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2016-17 International Prospects

Padres Agree To Deal With Right-Hander Michel Baez

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The Padres have agreed to sign 20-year-old Cuban right-hander Michel Baez and will pay him a $3MM signing bonus, reports Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com (via Twitter). Because the Padres are already over their allotted international bonus pool, Baez will come with a 100 percent luxury tax and cost the team a total of $6MM.

Sanchez lists Baez as 6’8″ and 230 pounds, noting that he has a fastball which sits in the 93-97 mph range. Baez comes without much in the way of publicly available information, as he didn’t rate in MLB.com’s list of top 30 international prospects, nor did he appear among the 47 international prospects that were listed on Fangraphs’ sortable scouting board. Baseball America’s Ben Badler ranked 50 players when listing his top international prospects this year — though he didn’t list Cuban players that had not yet been declared for free agency — and didn’t mention Baez’s name, either. Per Baseball-Reference, Baez pitched in part of just one pro season in Cuba — the 2014-15 season — and posted a 5.22 ERA with 17 strikeouts against 17 walks as an 18-year-old. Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets that he could start next season in A-ball and is a former teammate of fellow Padres signee Ronald Bolanos.

The lack of information on Baez is not to suggest that he’s lacking in any sort of appreciable talent. Players often fly under the radar and come with unexpectedly large signing bonuses when they do. A player of Baez’s age with that sort of frame and velocity certainly sounds appealing on the surface, though a great deal of additional context would be required before fairly assessing him. Regardless, Padres scouts are clearly enticed by Baez’s abilities, and the sum of the bonus itself seemingly indicates that San Diego faced some degree of competition for his services.

Astros Agree To New Deal With Cuban Lefty Cionel Perez

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The Astros and young Cuban left-hander Cionel Perez have agreed to a new deal that comes with a $2MM signing bonus, reports MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (via Twitter). Houston and Perez had originally agreed to a $5.15MM signing bonus back in September, but in October it was reported by Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen and ESPN’s Keith Law that the deal had been voided for medical reasons. The precise medical problem that derailed the first deal remains unclear.

The new arrangement comes with less financial risk for Astros, who in addition to the bonus figure are also on the hook for a 100 percent luxury tax due to the fact that they’d already exceeded their 2016-17 international bonus pool. As such, Perez drops from a $10.3MM total expenditure to a $4MM total expenditure for the Astros, who clearly are intrigued by Perez’s talent despite some apparent physical red flags.

Perez, 21 next April, ranks fourth on Sanchez’s list of top 30 international prospects at MLB.com. He’s undersized, though Sanchez notes that he still has room to add to his 5’11”, 170-pound frame. Perez already features a fastball in the 92-95mph range, and that velocity could tick upward a bit as he continues to grow. Perez also shows good feel for a slider and changeup, Sanchez continues. Longenhagen offered similarly high praise for Perez at Fangraphs, rating him seventh among international prospects. While Longenhagen’s report is down a bit more on Perez’s slider, he also notes that Perez flashes a potentially plus curveball. At the time of Perez’s original signing, Baseball America’s Ben Badler wrote that the changeup was a fairly new pitch for Perez, who has only added it since leaving Cuba. His slider has improved since leaving Cuba as well, Badler notes.

Perez spent just two seasons playing in the Cuban National Series, logging a 2.20 ERA while pitching as a professional at ages 17 and 18. He totaled 139 innings with 100 strikeouts against 61 walks, although 13 of those free passes were issued intentionally. Perez should be ticketed for the lower levels of the minor leagues to begin his pro career in the United States.

Jose Adolis Garcia Becomes Free Agent

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DECEMBER 3: Garcia is now an unrestricted free agent and can sign with any team, MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez tweets.

AUGUST 30: Cuban outfielder Jose Adolis Garcia has left his home nation in hopes of securing an opportunity with a major league organization, Ben Badler of Baseball America reports. The 24-year-old is the younger brother of Braves third baseman Adonis Garcia.

Given his age and experience in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, Garcia will be exempt from international bonus pools. Of course, he’ll still need to clear several hurdles before he is eligible to sign.

Badler explains that the younger Garcia brings an impressive set of tools — including a quick bat, 60-grade speed, and top-level arm strength. While he has lined up mostly in right field, Garcia is said to hold the promise of playing center.

Badler notes that Garcia’s strong recent production in Cuba may somewhat overstate his polish at the plate, though, as he needs significant refinement as a hitter. Indeed, he struggled in a recent stint in Japan’s second level of professional ball. As always, you’ll want to read Badler’s report for a full breakdown.

In the aggregate, it’ll likely be some time until Garcia has a real chance of appearing at the major league level. Badler suggests he’ll likely be ready for an initial assignment in the upper minors, but even the start of his professional career could take a year or more to get underway — unless, perhaps, further rule changes ease the transition for players coming out of Cuba.

Cuban Outfielder Dairon Blanco Declared Free Agent

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Fleet-footed Cuban outfielder Dairon Blanco has been declared a free agent by Major League Baseball, reports Ben Badler of Baseball America (via Twitter). Badler reported back in May that Blanco had left his home country in search of a contract with a Major League club. Though he’s 23 years of age — the minimum to be exempt from international bonus pools — Blanco only has four years of pro experience in Cuba and is therefore still subject to those league-allotted pools.

Per Badler’s May writeup, Blanco has 80 speed on the 20-80 scale and has been clocked from home to first at under four seconds from the right-handed batter’s box. He’s a career .303/.369/.409 hitter in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, and he hit a career-high eight homers with a career-best 29 steals in a 2015-16 season that saw him post a .296/.352/.427 slash line. Blanco has punched out in just 12.9 percent of his professional plate appearances in Cuba and has walked at an 8.9 percent clip. Badler notes that he’s played both center and right field, writing that despite some occasional shaky defensive instincts in 2015-16 he did win a Gold Glove in 2014-15. His mechanics at the plate, however, could seemingly use some refinement.

Blanco actually participated in a showcase just yesterday, and MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez was in attendance. Sanchez tweeted out several photos as well as video of Blanco taking batting practice, adding that the speedster notched a 6.25 in the 60-yard dash, which would indeed be considered an 80 by most scouts. Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen, too, tweeted some video of Blanco’s BP and agreed that he has 80 speed but placed a below-average 40 grade on his throwing arm, which would suggest that left field is his best placement on the diamond.

While Blanco appears to be an intriguing addition to the free-agent market, it’s also worth noting that he’ll probably require some degree of minor league work before jumping directly into the mix against MLB pitching. Still, with his age and pro experience, it’s not out of the question to think that he could be an option in the Majors at some point in 2017

Quick Hits: Perez, Cespedes, Pirates, International Draft

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Roberto Perez already faced long odds to get to the big leagues as a 33rd-round draft pick for the Indians in 2008, though he faced another obstacle to both his career and general well-being when he suffered a Bell’s palsy attack in June 2013.  As Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan writes, Perez kept playing through his affliction, despite being unable to move the muscles on the left side of his face.  Thankfully, the catcher’s condition has improved since he began receiving thrice-weekly acupuncture treatments, and Perez has since made a place for himself in Cleveland postseason lore thanks to his two-homer performance in Game One of the World Series.  Here’s some more from around baseball…

  • Yoenis Cespedes’ list of possible suitors is examined by Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News, who notes that the Mets are “the obvious choice” but several other teams will be in the mix.  Several industry sources tab the Giants as candidates to make a push for Cespedes, who would solve San Francisco’s needs for power and a left fielder.  The Angels also have a left field vacancy and some payroll space, while the Marlins and Dodgers could potentially emerge in the Cespedes market if they trade one of their current outfielders.  Teams who miss out on signing Edwin Encarnacion could also get involved in the Cespedes market.
  • The Pirates announced several changes to their coaching staff, including the previously reported hiring of Joey Cora as the team’s new third base and infield coach.  Tom Prince, the longtime former big leaguer and coach/manager in Pittsburgh’s minor league system will become Clint Hurdle’s new bench coach.  Kimera Bartee becomes the new first base coach as well as the club’s outfield and baserunning coach, following nine seasons as Pittsburgh’s minor league outfield/baserunning coordinator.  Dave Jauss, who served as the bench coach in 2016, will return to his previous role as the quality-control coach, MLB.com’s Adam Berry reports.  Brad Fischer, a coach on last year’s staff, has been offered a new job in the club’s player development department but is still mulling the offer.  Cora and Bartee will respectively replace Rick Sofield and Nick Leyva, who both lost their jobs last week.
  • Earlier this week, Major League Baseball ended up canceling a showcase in the Dominican Republic that players were set to boycott, as BA’s Ben Badler reported.  A group representing trainers issued a statement saying that the move was “not a fight against MLB,” but rather “a fight against the draft” for international talent that the league has proposed in collective bargaining agreement talks.  Many trainers did show up to further their protest, as Badler further documents.

Quick Hits: International Draft, Cosart, Rea, Relievers

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Ichiro Suzuki, Robinson Cano and Hall-of-Famer Jimmie Foxx are among the notable baseball figures born on October 22, but this date also marks the birthday of the boxscore.  It was on this day in 1845 that the New York Morning News printed the first boxscore summary of a baseball game, though the more familiar form of the boxscore wasn’t developed until Henry Chadwick created the modern standard in 1859.  Here’s the latest from around the game…

  • Trainers of prospects in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela are considering pulling their players from upcoming national showcases for MLB scouts, Baseball America’s Ben Badler reports.  The trainers are protesting the league’s proposals for an international draft in collective bargaining talks with the MLBPA.  Venezuela’s showcase is scheduled for November 16-17 while the Dominican showcase, scheduled for this coming week, appears to be more directly in question.  “No one will take their players to the event next week. There is a total boycott of all MLB events,” a Dominican trainer tells Badler.
  • Padres right-hander Jarred Cosart will need about six weeks of recovery after undergoing surgery to clean up his right elbow, MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell writes.  That timeframe should put Cosart on track to be fully prepared for the start of Spring Training.
  • In other Padres injury news from Cassavell, the club has set a December 1 deadline for righty Colin Rea to become fully healthy.  If Rea hasn’t pitched in Arizona Fall League games, winter ball games or at least thrown some intensive batting-practice sessions against live hitters, the Padres may decide it’s time for Rea to undergo Tommy John surgery.  Rea has spent the last few months trying to fix his elbow problems without having to resort to a Tommy John procedure, instead opting for a PRP treatment and more basic rest and rehabilitation.  It was this same elbow injury that forced the Padres to re-acquire Rea after initially dealing him to the Marlins as part of the Andrew Cashner trade.
  • The Indians’ use of Andrew Miller this postseason has led to speculation that more teams could look to develop their own high-leverage, multiple-inning relievers, though Peter Gammons of GammonsDaily.com notes that it isn’t quite that simple.  The postseason schedule allows for much more specialization and preparation than a regular season game, as a pitcher will likely burn out if he is regularly used during the year the way Cleveland has deployed Miller in October.  Players and agents on the way up may also hesitate at a fireman role that limits their earning potential.  “But let’s face it, fifth starters make more than very good setup men, and relievers want to get paid,” a baseball official tells Gammons.  “They want to close, or they want to start.  It’s difficult to ask them to take a Miller role without Miller money.  Their agents aren’t going to allow it.”
  • While front offices are increasingly using analytics to measure players, the message of what a team actually values doesn’t always filter down to the clubhouse, Dodgers director of player development Gabe Kapler writes in a piece for WEEI.com.  Many players still rely on traditional stats to gauge their performance, Kapler notes, so players may be needlessly worrying about a low batting average or not driving in enough runs when their team is actually evaluating something like exit velocity of balls hit off the player’s bat.

Cuban Right-Hander Hector Mendoza To Pursue MLB Free Agency

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Right-hander Hector Mendoza, a Cuban-born right-hander who had been pitching for the Yomiuri Giants in Nippon Professional Baseball, has left Japan and will pursue Major League free agency, reports Jorge Ebro of El Nuevo Herald. Mendoza will head to an unknown third country to establish residency as the next part of the process.

The 22-year-old Mendoza won’t turn 23 until next May and has just four seasons of experience in the Cuban National Series, so he’ll be subject to international spending limitations. The bulk of his professional experience playing in Cuba and Japan has come out of the bullpen (some as a closer), where he’s pitched to a 2.95 ERA with a 110-to-88 K/BB ratio in 149 2/3 innings. Those numbers don’t look especially eye-catching, but Mendoza comes with plenty of upside all the same, as Baseball America’s Ben Badler ranked him among the top 15 available talents in April 2015 (subscription required and recommended). At the time, Badler wrote that Mendoza could make the transition from the bullpen to the Majors and praised his 90-94 mph fastball, strike-throwing ability and in-zone command. Mendoza also has an average curveball that flashes plus, per Badler, and as of that scouting report, was making progress on a changeup as well. While Baseball-Reference lists him at 6’2″ and 176 pounds, Badler wrote after seeing him at the PanAm Games in July 2015 that he was up to 6’3″ and 195 pounds. Considering his age, it seems fair to suggest that Mendoza could continue to add to his frame.

It’s impossible at this juncture to put a timeline on Mendoza’s path to MLB free agency. It’s not uncommon for Cuban prospects to require upwards of a year — and in some cases, even longer — to ultimately secure free agency. As Ebro points out, many Cuban defectors ultimately establish residency in the Dominican Republic or Haiti before they’re cleared as free agents by Major League Baseball, but little is known about the path that Mendoza will take. If Mendoza does ultimately land with a big league club, though, he’ll require a fair bit of time in the minor leagues. He hasn’t pitched regularly in Cuba’s top league since the 2013-14 season, and while he’s made a handful of appearances in international tournaments and in Japan, he’ll need further development and ample opportunity to shake off some rust.

Lourdes Gurriel Setting Up Private Workouts With MLB Clubs

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Free agent infielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who hosted a showcase attended by roughly two-thirds of the league earlier this month, is setting up private workouts with “about a half-dozen” clubs, reports Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. Currently known to have a private audition in the works are the Red Sox, Cardinals, Astros and Marlins, according to Heyman.

Gurriel, the younger brother of Astros infielder Yulieksi Gurriel, was declared a free agent in early August and is considered one of the better all-around prospects on the international market. He’s currently subject to international bonus pools, but that’ll change next month on Oct. 19 when Gurriel turns 23. At that point, he’ll be free to sign with any MLB club for any amount, so the Red Sox will have a shot at him even though they’re currently restricted in their signings of players that are subject to international bonus restrictions (i.e. players that are under 23 and/or have fewer than five years of professional experience).

Gurriel is a career .277/.362/.426 hitter in just under 1100 plate appearances in Cuba’s top professional league, although those numbers include some lackluster stats from his years as a teenager. Gurriel batted .308/.388/.466 as a 20-year-old in the 2014-15 season, and he was even more impressive as a 21-year-old in the 2015-16 season, hitting .344/.407/.560 with 10 homers in 245 plate appearances. Gurriel is primarily a shortstop but is also said to be capable of sliding over to third base, second base or the outfield. At 6’4″ and 205 pounds, it certainly seems possible that Gurriel will eventually have to move off of shortstop, given his size relative to his peers at that position.

Royals Notes: Cuthbert, Burns, Morales, International Market

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The Royals are on the cusp of mathematical elimination from the postseason, causing many fans to shift their focus to the club’s chances in 2017. With that in mind, a few notes on the reigning World Series champions…

  • MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan discusses a number of 2017 roster decisions in his latest Royals Inbox, including multiple questions on Cheslor Cuthbert’s role next season. The 23-year-old has had a solid rookie season at the plate in Kansas City, slashing .277/.322/.415 with 11 homers. However, with Mike Moustakas set to return to the club next year after having suffered a torn ACL earlier this summer, Cuthbert won’t be getting everyday at-bats at the hot corner. Flanagan also writes that Cuthbert isn’t likely to move to second base, either, as the Royals plan to have internal options Raul Mondesi, Christian Colon and Whit Merrifield compete for that gig. Defensive prowess will be the most heavily weighted factor in that position battle next spring, per Flanagan, who writes that each of the three candidates he listed is considered to be a better defensive option than Cuthbert. All of that, it seems, would leave Cuthbert without a regular role on next year’s Royals, so perhaps his ultimate fate will be returning to Triple-A to try to hone his skills at the hot corner (Flanagan points out that Cuthbert has had issues consistently making accurate throws and issues charging balls as well). Moustakas, after all, is a free agent following the 2017 campaign.
  • Also included in Flanagan’s column is a look at next year’s right field mix, where both Billy Burns and Jarrod Dyson will be considerations. The Royals, he notes, love speed and contact-oriented players, and both Dyson and Burns fit that mold well. While there’s the potential for some redundancy there, Dyson doesn’t figure to be overly expensive from an arbitration standpoint this winter, and Burns won’t be arbitration eligible this offseason. As such, it doesn’t seem like the Royals need to make a “one or the other” type of decision, and Kansas City could also simply carry both on the roster, as the switch-hitting Burns would give manager Ned Yost some matchup options.
  • Yahoo’s Jeff Passan writes in his latest 10 Degrees column that the Royals will “almost certainly” make a qualifying offer to Kendrys Morales on the heels of his impressive summer power surge. I examined the possibility of that scenario last week when looking at Morales’ free-agent stock, noting that it’s a risk for the Royals, considering Morales’ history with the qualifying offer system. After being burned by a QO on the heels of a nice season with the Mariners in 2013, a now-older Morales strikes me as a likely candidate to accept. The downside of Morales on a one-year deal worth about $16.7MM isn’t crippling, but it’s an overpay in a market that has become less rewarding for players with such pronounced defensive limitations. Passan, too, notes that Morales may accept a QO if tendered such an offer by Kansas City.
  • While the Royals are restricted on the international market this year thanks to last summer’s spending spree, assistant GM Rene Francisco tells Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star that he’s still happy with the talent the Royals have been able to bring in for relatively marginal bonus figures. “I think we did good with what we got,” the AGM said. “We gave $50,000 here, $100,000, $75,000, $150,000 — we just kind of spread out the money.” And, as Dodd points out, the Royals have a history of landing premium talent for rather unremarkable bonuses. Salvador Perez, Yordano Ventura and Kelvin Herrera were each unearthed by the Royals’ international scouting department and signed for bonuses south of $100K. Kansas City will also be barred from signing players for more than $300K in the 2017-18 signing period.

Rangers To Sign Yanio Perez

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The Rangers have agreed to terms with Cuban third baseman Yanio Perez, reports Jorge Ebro of El Nuevo Herald. Perez, who rates 13th on Jesse Sanchez’s top 30 international prospect rankings at MLB.com, will receive a $1.1MM signing bonus.

The 21-year-old Perez was cleared to sign on May 20 and receives plus grades for his raw power, per Sanchez, though some scouts have questioned his athleticism and ability to stick at third base. He’s said to have a good makeup by scouts, according to Sanchez, and is also an above-average runner. Baseball America’s Ben Badler has a full scouting report up on Perez, noting that he was once a 45-grade runner (on the 20-80 scale) but is now up to roughly 70 speed once underway, based on his 60-yard dash time. Badler, too, spoke to some scouts who graded Perez’s power well, though he heard above-average as opposed to the more impressive 65 grade used by Sanchez in his report. Perez hasn’t played in Cuba’s top league since the 2014-15 season and was just a career .259/.335/.328 hitter in Serie Nacional, though those stats came in his age 18-19 seasons. Perez is now listed at 6’2″ and 205 pounds, so it seems reasonable to believe that he’s filled out a bit since his last bit of pro experience in Cuba. Badler writes that he could begin next season at the Class-A level.

While Texas has taken an aggressive approach to the international market in seasons past, they’ve been more measured thus far in 2016. Perez’s bonus is the largest they’ve issued, with the next-biggest bonus going to Venezuelan catcher David Garcia, who received an $800K signing bonus in early July, per Sanchez. Even with this notable signing on the books, the Rangers haven’t cleared their allotted pool, so they’re not facing any type of long-term penalization.

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