Headlines

  • Giants, Scott Kazmir Agree To Minor League Deal
  • Yankees Sign Justin Wilson
  • Braves Sign Jake Lamb
  • Athletics Sign Mitch Moreland
  • Yankees Re-Sign Brett Gardner
  • Giants To Sign Jake McGee
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Indians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2020-21 Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions
    • 2020-21 MLB Free Agent Tracker
    • 2020-21 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent List
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2021
    • 2021 MLB Arbitration Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • Last 100 Comments
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Rays To Sign Jelfry Marte

By Kyle Downing | December 13, 2017 at 2:01am CDT

The Rays have reached an agreement with former Twins international signee Jelfry Marte. Darren Wolfson of KSTP was the first to report the news; Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com confirmed later in the day and reminded his followers that Marte originally signed with the Twins. LaVelle Neal of the Star Tribune adds that Marte’s guarantee is around $800K.

Notably, the Rays have only about $440K left in international bonus pool funds (hat tip to Sanchez), which could mean they have plans to acquire more international money in a trade.

The 16-year-old Marte’s original deal with the Twins was worth about $3MM. However, Minnesota voided that deal when they discovered an alleged vision issue following his physical. Shortly thereafter, he began showcasing once again for interested teams. Clearly it didn’t take him long to find another club willing to pay for his talents, though his new deal comes at a steep discount; he’ll be paid roughly a quarter of what the Twins were going to give him.

Baseball America ranked the switch-hitting Dominican shortstop as the #13 international prospect in this year’s crop. “Marte is a bouncy, quick-twitch athlete with a chance to develop into a plus defensive shortstop,” BA’s Ben Badler writes. “He’s quick and agile with good body control and range to both sides, along with soft hands and an above-average, accurate arm.” You can read Badler’s full scouting report here (insider subscription required and recommended).

While scouts generally agree that Marte is an above-average defensive shortstop with some stolen base upside, some have questions as to how his bat will develop. He doesn’t have much power at the moment, but MLB.com’s scouts seem to believe he can improve on that over time. BA, on the other hand, hears from some scouts that he’s likely to be a bottom-of-the-order hitter at the MLB level.

Share 0 Retweet 4 Send via email0

Jelfry Marte Tampa Bay Rays

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/13/17
Main
NL Central Notes: Reds, Cardinals, Pirates
6 comments
newest oldest

Comments

  1. Magnus Olsson

    3 years ago

    How could they be willibg to go above the cap? I thought that was impossible under the new CBA?

    Like
    Reply
    • sam

      3 years ago

      Teams are allowed to trade for more money (up to a certain point).

      Like
      Reply
  2. aloliver16

    3 years ago

    I think we need to ratchet back the projections, both from a team, and player perspective. It’s pure speculation on how a 16 year old will develop, way too early to write off his bat, or assume he will automatically be a great fielder at the MLB level. And some of these young players from other counties lose motivation after receiving this kind of money.

    Like
    Reply
    • aff10

      3 years ago

      Yeah, there’s a ton of variability with kids this young. The most likely outcome for basically all of them is that they never reach the majors, because they have so far to climb, but obviously teams have to try to project their upside. At that age, it’s generally an evaluation of the player’s physical upside and his athleticism

      Like
      Reply
      • balloonknots

        3 years ago

        Teams spend millions every year on many young kids to develop thru their system and this funnel of talent produces MLB players 5-7 years later but it worth the investment as improves competition at all levels and even if 5% make it is still 2-3 player per year at near minimum wages for 5 years in MLB level. So it’s just a volume play at relative low cost compared to spending 100-200m for a 30 year old free agent

        Like
        Reply
  3. Phillies2017

    3 years ago

    Great signing by the Rays, Both Franco and Marte are ranked within the top-3 by MLB.com behind Ohtani. Definitely a high upside move.

    Like
    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.
Log in Register

ad: 300x250_1_MLB

    Top Stories

    Giants, Scott Kazmir Agree To Minor League Deal

    Yankees Sign Justin Wilson

    Braves Sign Jake Lamb

    Athletics Sign Mitch Moreland

    Yankees Re-Sign Brett Gardner

    Giants To Sign Jake McGee

    Mariners CEO Kevin Mather Resigns

    Athletics Sign Trevor Rosenthal

    Padres Extend Fernando Tatis Jr.

    Mets Sign Kevin Pillar

    Recent

    MLBTR Poll: Top-5 Free Agent Contracts

    California Health Notes: Murphy, Ohtani, Bellinger

    Giants Sign Jeremy Walker

    Pirates Acquire Dustin Fowler From Athletics

    Red Sox Designate Marcus Walden

    Jerry Dipoto, Jarred Kelenic Respond To Kevin Mather Controversy

    Braves Designate Jack Mayfield For Assignment

    Indians Claim Harold Ramirez, Designate Jordan Humphreys

    Braves Claim Guillermo Heredia

    Covid Notes: Jose Abreu, Andrew Miller

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Kris Bryant Rumors
    • Jackie Bradley Jr. Rumors
    • Jake Odorizzi Rumors
    • Taijuan Walker Rumors
    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Go Ad-Free
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • 2020-21 Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions
    • 2020-21 MLB Free Agent Tracker
    • 2020-21 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent List
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2021
    • 2021 MLB Arbitration Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Indians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    ad: 160x600_MLB

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • Feeds by Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top
    Close

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version