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Criminal Charges Against Odubel Herrera Dropped

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Criminal charges against Phillies outfielder Odubel Herrera were dropped this morning, Megan Montemurro of The Athletic reports on Twitter. Herrera had been facing a count of simple assault relating to a domestic violence incident in Atlantic City, New Jersey. His girlfriend, the alleged victim, did not wish to proceed with prosecution.

This news seems to bring an end to the legal jeopardy for Herrera, who was alleged to have struck his girlfriend in such a manner that she “had visible signs of injury to her arms and neck.” He will be required to undergo sixty days of counseling, per Amy Rosenberg of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter).

That does not necessarily mean that he will be able to resume his playing career right away. Herrera has been on paid administrative leave since the 28th of May, the day after his arrest, a period covering 34 of the team’s games (including today’s scheduled contest). The leave period has been extended several times, most recently through this coming Friday, as Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer noted on Twitter.

When Herrera will be reinstated remains to be seen. Commissioner Rob Manfred could yet issue a suspension pursuant to the MLB-MLBPA Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy. His authority to do so is not dependent upon whether or not criminal charges are pursued (and, if so, whether a player is convicted). Should Manfred issue a suspension, Herrera’s time on administrative leave would be counted as time served, but he would be required to sacrifice his earnings for the entire period.

It is also unclear at this point how Herrera will be handled by the Philadelphia organization. He is owed a total of $5MM this year, with another $20.5MM remaining thereafter on the extension he signed in December of 2016. The contract runs through 2021 and includes a pair of club options.

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The Orioles Are Officially In The Game In Latin America

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Every team in baseball — except the all-but-banned Braves — splashed money around yesterday with the official onset of the 2019-20 international amateur market. That statement is unremarkable in general, but it’s significant for an Orioles franchise that has largely watched from the sidelines in recent years in Latin America.

The rest of the industry has dropped over $150MM annually on youthful, unproven, uber-talented ballplayers from North America’s neighbors to the south. Meanwhile, the Baltimore organization has typically traded away its allotted international spending capacity to its rivals in exchange for generally less interesting but more advanced prospects.

It has been known for some time that the new Baltimore regime, led by GM Mike Elias, would be reentering the Latin American market. But it’s notable nevertheless to see the club finally do so with gusto, particularly since its initial efforts in the prior signing period didn’t shake out quite as hoped.

Baltimore didn’t chase after the biggest names of this year’s class, many of whom had long since agreed to big bonuses with other clubs that possess much-more-established scouting and developmental networks. The three players highlighted in the club’s press release — outfielder Luis Gonzalez, lefty Luis Ortiz, and shortstop Leonel Sanchez — were note cited as elite prospects by Baseball America (scouting links), MLB.com, or Fangraphs. Gonzalez and Ortiz each received sub-$500K bonuses, per MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez, on Twitter.

Instead, the O’s went for volume, inking 27 new players yesterday alone — most from the Dominican Republic, but also including eight Venezuelans and one apiece from Aruba, the Bahamas, and Colombia. As Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper points out on Twitter, that haul handily exceeded the team’s total international signings in each of the past five years.

In their announcement, the O’s made clear this is just the tip of the iceberg. In a prepared statement, Elias said:

“This July 2 is a big day for our franchise. These young players from all parts of Latin America will bolster our burgeoning farm system and jumpstart the continual flow of talent we are building. Today is only the beginning of our efforts, as we will continue to sign more players throughout the 2019-20 signing period. Our International Scouting staff has already begun laying the groundwork for future classes.”

That international scouting staff is led by Koby Perez, who is now introducing his first class just six months after taking the helm. He chatted recently with Dan Connolly of The Athletic (subscription link), explaining that he’s overseeing a “smaller staff” than he has been involved with in other clubs. While Perez didn’t have much time to lay groundwork, he notes that he and Elias already had quite a lot of knowledge about this year’s class. The group “just got right to work with trying to make the best decisions” this year, jumping on uncommitted players they had their eyes on along with “some late bloomers.”

While the Orioles didn’t secure any “big fish,” Perez says that approach could be available in the future. The club anticipates signing more than ten players to $100K+ bonuses — as note above, a reflection of the reality of the timing of the O’s entry onto the market. Perez says the organization has also held some of its spending availability in reserve, with something in the realm of thirty to forty percent of the $6,481,200 initial bonus pool still left to utilize on “some players that may or may not come out later, and also for the late bloomers.” There’s plenty more insight available in the interview, which is essential reading for O’s fans and close followers of the international market.

Plenty of work remains for the Baltimore organization. Getting into the Latin American amateur market hardly ensures success; making efficient use of it will require further investment in facilities and human resources. But even as they work to develop a sound, long-term decisionmaking process, the Orioles have already opened a valuable new talent pipeline.

Mike Rizzo On Nats’ Extension Talks With Anthony Rendon

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It’s rather uncommon to see significant, mid-season extensions. And it emerged recently that the Nationals have not made recent headway in their efforts to strike a deal with star third baseman Anthony Rendon. But that doesn’t mean Nationals president of baseball operations/GM Mike Rizzo is giving up hope of a deal that keeps the key veteran with the organization and off of the open market.

In an appearance on The Racing Presidents podcast, Rizzo made clear that the club is “not going to stop” trying to reach agreement until Rendon provides “a definitive decision” one way or another. There continues to be keen interest on both sides, Rizzo suggests, and he still believes “there’s a deal to be had.”

While the Nats’ top baseball decisionmaker understandably did not get into details, he did say that the team has “made very respectful, very market value offers.” Rendon’s true value in an extension scenario remains debatable. The recent deal between the Rockies and Nolan Arenado (seven years, $234MM) undoubtedly represents a key data point for both sides to consider. No doubt the Nats would also point Rendon’s agent, Scott Boras, to the much more modest deal he negotiated with the Red Sox for Xander Bogaerts. That these and other significant players elected to forego free agency is also a factor in projecting what Rendon might take down on the open market, where he’ll stand out as one of few premium players.

It’s obviously going to be harder now to convince Rendon not to test the open market. He has finally been tabbed for an All-Star game after an exceptional start to the year; no doubt his prominence will rise yet further as less attentive observers realize that the game’s quietest star is nearing free agency.

“It all comes down to what makes it work and what entices him to sign with the Nationals and not go through the free agent process,” said Rizzo. “And it’s gotta make sense for us also.”

Whether the sides can arrive at a number that suits both remains to be seen. But it doesn’t seem the Nationals have wavered in their desire to add another big salary to the books. The club has been on a tear of late, bouncing back from a messy start to climb back to within six games of the division pace. And the team’s core — Rendon aside — remains under contract for the foreseeable future.

By all indications, Rizzo is preparing to act as a buyer this summer. But if the club again ends up in a bit of a gray area, he won’t have as much flexibility to change course in August. Asked about how the new trade deadline rules will impact the market, Rizzo says he expects it will “keep[] more teams in the mix” and produce “more activity before the [July] 31st deadline.” Though he says it won’t much impact the Nats — “when we see opportunities we usually jump on them and take them” — Rizzo does note that the changed rules only “give you one bite at the apple.”

Korea’s NC Dinos Sign Christian Friedrich, Jake Smolinski

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6:10pm: Smolinski has been granted his release by the Rays, tweets Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times.

10:00am: Korea’s NC Dinos are engineering some mid-season changes to their slate of foreign players. The club has wrapped up a deal with the indy ball New Britain Bees to purchase the contract of lefty Christian Friedrich, as first reported by the ALPB News Twitter account (link).

It seems the Dinos have eyes on another former major leaguer as well. Outfielder Jake Smolinski, who has been playing with the Rays’ top affiliate, is nearing a deal with the KBO club, according to baseball writer Sung Min Kim (Twitter link).

Teams in the Korea Baseball Organization are limited to three foreign players, among other regulations on spending. Accordingly, the Dinos will need to part ways with some existing players to facilitate these moves. Former big leaguers Christian Bethancourt and Eddie Butler will evidently be released to make way.

Friedrich, 31, has thrown nearly three hundred MLB innings, but the former top-100 prospect hasn’t cracked the bigs since 2016. He sat out all of last season but had shown well in the Atlantic League, posting 63 frames of 3.00 ERA ball with one strikeout per inning and 2.1 BB/9.

As for the 30-year-old Smolinski, he faced a tough path up to the majors in Tampa Bay. But the five-year MLB veteran has been hitting well this season at Triple-A, where he carries a .270/.360/.504 slash with a dozen home runs in 286 plate appearances.

Orioles Select Asher Wojciechowski, Designate Matt Wotherspoon

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The Orioles announced today that they have selected the contract of just-acquired hurler Asher Wojciechowski. He’ll take the roster spot of fellow right-hander Matt Wotherspoon, who was designated for assignment.

In other roster machinations, the Baltimore organization reinstated righty reliever Josh Lucas from the 10-day injured list. To create space, the team optioned Tom Eshelman, who took a spot start for the club yesterday.

The O’s had selected Wotherspoon to the roster in late June, but he was tagged for eight earned in just 4 2/3 innings over two appearances. He’s through 34 1/3 innings of 4.93 ERA ball at Triple-A, where he carries 10.8 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9.

Notable International Signings: 7/2/19

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The 2019-20 July 2nd international signing period is officially underway, though it’s not exactly laden with suspense. Teams have long since lined up deals with newly eligible teenage players, so the news today largely represents confirmation of what was anticipated. Still, it’s a day of no small moment, particularly for the young men embarking upon professional careers.

Let’s round up some of the most notable signings of the day. Throughout, we’ll be citing to the reporting of Baseball America (signings tracker; scouting links) and MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (Twitter feed; rankings) along with analysis from Fangraphs. You can find each team’s total bonus pool and other information on the process right here. Check the above links for further information and other signings. Here are a few key deals:

  • Jasson Dominguez, OF, Yankees: Everyone’s top target is reportedly holding strong on his commitment to go to the Bronx. The deal is said to be for $5.1MM, per Jeff Passan of ESPN.com, with an announcement expected this evening. Dominguez is a switch-hitter who’s said to possess five-tool ability. The Fangraphs team is sufficiently impressed to run him all the way up to the #61 overall MLB prospect ranking right out of the gates (via Kiley McDaniel, on Twitter). The Yanks also have struck a $1.2MM deal with outfielder Jhon Diaz, Sanchez tweets. He was the 18th-rated player on the MLB.com board but ran all the way up to #7 at Fangraphs.
  • Robert Puason, SS, Athletics: Another player who’ll command about $5MM, Puason is a toolsy shortstop with big upside. He was said to have a deal in place with the Braves before that team was slapped with international sanctions. It’s worth noting that the Atlanta organization wasn’t actually punished for agreeing to terms early (though that widespread practice is officially forbidden) but rather for structuring a group deal with Puason’s trainer, as Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper explains on Twitter.
  • Luis Rodriguez, OF, Dodgers: The value on this one is unknown, but BA’s Ben Badler has photographic evidence of the signing (Twitter link). Rodriguez gets top-three billing from Fangraphs. The Los Angeles club is also in agreement with righty Kristian Cardozo, who’s also considered one of the thirty best players available.
  • Bayron Lora, OF, Rangers: Baseball America has made this connection for some time; Sanchez tweets that it’s a $4.2MM deal for the slugging prospect. Shortstops Maximo Acosta and Zion Banister are also members of the Texas signing class. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (via Twitter) has the former at $1.6MM and the latter at $835K. As he notes, the Texas organization will need to acquire some added pool capacity to make the math work.
  • Erick Pena, OF, Royals: This is another signing called in advance by the BA crew. Sanchez has the bonus at $3.8MM (Twitter link). FG labels Pena “a well-rounded outfielder with considerable physical projection.”
  • Ronnier Quintero, C, Cubs: Occupying the #6 spot on the boards of both Fangraphs and MLB.com, Quintero will follow Willson Contreras from Venezuela to the Chicago organization. The Cubbies also have a deal with fellow top-ten-ish prospect Kevin Made, a shortstop. Sanchez puts the Quintero deal at $3MM and Made’s mark at $1.7MM. Another Venezuelan backstop, Brayan Altuve, will cost the Cubs another million bucks, seemingly setting up the organization for a search for some added pool money.
  • Roberto Campos, OF, Tigers: The Detroit organization popped for a hefty $3MM to secure the services of the Cuban outfielder, per Badler (via Twitter). Campos defected in somewhat dramatic fashion several years ago at just 13 years of age. He wasn’t listed among the best prospects, but Chris McCosky of the Detroit News indicates on Twitter that the Tigers like his bat quite a bit.

Several other well-regarded prospects also secured bonuses of $2MM or more, per Sanchez and/or Badler:

  • Twins, $2.7MM, outfielder Enmanuel Rodriguez
  • Angels, $2.2MM, shortstop Arol Vera
  • Marlins, $2.8MM, shortstop Jose Salas
  • Mets, $2.05MM, outfielder Alexander Ramirez
  • Padres, $2MM,  outfielder Ismael Mena
  • Astros, $2MM, shortstop Dauris Lorenzo

Twins Outright Ronald Torreyes, Activate Adalberto Mejia

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The Twins announced today that they have outrighted infielder Ronald Torreyes off of the team’s 40-man roster. His spot was needed for hurler Adalberto Mejia, who was activated from the 60-day injured list.

Mejia is heading back onto the active roster. He’ll take the place of Lewis Thorpe, who was optioned back to Triple-A after showing well in his MLB debut.

Torreyes, 26, hasn’t appeared in the bigs since wrapping up a three-year stint with the Yankees. He has been a high-average, low-power hitter in the bigs but has scuffled this year at Triple-A. The versatile infielder owns only a .179/.219/.358 slash. He has shown a bit of a relative power burst, with five home runs in 114 plate appearances, though that’s a common story in an explosive International League offensive environment.

As for Mejia, he’ll look to get back on track after an ugly opening to the season. He was sidelined for a lengthy stretch with a calf strain. Through 134 innings in parts of four seasons in the majors, he owns a 4.50 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9.

Yankees Place Luke Voit On 10-Day IL

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The Yankees announced today that first baseman Luke Voit is headed to the 10-day injured list. He’s said to be dealing with an abdominal strain; the placement is retroactive to June 30th.

To take his place on the active roster, the club promoted first bagger Mike Ford. In other news, the club brought up southpaw Nestor Cortes Jr. in place of righty Chance Adams, who was optioned back to Triple-A.

Voit has been sidelined for the past few days but had hoped to avoid an IL placement. It seems he’ll require at least a bit longer to rest than initially expected, though there’s no indication to this point that it’s a long-term malady. The AL East-leading Yanks have already weathered several other, more significant injuries without batting an eye.

Top Remaining Unsigned Draft Picks

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By the terms of MLB Rule 4(d)(4), the deadline for signing players selected in last month’s Rule 4 draft is July 12th at 5pm Eastern time. In most years, virtually all top draft choices agree to terms, but there are quite often one or more exceptions. Last year, for instance, the Braves failed to line up with eighth overall pick Carter Stewart.

With ten days to go, there’s still plenty of time. Several players only just wrapped up their collegiate seasons — particularly those that made it to the College World Series final between Vandy and Michigan. But if there’s to be a high-profile failure to reach agreement, it’ll come from among these, the highest picks who have yet to put pen to paper (through the third round):

  • (4) Marlins: J.J. Bleday, OF, Vanderbilt University ($6.66MM slot value)
  • (8) Rangers: Josh Jung, 3B, Texas Tech University ($5.18MM slot value)
  • (31) Dodgers: Michael Busch, 2B, University of North Carolina ($2.31MM slot value)
  • (35) Marlins: Kameron Misner, OF, University of Missouri ($2.10MM slot value)
  • (41) Rangers: Davis Wendzel, 3B, Baylor University ($1.81MM slot value)
  • (67) Yankees: Josh Smith, 2B, Louisiana State University ($976K slot value)
  • (74) Diamondbacks: Tommy Henry, LHP, University of Michigan ($844K slot value)
  • (77) Rockies: Karl Kauffmann, RHP, University of Michigan ($805K slot value)
  • (78) Dodgers: Jimmy Lewis, RHP, Lake Travis High School, Texas ($793K slot value)
  • (99) Rays: Shane Sasaki, OF, Iolani High School, Hawaii ($587K slot value)

2019-20 International Signing Period Opens Today

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The 2019-20 international signing period kicks off this morning, meaning that from now until next June 15, teams are officially able to begin signing amateur talents from countries outside of the United States and Canada. Prospects aged 16 and up (assuming they turn 16 by Sept. 1 of the current period) are eligible to sign minor league contracts with teams for signing bonuses that fall within the constraints of a league-allotted bonus pool.

Those looking to brush up on the top prospects this July 2nd class has to offer will want to look at the invaluable work put into the subject by Ben Badler of Baseball America (subscription required), Kiley McDaniel & Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs, and Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com. As ever, Badler provides an abundance of information on expected destinations/bonuses for the top free agents in the 2019-20 class; he has further details and scouting notes available here and here. Sanchez provides his own Top 30 with free scouting reports (and likely destinations). In addition to the above-linked preview, McDaniel and Longenhagen have scouting info on their top 40 prospects.

After all of that — here’s a quick primer on the specifics of the international free agency system.

Unlike the system that was in place from 2012-16, in which teams would routinely shatter their international bonus pools and take two-year signing penalties in exchange for one enormous haul of amateur talent, the system under the 2017-21 collective bargaining agreement contains a hard cap that cannot be exceeded. Teams are still permitted to trade for up to 75 percent of their originally allotted bonus pool, however, and any team is free to trade away as much of its pool as it wishes. International pool allotments must be traded in increments of $250K — unless it includes the last remainder of a team’s pool.

Penalties from the previous international signing periods carried over with the new system, but those have all now run their course. There is one team that continues to face limitations on spending, for a different reason. The Braves continue to operate under significant long-term penalties as punishment for violating international spending guidelines. They’ll be limited to a hard cap of $10K per player in 2019-20 and will be stripped of half their league-allotted bonus pool in the 2020-21 period.

The Competitive Balance lottery that awards 14 teams with additional picks based on market size and total revenue also has an impact in international free agency. The teams that were awarded Competitive Balance picks in Round B (between rounds two and three of the draft) will have the largest bonus pools in 2018-19. Teams that were awarded selections in Competitive Balance Round A (between rounds one and two) will have the second-largest pools.

Beyond that, free agency itself can have an impact. Teams that sign players who have refused a qualifying offer (QO) are subject to forfeitures in their international bonus pool in some instances. Specifically, a club which exceeded the luxury tax threshold in the previous season and also signs a QO free agent surrenders $1MM of its international pool in the following period. Teams that did not exceed the luxury tax but also did not benefit from revenue sharing will forfeit $500K of international pool for each QO free agent signed.

So, who has what to spend (beyond the aforementioned Braves)? 2019-20 international bonus pool amounts were first reported by Baseball America’s Ben Badler back in early April. Because Craig Kimbrel and Dallas Keuchel waited to sign until after the recent Rule 4 draft, the amounts remain the same:

  • The Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Indians, Orioles, Padres, Pirates, Rockies, and Royals have the highest availability at $6,481,200.
  • The Athletics, Brewers, Marlins, Rays, Reds, and Twins are next at $5,939,800.
  • A dozen teams (Angels, Astros, Blue Jays, Cubs, Giants, Mariners, Mets, Rangers, Red Sox, Tigers, White Sox, Yankees) can spend $5,398,300.
  • The Dodgers and Phillies are capped at $4,821,400, while the Nationals are limited to $4,321,400.

This post was adapted from a prior post written by MLBTR’s Steve Adams.

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