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2017-18 International Signings

Rangers Sign Julio Pablo Martinez

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APRIL 19: Texas has formally announced the signing. 

MARCH 6: The Rangers have agreed to terms with Cuban outfielder Julio Pablo Martinez, reports Ben Badler of Baseball America. The touted 21-year-old prospect, who became eligible to sign today, will receive a $2.8MM signing bonus, which will fully deplete the remainder of Texas’ 2017-18 international bonus pool.

Due to his age and lack of professional experience, Martinez was not eligible to sign as a professional. He’ll receive a minor league contract in addition to that $2.8MM bonus and join the Rangers as one of the game’s more touted prospects. Badler notes that Martinez will slot in at No. 60 overall on BA’s updated Top 100 prospect list. That places him two spots behind countryman Luis Robert, who in the final season of the 2012-16 collective bargaining agreement signed with the White Sox for a reported $26MM bonus that came with a 100 percent luxury tax under the previous international signing rules.

The discrepancy between the cost of acquisition for two somewhat comparable prospects is fairly staggering and also underscores the manner in which the latest CBA has restricted clubs from spending on amateur talent. Under the previous agreement, teams could make the tactical decision to exceed their league-allotted bonus pools by more than 15 percent in exchange for a two-year ban from signing international amateurs for anything more than $300K apiece. Many teams, including the Cubs, Rangers, Rays, Red Sox, Yankees, Reds, Dodgers and Padres, among others, were willing to make that trade-off in exchange for signing splurges that completely shattered their pools but also provided an immediate talent infusion to their respective prospect pipelines.

Now, the league and union have agreed to a hard cap on international amateurs, and no club is allotted more than $5.75MM at the onset of a given international signing period. While teams can trade for up to an additional 75 percent of their initial pool allotment, the strategy of aggressive spending on the international front is not one that teams can employ anymore — at least not with the previously acceptable levels of vigor. The now-finite level of resources teams can utilize on the international market only makes those funds more coveted — particularly among rebuilding/retooling clubs.

Digression aside, the Rangers will add an athletic young center fielder to their ranks when the deal is finalized. Martinez will become the team’s third-ranked prospect, Badler notes, trailing only Willie Calhoun and Leody Taveras. The left-handed-hitting, left-handed-throwing Martinez hit .333/.469/.498 with six homers, 11 doubles, two triples and 24 steals (in 29 attempts) during his most recent professional effort in Cuba. More impressively, he drew 52 walks that season against just 30 strikeouts in 264 plate appearances. He also appeared in 57 games and tallied 255 plate appearances in the 2017 Can-Am Association — the same independent league that was previously home to big leaguers Chris Colabello, Andrew Albers, Craig Breslow, Steve Delabar and Tim Adleman, among others — where he hit .297/.345/.449 with seven homers and 20 steals.

Badler notes in today’s piece that Martinez’s present level of development should allow him to head to Class-A Advanced or Double-A. He’s also expanded on the talented young outfielder in a pair of prior columns — both of which those looking to learn more about Martinez will want to check out.

Pirates Sign Ji-Hwan Bae

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The Pirates have signed former Braves prospect Ji-Hwan Bae, as John Dreker and Tim Williams of PiratesProspects.com recently reported (subscription link). The well-regarded young shortstop, a recent international signee from Korea, will earn a bonus worth around $1.25MM.

The addition of Bae means the Pirates have spent roughly $5.25MM of their available $5.75MM pool space for the 2017-18 signing period, MLB.com’s Adam Berry notes. He received the second-largest bonus the organization has ever given to a prospect, trailing only right-hander Luis Heredia, whom the Bucs handed $2.6MM back in 2010. Heredia is now a free agent.

The 18-year-old Bae had been property of the Braves from this past September until November, when Major League Baseball took him and 11 other prospects from the Atlanta organization because of international signing violations. Thanks in part to those transgressions, MLB hit ex-Braves general manager John Coppolella with a lifetime ban.

Bae joined the Braves for $300K, but they reportedly had an under-the-table agreement to pay him an extra $600K. After Atlanta signed Bae, special assistant Chad MacDonald offered high praise for the lefty-swinger.

“He’s very athletic. He stays at shortstop, he’s going to be a solid to plus defender there. His bat-to-ball skills are really good. There’s more power in the bat,” said MacDonald. “If everything clicks, we have a left-handed version of Trea Turner, who I signed in San Diego. Again, maybe not that much power, but certainly the impact speed and defense, with bat-to-ball skills and a left-handed hitter.”

A’s Sign Cuban Outfielder Dairon Blanco

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The A’s announced yesterday that they’ve inked free-agent outfielder Dairon Blanco. The 24-year-old left his native Cuba back in the spring of 2016 and was declared a free agent by MLB last November. Terms of the deal weren’t reported, but the A’s are in the metaphorical “penalty box” after blowing past last year’s international pool, so the deal can’t guarantee Blanco more than $300K.

Blanco is a lifetime .303/.369/.409 hitter in parts of four pro seasons in Cuba (916 plate appearances). At the time of his departure from Cuba and MLB’s declaration of free agency for the right-handed hitter, Blanco was said by Baseball America’s Ben Badler and Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen to possess 80-grade speed on the 20-80 scale but a lesser set of other tools. Longenhagen put a 40 on his arm last November, and Badler questioned his natural hitting abilities.

By the time Spring Training gets underway, it will have been more than two years since Blanco has suited up for a pro game. He’ll assuredly require some minor league time in 2018 and possibly beyond the coming season before he emerges as a viable option for the A’s. But, Oakland has no clear option in center field and could very well need a left fielder during or after the 2018 campaign, depending on the status of Matt Joyce, who’s entering the second season of a two-year deal.

Certainly, the team hopes that Dustin Fowler will be able to hold down a regular spot in their outfield (ideally, in center) for years to come, though his ability to contribute is tied directly to his ability to recover from a significant knee injury suffered in his MLB debut with the Yankees last year. Expecting Blanco to emerge as a candidate to log significant big league time this coming season seems optimistic, though his apparently blistering speed and a Gold Glove award in Cuba could make him an intriguing fourth outfield option at the very least, if he can prove competent with the bat.

Oakland’s assistant GM Dan Feinstein spoke highly of Blanco to Melissa Lockard of OaklandClubhouse.com, telling her that the A’s have been scouting Blanco for more than a year during his workouts in the Dominican Republic. “[Blanco] has a track record of success in the Cuba, and possesses tools that are hard to come by,” said Feinstein. “He’s very athletic, and a true 80 runner with the ability to play all three outfield spots. Profiles as leadoff hitter who will occasionally put one in the seats.”

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/12/17

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Here are the latest minor league moves from around baseball, with the newest transactions at the top of the post…

  • The Mariners have re-signed infielder Gordon Beckham to a new minor league deal, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets.  Beckham spent 2017 on another minor league contract with Seattle and spent the majority of the season at the Triple-A level, appearing in just 11 games in an Mariners uniform.  The light-hitting veteran utilityman will continue to provide the M’s with some infield depth in the minors, though it seems unlikely Beckham will get much time on the 25-man roster unless injury strikes.
  • The Angels signed outfielder Rymer Liriano to a minors deal, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports.  Once ranked as a top-60 prospect in baseball during his time in the Padres farm system, Liriano has a .274/.346/.432 slash line over 3599 career PA in the minors but he has appeared just sparingly in the majors, posting a .580 OPS over 167 PA with the Padres and White Sox.  Forty-six of those plate appearances came last season for Chicago, as Liriano got his first taste of big league action since 2014.
  • The Dodgers have agreed to sign Colombian right-hander Guillermo Zuniga to a deal with a $205K bonus, MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez reports (Twitter link).  Zuniga was one of the 12 former Braves prospects who were declared free agents in the wake of MLB’s investigation into signing improprieties within Atlanta’s front office.  Each of the other 29 teams received an extra $200K in international bonus pool funds to sign any of these players, so the Dodgers only slightly dipped into their pre-existing pool money for Zuniga.  The Braves originally signed Zuniga, 19, to a $350K bonus.

Royals Agree To Deals With Two Former Braves Prospects

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Dec. 6: The Royals have also agreed to a deal with former Braves prospect Juan Carlos Negret, Sanchez reports (via Twitter). The Cuban-born 18-year-old hit .264/.401/.391 with a pair of homers and 23 steals (in 32 attempts) across 217 plate appearances and 50 games in the Dominican Summer League this past season.

Dec. 5: The Royals have agreed to sign right-hander Yefri Del Rosario for a $650K signing bonus, reports Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com (via Twitter). The 18-year-old Rosario had originally signed for a $1MM bonus with Atlanta but was one of the dozen prospects whom commissioner Rob Manfred declared a free agent following the league’s investigation into the Braves’ misdealings on the international prospect front.

Del Rosario made his professional debut in 2017 when he tossed a combined 37 1/3 innings between the Braves’ Rookie-level affiliates in the Dominican Summer League and the Gulf Coast League. In that time, he posted a 3.62 ERA with a 36-to-14 K/BB ratio. Prior to DelRosario’s signing, Baseball America’s Ben Badler noted that he had already run his fastball up to 94 mph and featured a breaking pitch that at times looked like a plus offering while also noting that there were some concerns that Del Rosario’s mechanics and smaller stature would eventually lead to a future as a reliever. More recently, ESPN’s Keith Law called Del Rosario the “most intriguing” pitcher the Braves lost in the scandal, praising his athleticism and arm speed.

The Royals are still in the “penalty box” for vastly exceeding their international pool in the 2015-16 signing period, meaning they’re barred from signing any player on the 2017-18 class for more than $300K. However, as pertains to the Braves prospects that were recently dubbed free agents by Manfred, teams can reportedly dip into next year’s signing pool in order to ink them. That, it seems, is the route the Royals are taking here. Notably, today marks the first day that those former Atlanta prospects can officially sign with new organizations. They’re eligible to sign for a new bonus with any team other than the Braves between now and Jan. 15, after which they’ll still be eligible to sign but ineligible to receive an additional bonus.

Angels Agree To Terms With Kevin Maitan, Livan Soto

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9:07pm: The Halos have also landed another former Braves shortstop, according to Baseball America’s Ben Badler. Youngster Livan Soto is also heading to the Los Angeles organization after striking a $850K deal. That’s nearly as much as his original $1MM bonus.

Soto isn’t even halfway into his his 18th year, so he’s particularly youthful. He struggled to a .225/.332/.254 slash in 208 plate appearances in the Gulf Coast League, but did draw 27 walks against 26 plate appearances. Despite the tepid output, BA’s J.J. Cooper wrote recently (subscription link) that scouts were generally pleased with what he has shown initially.

12:00pm: Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com reports that Maitan will receive a $2.2MM signing bonus (Twitter link). That’s more than the Halos have in available 2017-18 international funds, so it indeed seems that they’ll be paying Maitan with their 2018-19 bonus pool.

11:45am: The Angels have agreed to a deal with infield prospect Kevin Maitan, reports ESPN’s Buster Olney (via Twitter). The former Braves prospect was declared a free agent by commissioner Rob Manfred following his office’s investigations into Atlanta’s circumvention of rules on the international free agent market and in the domestic amateur draft.

The addition of Maitan will be a jolt to an Angels farm system that has long rated as one of the game’s worst but has steadily improved in recent seasons. The 17-year-old Maitan didn’t perform well in his first professional season, hitting just .241/.290/.340 in 176 plate appearances between the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League and Appalachian League.

The switch-hitting Maitan was still considered by some to be one of the game’s top overall prospects and should slot in at or near the top of his new organization’s prospect rankings. It would be misleading, though, to suggest that Maitan’s struggles didn’t hamper his value to some extent; Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper, for instance, tweets that he’s spoken to several scouts who wouldn’t rank Maitan among the game’s 100 best prospects at this juncture.

The Angels picked up $1.21MM of international spending money in a recent trade with the Braves in which they agreed to take on the entirety of Jim Johnson’s remaining salary from Atlanta. That gave the Halos a total of $1.315MM with which to work on the international front. GM Billy Eppler said at the time that that money was earmarked for Shohei Ohtani, but it’s critical to note that for the former Braves prospects deemed to be free agents, teams are allowed to dip into next year’s bonus pool as well.

In other words, the Halos could very well have committed a significant portion of their 2018-19 international pool to Maitan while still reserving the $1.315MM sum (and any other funds they can acquire) for their pursuit of Ohtani.

International Signings: 9/27/17

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Here are the latest signings from the July 2 international class…

  • Martinez Jr.’s deal with the Tigers includes an $800K signing bonus as well as $300K worth of U.S. scholarship money, tweets Dionisio Soldevila of Grandes en los Deportes.

Earlier Updates

  • The Tigers have signed Dominican third baseman Pedro Martinez Jr., ESPN.com’s Enrique Rojas reports (via Twitter).  The son of the legendary Hall of Fame pitcher, the 16-year-old Martinez is a well-regarded hitting prospect, as detailed in a profile by Scott Miller of the Bleacher Report beck in June.  Detroit had a $4.75MM bonus pool for this international period and have made a number of signings, including a $1MM bonus for Venezuelan shortstop Alvaro Gonzalez.
  • The Diamondbacks have agreed to sign 16-year-old Venezuelan outfielder Wilderd Patino.  MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (Twitter link) was the first to report that the two sides were nearing a deal, with Baseball America’s Ben Badler reporting that the agreement had been reached.  Patino had been connected to the Rangers well in advance of the July 2 opening date for 2017-18 international prospects, though an elbow injury suffered in the spring seemed to impact his status.  (Badler speculates that the Rangers may be saving whatever bonus pool space they have to make a play for Shohei Otani.)  MLB.com and BA ranked Patino 25th and 27th in their respective lists of the best prospects within this year’s international class, with both scouting reports praising the youngster’s athletic ability and the likelihood that he becomes a strong defensive center fielder.  Arizona has been aggressive in this international signing period, as the club had a maximum bonus pool of $5.75MM and no longer faced the $300K max signing cap it was under for the previous two int’l periods.

Twins To Sign Venezuelan Prospect Carlos Aguiar

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The Twins have agreed to a deal with Venezuelan outfielder Carlos Aguiar, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.  The contract contains a $1MM bonus.

Aguiar wasn’t eligible to be signed until his 16th birthday, which took place on August 28.  “Several late suitors” besides the Twins were also vying for Aguiar’s services, Berardino writes, though Aguiar had been linked to Minnesota since well before the 2017-18 international signing period opened on July 2.

Aguiar ranked 30th on Baseball America’s list of the top 50 (non-Cuban) prospects in the 2017-18 international class.  A left-handed hitter, Aguiar is already 6’3″ and 190 pounds at his young age.

The Twins already made one big splash in this year’s int’l market with their $3MM signing of Dominican shortstop Jelfry Marte, one of the priciest bonuses handed out to any player in this year’s class.  Minnesota entered July 2 with a total bonus pool of $5.25MM and acquired another $500K in international spending money from the Nationals as part of the Brandon Kintzler trade.  $4.3MM of that $5.75MM total has been accounted for between the bonuses for Marte, Aguiar and Dominican outfielder Luis Baez, who signed for $300K.

Berardino also reports that Mauro Bonifacio, a Dominican outfielder long linked to the Twins, has been drawing attention from other teams and now won’t be signing with Minnesota.

Yankees Sign Ronny Rojas

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The Yankees have signed Dominican shortstop Ronny Rojas to a contract with a $1MM bonus, Ben Badler of Baseball America reports. New York had been the front-runner to land Rojas dating back to July 2, the opening of this year’s international signing period. Rojas wasn’t eligible to ink a deal until his 16th birthday on Aug. 23.

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The Yankees entered July with $4.75MM available to spend on the international market and quickly signed a few touted prospects, yet they nonetheless increased their total to around $8MM after acquiring pool money in various summer trades. In the 6-foot, 170-pound Rojas, they’ll get a player whom both Baseball America and MLB.com rank as this year’s 11th-best international prospect.

Despite his young age, the switch-hitting Rojas already carries plenty of offensive polish from both sides of the plate, per Badler (subscription required and recommended), who notes that he has 15- to 20-home run potential and a chance to play either short or second base in the majors.

Minor MLB Transactions: 9/3/17

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Sunday’s minor moves from around baseball:

  • The Indians have signed 16-year-old Cuban right-hander Roberto Hernandez to a deal with a $320K bonus, Baseball America’s Ben Badler reports.  Hernandez wasn’t included within MLB.com’s top 30 or BA’s top 50 rankings of 2017-18 international prospects, though Badler describes the righty as “one of the better” arms available in the July 2 class.  Cleveland had an international spending pool of $5.75MM to work with in this signing period, and $3.825MM has already been accounted for by the team’s signings of youngsters George Valera, Aaron Bracho, Jose Tena and Wilfi Peralta.

Earlier moves

  • The Phillies announced that they have outrighted first baseman Brock Stassi to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.  Stassi lost his spot on the Phillies’ 40-man roster when they claimed reliever Juan Nicasio off waivers from the Pirates on Thursday.  Prior to his designation for assignment, the 28-year-old Stassi batted just .167/.278/.295 in his first major league action (90 plate appearances).  Stassi has been better – albeit not great – at Triple-A this year, having hit .256/.328/.354 in 186 PAs.
  • The Rangers have outrighted right-hander Anthony Bass to Triple-A Round Rock, executive vice president of communications John Blake tweets. Texas designated Bass on Thursday when it acquired righty Miguel Gonzalez from the White Sox. Bass’ most recent extensive big league action came during a 64-inning campaign with the Rangers in 2015, when he pitched to a 4.50 ERA. He has made two appearances with the Rangers this season, but his work has otherwise come at Triple-A, where the 29-year-old has put up a 4.18 ERA with 10.39 K/9 and 3.35 BB/9 in 75 1/3 frames.
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