the addition of Cory Burns. Sanchez, 24, was part of last year’s Ricky Nolasco deal. Over 61 1/3 Double-A frames on the year, Sanchez owns a 7.04 ERA with 5.3 K/9 versus 2.9 BB/9.
2:23pm: Tampa has also reached agreement with outfielder Jesus Sanchez on a $400K bonus, reports Ben Badler of Baseball America. Sanchez was rated the 27th-best prospect by Baseball America entering the signing period.
11:48am: The Rays have agreed to sign international shortstop prospect Adrian Rondon, reports Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com (via Twitter). He will earn a $3.3MM bonus, per Deportes’ Dionisio Soldevila (via Twitter), though he cannot technicaly sign until July 7 because he has yet to turn 16.
Rondon occupies the top slot in Baseball America’s ranking of available prospects and comes in at third in the view of MLB.com. BA cites his outstanding feel for the game and athletic presence in the middle of the diamond, where he could stick. He is also one of, if not the most advanced hitters available. He makes good, hard contact and has some power projection in his swing and body.
The Rays entered the signing period with only $1,998,100 in pool money at the club’s disposal, well shy of the reported bonus for Rondon. The difference of over $1.3MM would handily exceed the 15% bar, above which the club must both pay a 100% overage tax and give up the ability to sign international prospects for bonuses of over $300K for the next two signing periods.
2:30pm: Espinoza will receive a $200K scholarship in addition to his bonus, reports Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com (via Twitter).
2:00pm: Boston has agreed to sign top pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza to a $1.8MM bonus, tweets Ben Badler of Baseball America. Espinoza was rated the best available arm by both BA and MLB.com. As expected, the Red Sox will be hit with the maximum penalty.
11:00am: The Red Sox have agreed to a $1.5MM deal with international prospect Chris Acosta, MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez reports on Twitter. Acosta is a right-hander out of the Dominican Republic.
Baseball America rates him the 11th-best available prospect, while MLB.com had him sitting just one spot outside of the top five. Acosta is said to be advanced for his young age, with room to grow into his frame and increase his velocity. He is already sitting in the upper 80s to low 90s, with a good change and promising curve also in his arsenal.
Entering the signing period, Boston was tied to both Acosta and fellow top righty Anderson Espinoza. With just a shade over $1.88MM available in pool money, Boston is expected to incur the maximum penalties for blowing its budget by at least 15%. Should that occur, the club would pay a 100% tax and receive a two-year ban on July 2 signing bonuses of greater than $300K.
The Padres have officially agreed to a two-year, $13MM extension with outfielder Seth Smith, as originally reported by MLB.com’s Corey Brock (Twitter links). Smith will earn $6MM next year and $6.75MM in 2016 before an option year in 2017, when the club will decide whether to pay a $250K buyout or $7MM salary, Brock reports on Twitter.
Surprising on several levels, the new contract for Smith will presumably keep him off the upcoming trade and free agent markets. Indeed, he has been assured he will not be dealt, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). Smith, a 31-year-old who swings from the left side, was playing out his final year of arbitration eligibility in San Diego after being acquired for reliever Luke Gregerson before the season.
To be sure, Smith has been excellent thus far for the Padres. He owns a .281/.384/.506 triple-slash and 9 home runs through 277 plate appearances. Those numbers are good for a park-adjusted 158 OPS+ and 155 wRC+. Though his defense has never been a strong suit, Smith has still managed to put up 2.2 fWAR and 3.0 rWAR in just about a half-season of work in 2014.
On the other hand, that tally of wins above replacement is more than twice what he has produced on average over the past four seasons. Between moving out of Coors Field (after the 2011 season) and into Petco Park, Smith had slashed .246/.331/.406 with 22 home runs in 851 plate appearances for the A’s. It would be unrealistic to expect Smith to keep up his torrid current pace, of course, though projection systems ZiPS and Steamer like him to maintain a more-than-serviceable 120 wRC+for the rest of the season.
In terms of value, Smith will receive a deal that lands just north of several two-year contracts signed over the last free agent period. David Murphy got two years and $12MM from the Indians, while Rajai Davis and Nate McLouth received two-year pacts for between $10MM and $10.75MM. Put in those terms, the deal appears to be a fair one for both sides, with each avoiding the risk of shifts in second-half performance as well as the unpredictable nature of the open market.
The larger question, it would seem, is whether the contract makes sense for San Diego. Even after a recent run of good play, the club remains 10.5 games back in the NL West and 8.5 out of the Wild Card. Smith looked to be an attractive trade chip in the run-up to the deadline, with his pop from the left side of the dish already drawing calls. Then, of course, there is the fact that the Padres just fired GM Josh Byrnes, and are currently in the process of selecting a new steward while operating under a trio of preexisting executives.
July 2 is upon us; here are the day’s notable international prospect signings from the American League (rankings via MLB.com and Baseball America):
The Brewers have agreed to sign international prospect Gilbert Lara, reports Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com (via Twitter). Lara will receive a $3.2MM bonus, according to colleague Dionisio Soldevila (via Twitter).
Milwaukee has long been expected to land Lara, a Dominican shortstop who is expected to move to third base but could ultimately shift across the diamond or into the corner outfield. He is big and strong, and has shown good power in game action. MLB.com liked him as the fourth-best available prospect, with Baseball America slotting him at number five.
That bonus alone would exceed the Brewer’s available international money of $2,611,800 by 22.5%. If that holds, Milwaukee would not only pay a 100% tax on the overage, but would sacrifice the right to sign any player for more than $300K in the next two signing periods. On the other hand, the club could always acquire additional slots (up to 50% of its original total pool) to offset the difference.
The Blue Jays have agreed to an as-yet-unreported bonus with international prospect Juan Meza, reports Baseball America’s Ben Badler. Meza will earn a $1.6MM bonus, according to a tweet from MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez. Toronto has also agreed to sign shortstop Kevin Vicuna, per Badler.
Meza is a righty who hails from Venezuela. BA rates him as the tenth-best available prospect, citing his feel and repertoire in projecting him as a starter. MLB.com, meanwhile, rated him in the 11th slot. Considered a good athlete, Meza could add velocity as he builds up size and strength. He already has a good change and serviceable slider, though his curveball and (perhaps more importantly) command have lagged somewhat. All indications are that he possesses as much upside as any available pitcher.
The shortstop Vicuna, meanwhile, was rated as the 30th-best prospect by Baseball America. He is a slight-framed, defensively-talented ballplayer whose bat is less developed. Vicuna will need to improve his strength and speed to reach his potential.
The Blue Jays have signed first-round choices Jeff Hoffman (9th overall) and Max Pentecost (11th overall), the club announced via press release. Both players will receive at-slot bonuses, as reported by Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter) and Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter), meaning that Hoffman will take home $3,080,800 while Pentecost will earn $2,888,300.
As the draft approached, Hoffman was very much in the mix with the three pitchers that ultimately went with the first three choices. Though a UCL tear put a dent in his value, he did not fall far. Even after undergoing Tommy John surgery, the righty out of Eastern Carolina was ranked the 13th available prospect by MLB.com’s Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo. He features a mid-90s heater, big curve, and occasionally plus change.
Pentecost, meanwhile, came in at 19th on the MLB.com list. He was the MVP of the prestigious Cape Cod League, and is described by MLB.com as “a rare catcher who could have average or better tools across the board.” Though Pentecost will need to add some polish behind the dish, the expectation is that he will be able to man the position as a professional.
With its top two picks under contract, Toronto can focus its attention on its remaining unsigned picks. Seventh-rounder Zack Zehner, a college senior, is the only Jays draftee that remains unsigned from the first ten rounds. Even after going $407K over slot to sign fifth-rounder Lane Thomas, the Jays remain $71.4K under the club’s total allocation.
Earlier today, MLBTR’s Steve Adams broke down everything you need to know entering the July 2 signing period. As it opens up officially, here’s the latest on the international market:
Here are the latest trade deadline news and rumors from around the game …
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