10:10pm: A medical matter of some kind gummed up the arrangement, ESPN.com’s Keith Law tweets, though the precise issue isn’t known.
7:37pm: The Astros have voided their agreement with top Cuban pitching prospect Cionel Perez, sources tell Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs (via Twitter). It’s not yet clear what caused the deal to fall apart, though it’s certainly possible that a health problem was identified.
Perez, 20, reportedly agreed in September to a $5.15MM signing bonus to go to Houston. The team had already spent beyond its international bonus pool, meaning that it had to match that amount in an overage tax. Perez was (and will still be) subject to the international signing limitations given his age and lack of experience in Cuba’s top league.
The youngster has drawn rave reviews from prospect hounds. Longenhagen rated him the seventh-best player available in this year’s July 2 signing period — second only to fellow Cuba lefty Adrian Morejon among pitchers.
While he lacks a large frame and hasn’t quite fully harnessed his command, Perez features good arm speed and athleticism, per Longenhagen’s assessment. He works into the mid-nineties with his fastball and has shown several promising secondary pitches.
It’s not known whether Houston will look to renegotiate with Perez, but the team is stuck regardless with the max penalty (two years without $300K+ international bonuses) due to its other additions. Other teams could certainly jump into the mix, though presumably Perez won’t have quite the same earning capacity now. Reports at the time of his signing suggested that the Orioles, Padres, and Reds had chased the young southpaw, though Longenhagen noted that as many as ten teams were interested to some degree.
Oh moose knuckle!
Go get him Preller!
Oh he’s already made the call.
Brady Aiken part 2
Unless it is a major medical issue like Aiken, then not quite. Aiken was a 1st round pick and not taking him had a huge effect on the entire draft. Turned out that the Astros were correct about his potential for injury and Aiken took less than the Astros reduced offer in 2014 to sign with the Indians in 2015. After missing 2015 and half of 2016, he didn’t look impressive in his limited action this year.
Not signing Perez will have no effect on the Astros other than to save them $10 million.
I agree. Bregman>Aiken, easy. Just saying that I don’t hear about these sorts of stories from other clubs.
Most other teams aren’t as aggressive as the Astros are in acquiring amateur talent though. The Aiken deal was an outlier; the Astros couldn’t do a physical until after the draft and they were correct in what their medicals warned them about.
Rumor was that Preller backed out of bidding at last minute and then Astros got him. I wonder if Preller will come back now at a lower price and snatch him up. Nice to have a another lefty pitching prospect with mid-90s stuff in the system.
The Reds really like Cuban players, I could see them taking advantage of the diminished cost to gamble on another. They’ve said they’re finished with major international signings, but maybe injury concerns push Perez back into their price range.
This is what happens when you try to masquerade a Dominican as a Cuban.