The White Sox announced they’ve acquired right-handers Aldrín Batista and Máximo Martínez from the Dodgers in exchange for international signing bonus space. Both were eligible to be traded because they haven’t been on the 40-man roster at any point this season.
Both pitchers are low-level arms with no major league experience. They’d each been in the Arizona Complex League. Batista, 20, has a 3.46 ERA while striking out just under a third of opponents in 39 innings. Martínez, 19, has a 4.73 ERA with a 23.3% strikeout rate over 26 2/3 frames.
While Batista has the better numbers, Martínez placed higher on Eric Longehangen’s write-up of Dodger prospects at FanGraphs over the winter. The outlet credited Martínez with a mid-90s fastball, quality curveball and advanced control. While the Sox add a pair of young arms as developmental fliers, the Dodgers pick up a bit more money they can devote to their current class of international amateurs.
Maximo Delivery Martinez has future closer written all over him
Maximo Delivery Martinez has future Tommy John surgery written all over him.
Are you not entertained!?!
To all my real ones’s, and there are some real one’s out there cuz your still with me
Maximo Delivery Martinez has future written all over him.
And the Pale Hose have spotty past and lousy present written all over them, along with unpromising future.
A page right out of the Peter Angelos ran O’s playbook! Trade that international cash for minor leaguers of likely lesser upside!
I agree your your logic. A team shipping out low-level prospects are probably eyeing a much better international prospect they’ll use the money on.
The White Sox are known to be cheap. Do they always use their full slot money? Perhaps they thought these prospects were better than those they would have considered with the money they were willing to spend. If you’re not going to spend it all, it’s like getting prospects for free (assuming you couldn’t have combined the slot money in a bigger trade before the deadline).
Dewey, I was agreeing with:
“Trade that international cash for minor leaguers of likely lesser upside”
I wasnt trying to the look at the situation specifically from either team’s view. I was agreeing with the general opinion, that the team getting the int. cash will certainly be looking at a value higher than the players theyre giving up. So they most likely will be get something that has more “upside” than the prospects they gave up.
Your point and my point are both valid.
Maybe your response was to Bstrow and not me, then ignore this.
Don’t overlook the fact that the White Sox would have to spend money on scouting in that area of free agency. This move sort of saves them from spending, “on that sort of inconvenience “.
I could be wrong but isn’t the main idea of getting extra slot money so you could combine it with your own money to them use on a prospect you couldn’t have otherwise signed? it might be what others are saying but I’m not sure….could be me…
Yeah, like the White Sox are going to get the better of the Dodgers on International prospects.
The White Sox can’t identify high upside young prospects like the Dodgers can. So, for them, it’s about spending a little to get prospects with a decent floor. Yes, it’s dysfunctional like everything else about the Sox.
Also, they are cheap and don’t always use their international money. They save money by not hiring enough scouts or the best scouts. I’m a proud fan.
Dodgers clearing out what they think is riff raff to open some spots.
They weren’t on the roster. No spots cleared. Simple case of the Dodgers have the contacts and ties to fully utilize what the White Sox can’t.
There are more spots than just on the major league roster.
Neither one of these guys needed to be on the 40-man or exposed to R5 for at least a couple of years and the Dodgers do have a deep farm system with a lot of guys who will face that decision sooner. Seems this is more about them wanting the bonus slot money which they have done good things with, and the White Sox not wanting it so much, maybe because they don’t seem to effectively scout any international prospects outside of Cuba.
Remember, minor leagues contracted significantly so minor league roster spots have opportunity cost. But yes this was to get money to sign Jang, future LA ace
The article isn’t mentioning it but the new MiLB deal forces organizations to reduce the number of players in its minor league system to go from 190 in 2023 to 165 in 2024. For the Dodgers, this is a case of getting something back before these two players get released.
Not only that, but the number of minor league teams were already reduced, which hurt several communities that no longer have professional baseball, not to mention the resulting loss of jobs and such.
Many of those communities switched to independent ball and stayed open so that argument isn’t as strong as it initially was when the news came out a few years ago.
The biggest benefactor in the reduced minor league rosters is college baseball having a higher quality of play and the student athletes being able to get NIL income (if they’re draftworthy) and a college education at the same time instead of below minimum wage toiling in the lower levels of the minors.
If your not in contention for a top 10 international players your might as well spend it. Most of the guys for 2024 already have teams they are most likely to sign with. Marco Paddy is the best in the business, maybe this class isn’t worth the money.
Soon to be called the Chicago A’s… IMO