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Notable International Prospect Signings

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With the 2018-19 international signing period kicking off today, there will be dozens of six- and seven-figure bonuses handed out to teenage prospects, primarily out of Latin America, filtering in throughout the day today. Many of these have been in the works for quite some time, as is reflected by the fact that most of the top players’ destinations and signing bonuses have been previously reported/projected (and by the fact that the top agreements will all be reported in one swift avalanche today).

We’ll keep track of the notable National League signings here and the notable American League signings in a separate post. Note that you can read up on each of these players with the dedicated international coverage available from Ben Badler of Baseball America (subscription required), Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com and Kiley McDaniel & Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs, each of whom has scouting info on the top echelon of international amateurs. Badler is also tracking the all of the signings from all 30 teams.

Onto some of the more notable signings…

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Tigers Place Shane Greene, Leonys Martin On Disabled List

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10:00am: Beck tweets that Joe Jimenez will serve as the Tigers’ closer while Greene is out.

9:42am: The Tigers placed a pair of notable trade chips on the 10-day disabled list, per a club announcement. Closer Shane Greene is going on the shelf due to a strained right shoulder, while center fielder Leonys Martin is dealing with a strained left hamstring. In a pair of corresponding moves, Detroit has reinstated lefty Daniel Stumpf from the 10-day DL and recalled outfielder Mikie Mahtook from Triple-A Toledo.

It’s not immediately clear how long the 29-year-old Greene will be expected to miss. There’d been no previous word of a shoulder issue for Greene, making this morning’s announcement something of a surprise. If he proves to be out for anything longer than a month, that’d mostly eliminate the chances of Greene being moved this summer, as he’s unlikely to clear trade waivers next month given his affordable salary and remaining two years of club control.

Greene is in his first full season as the Tigers’ closer and has handled himself well for the most part, though he’d given up a total of three runs over his past three appearances (perhaps being negatively impacted by his shoulder along the way). Overall, he’s posted a 4.03 ERA with 10.0 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, 1.66 HR/9 and a 43.4 percent ground-ball rate. While he’s clearly been too homer-prone so far in 2018, Greene’s 19.1 K-BB% is the best of his career, and his fastball velocity has held steady just a hair shy of 95 mph.

However, as MLB.com’s Jason Beck tweets, manager Ron Gardenhire told the media today that Greene revealed yesterday that his shoulder has been bothering him for “awhile.” Gardenhire notes that Greene’s velocity dropped substantially Sunday — as does appear to be the case — prompting the DL placement. He’ll visit a doctor for further evaluation in the coming days.

As for Martin, word that he was DL-bound broke yesterday after he exited Sunday’s game early. As Beck writes, Martin has been playing through hamstring discomfort since a DL stint back in May. After exiting yesterday’s game in too much pain to continue playing, Martin essentially “asked us to put him on the DL,” manager Ron Gardenhire told Beck and other reporters. Martin says his hope is to return to the club in 10 days, though given the proximity of the All-Star break, perhaps the Tigers will hold him out a bit longer in order to afford him with a few days of extra rest.

MLB Weekend Roster Roundup: Correa, Gray, Hellickson, Velasquez

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ROSTER MOVES BY TEAM
(June 29th-July 1st)

NATIONAL LEAGUE

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AMERICAN LEAGUE

  • HOUSTON ASTROS | Depth Chart
    • Placed on 10-Day DL: SS Carlos Correa (lower back soreness), retroactive to 6/26.
    • Reinstated from Paternity List: 1B/3B Yuli Gurriel
      • Gurriel played 3B and batted 3rd on Sunday.
    • Promoted: RP Cionel Perez
    • Optioned: RP Cionel Perez

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FUTURE EXPECTED MOVES

2018-19 International Signing Period Opens Today

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The 2018-19 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 class has to offer will want to look at the invaluable work put into the subject by Ben Badler of Baseball America (subscription required), Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com and Kiley McDaniel & Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs. Badler’s Top 50 ranking has full scouting reports and expected destinations/bonuses for the top free agents in the 2018-19 class, while Sanchez has his own Top 30 with free scouting reports (and likely destinations). McDaniel and Longenhagen have scouting info and projected bonuses/teams on their top 35 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.

That said, penalties from the previous international signing periods still carry over to the current one. As such, the Athletics, Astros, White Sox, Braves, Cardinals, Nationals, Padres and Reds are all still barred from signing any one player for more than $300K during the current signing period. The Braves, in particular, are facing significant long-term penalties following last November’s 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.

That means that in 2018-19, the Marlins, Athletics*, Rays, Reds*, Brewers and Twins will have the largest base pools — a total of $6,025,400.

The Pirates, Orioles, Padres*, Diamondbacks, Royals, Indians and Rockies all receive bonus pools totaling $5,504,500 for the 2018-19 period.

The Cardinals*, who had a Competitive Balance pick in Round A but also forfeited $500K for signing Greg Holland after he rejected a QO, are the lone team with a pool of $5,004,500.

The Angels, Astros*, Braves*, Blue Jays, Cubs, Dodgers, Giants, Mariners, Mets, Nationals, Rangers, Red Sox, Tigers, White Sox and Yankees are all allotted with the standard bonus pool of $4,983,500.

The Phillies, too, are in their own tier after spending tier after forfeiting $500K for each of Carlos Santana and Jake Arrieta. They’d been allotted the standard bonus pool and, as such, will have a total of $3,983,500 to spend on this year’s class.

* = Team is barred from spending more than $300K on any single signing.

2018-19 international bonus pool amounts were first reported by Baseball America’s Ben Badler back in late March.

Injury Notes: Tommy John Surgeries, Sanchez, Thornburg, Sandoval

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Tommy John surgeries have become alarmingly common in today’s baseball climate, but the most disturbing trend is the age at which the bulk of these procedures are performed. Craig Davis of the Sun Sentinel sheds some spotlight on a recent study showing that teens between the ages of 15 and 19 account for 75% of all Tommy John surgeries. Davis cites the words of Dr. Tommy John (son of the former major league pitcher and the procedure’s namesake), who bluntly says, “The success rate after Tommy John surgery is not good. You don’t want this surgery, especially if you have it in your teenage years.” One possible reason for the dramatic increase in youth Tommy John surgeries is single-sport specialization; Dr. Randolph Cohen of Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood seems to believe it’s a big issue. “There’s an overall kind of irrational push by parents on children who are playing sports for such long hours and such long durations and such great repetition that we’re seeing an increase in the injuries in children than say we saw 20 years ago, where injuries like that were much more rare,” he said.

A few injury-related notes from around major-league baseball…

  • Though injured Yankees star Gary Sanchez hasn’t begun running drills yet, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports that his recovery is going well. The Bombers are apparently hopeful he’ll be able to return around the All-Star break. Though he’s currently batting below the Mendoza line, the young Sanchez leads all MLB catchers with 14 homers to this point in the season.
  • The Red Sox are set to add a valuable reliever even before the July 31st trade deadline hits, as Chris Cotillo of masslive.com reports that Tyler Thornburg is expected to return to the club this week. The 29-year-old right-hander has yet to pitch in a game for the Red Sox since being acquired from the Brewers in exchange for Travis Shaw and a pair of minor-leaguers. There wouldn’t appear to be a great chance of salvaging the trade at this point, but if Thornburg can return to post something close to the 2.15 ERA and 12.06 K/9 he posted with Milwaukee back in 2016, he could be of great help to an already-strong bridge to Craig Kimbrel.
  • The Giants got some good news today, as it appears Pablo Sandoval has avoided any serious injury. Panda’s x-rays showed no fractures (according to a tweet from Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic), so his diagnosis is simply an elbow contusion after being hit by a Zack Godley pitch during today’s matchup against the Diamondbacks.

International Notes: Twins, Phillies, Cardinals

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With the new international signing period set to begin tomorrow, Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com has compiled some of the most pertinent details for fans interested in following the frenzy to come. As always, an international player is eligible to sign with any MLB team if he is 17, or will turn 17 by the end of the first year of his contract.  The Reds, Marlins, Brewers, Twins, Athletics and Rays have the most money to spend during the upcoming year; each can spend $6,025,400 in the market. Eight teams (the Athletics, Astros, Braves, Cardinals, Nationals, Padres, Reds and White Sox) incurred the maximum penalty from overages during the previous signing period, and as such, those clubs will not be able to sign any individual player for greater than $300K. Sanchez also notes a few players who seem to already have agreements in place with MLB teams, though obviously those deals cannot become official until after midnight.

A few more notes on the international market headed into tomorrow…

  • The Twins look likely to land Venezuelan center fielder Misael Urbina, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press reports. Urbina should earn a bonus north of $1.5MM, but he’s not the only player who appears to have a deal in place with the club. Berardino adds that Dominican shortstop Felix Rosa and Venezuelan outfielder Alexander Pena seem likely to sign with Minnesota for about $200K apiece, pending the outcomes of their physicals. Baseball America ranks Urbina tenth on its international prospects list for the 2018-2019 signing period, noting his compact swing, high energy and intensity, and his above-average arm. Rosa and Pena both rank outside BA’s top 50.
  • Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports reports that the Phillies have deals in place with at least four international prospects, most notably Dominican hurler Starlyn Castillo. Castillo checks in at number 16 on Baseball America’s international prospects list, giving special credit to his physically mature frame and ability to touch 97 MPH on the radar gun even before his 16th birthday.
  • Without giving anything away in terms of specifics, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweets that the Cardinals are expected to land an international prospect for a $300K bonus as early as tomorrow. Goold adds that the Redbirds have been connected to Cuban third baseman Malcolm Nunez, Venezuelan hurler Jesus Rojas, and Venezuelan catcher Diego Velasquez.

Padres Sign First-Rounder Ryan Weathers

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The Padres have signed left-hander Ryan Weathers, the number seven overall pick in this year’s amateur draft. AJ Cassavell of MLB.com was first to tweet news of the signing; Jim Callis of MLB.com reports that he’ll receive the full slot amount of $5,226.500 as his signing bonus.

Though the Loretto (Tennessee) High School product was a consensus first-round talent according to MLB.com, Baseball America and Fangraphs, all three of those publications ranked him outside of their top ten draft prospects; MLB.com in particular cited his lack of a “true out pitch” as reason to doubt he’d be taken so high in the draft. As such, it was a bit of a surprise to see the Padres take him with the seventh overall selection, though it’s worth noting that 2018 marks the second consecutive year that the Friars selected a high school lefty with their first round pick (they took MacKenzie Gore third overall last year).

Weathers is well-known for his overall athleticism, having led his high school to their first-ever state championship in basketball prior to pitching for them this spring. Weathers also has a fair amount of pedigree; his father is Dave Weathers, who enjoyed a major-league career spanning a remarkable 19 seasons. The younger Weathers gives a lot of credit for his development to his dad.

It’s generally believed that Weathers has a high floor for a high school selection. His fastball sat in the low nineties this past spring, clocking in at up to 95 MPH on a few occasions. Some scouts believe his big curveball might be an even better pitch than his fastball. Weathers has a good change-up as well, which he utilized often. MLB.com notes that Weathers does a good job of repeating his delivery; as such, many evaluators believe he could develop future plus command, albeit with pitches that largely grade as average or slightly above for the time being.

AL Notes: King Felix, Tigers, Angels, Richards

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Mariners right-hander Felix Hernandez’s contract expires after next season, but he doesn’t expect it to be his last deal. “Oh yeah, I’ve got more years to play. I’m not going to retire,” Hernandez told Jon Heyman of Fancred, adding that he has an affinity for Seattle and would like to continue his career in the only major league city he has ever called home. Whether the Mariners feel similarly is up in the air, as Hernandez has fallen off in recent seasons since inking a seven-year, $175MM extension prior to the 2014 campaign. Hernandez was among the game’s best starters then, but he’s now sporting a career-worst 5.11 ERA over 100 1/3 innings in his age-32 season.

More on a couple other AL teams:

  • Tigers center fielder Leonys Martin is headed to the 10-day disabled list, Jason Beck of MLB.com tweets. Martin departed Detroit’s game on Sunday with a left hamstring cramp – a similar injury to the one that sent him to the DL in early May. Hamstring troubles aside, Martin has been a solid contributor for the Tigers this year, having hit .257/.327/.431 with nine home runs and 2.2 fWAR over 303 plate appearances. The 30-year-old looks like a logical trade candidate as a result, as MLBTR’s Jeff Todd wrote this week, but that’s up in the air given Martin’s health issues.
  • Injured right-hander Garrett Richards could return to the Angels’ rotation as early as Wednesday, per Ian Quillen of MLB.com. Richards went to the DL on June 15 with a left hamstring strain, and he’s among a slew of injured Angels pitchers who are currently on the shelf. Thanks in part to their host of injuries, the Halos are amid a slide in which they’ve fallen to 11 1/2 games behind AL West-leading Houston and 10 1/2 back of a wild-card spot. The 30-year-old Richards, a pending free agent, did his best to keep the Halos in the hunt before going on the DL, as he recorded a 3.42 ERA with 10.27 K/9, 4.21 BB/9 and a 50 percent groundball rate over 68 1/3 innings.
  • Although 39-year-old Tigers designated hitter Victor Martinez is struggling, the fact that this may be his last season means manager Ron Gardenhire will continue to give him opportunities (via Evan Woodbery of MLive.com). “We all know what’s going on with him. It’s the last year of his contract,” Gardenhire said. “Right now he feels really good, he’s feeling great, so we’re letting him play. We’ll get him more breaks as we go along. But like I said, if this is his swan song, or whatever you want to call it, I’m going to make sure he gets as many opportunities as he needs here as we go along. Hopefully he’ll keep having quality at-bats.” While Martinez has been an offensive standout for most of his career, he’s now in the throes of his third subpar season in the past four years, having batted a meager .238/.293/.321 with the majors’ fifth-worst ISO (.083) in 290 trips to the plate. He’s in the final season of a four-year, $68MM deal.

NL Notes: Arenado, Brewers, Cubs

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With Nolan Arenado scheduled to hit free agency after next season, the Rockies third baseman is sure to sign a massive contract in the near future. But Arenado tells Bob Nightengale of USA Today that winning – not money – will be his top priority as he determines his future. “I don’t want to lose anymore. I just hate it,’’ said Arenado, who has only played in one playoff game since debuting in 2013 and is “jealous” of the success the NL West rival Dodgers and Giants have enjoyed in recent years. Before Arenado potentially hits free agency, he’ll be watching with interest as fellow superstars Bryce Harper and Manny Machado test the open market during the upcoming winter. However, given that Arenado is older than both Harper and Machado (he’ll play his age-29 season in 2020), he doesn’t expect to rake in as much money on his next contract as they will on theirs. “I’m not here to say that whatever they get, I’m going to get,” he said. “Those guys are younger. I don’t expect to get the numbers they get. But as a fan of baseball, it will be cool to see what happens. I’ll sit back this winter and watch like everybody else.’’ While the Rockies could prevent Arenado from hitting the market via an extension, he’s not going “to start the dialogue.’’ Rockies general manager Jeff Bridich seems optimistic, though, telling Nightengale “there’s no rush to force anything now” and suggesting the team and Arenado have a good relationship.

Now for the latest on a pair of NL Central teams:

  • As the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline approaches, the Brewers are “open to every possibility,” according to GM David Stearns (via Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). With his team in first place in the NL Central by 1 1/2 games, Stearns is “highly motivated” to make improvements, writes Haudricourt, who notes that the Brewers could opt for a high-profile addition to their lineup instead of their rotation. That could be Machado, who’d be a massive upgrade for a Brewers team that hasn’t gotten much from the shortstop position this year and sent Orlando Arcia to the minors Sunday. Machado’s not under contract beyond this season, though, and as a result, Haudricourt doesn’t expect the Brewers to end up with him.
  • The Cubs announced that they’ve placed reliever Brian Duensing on the 10-day disabled list and recalled right-hander Dillon Maples from Triple-A Iowa. The left-handed Duensing is dealing with fatigue in his pitching shoulder, which continues a less-than-ideal season for the 35-year-old. After Duensing posted an outstanding 2017 with the Cubs, they re-signed him to a two-year, $7MM deal in the offseason. The investment hasn’t paid off so far, though, as Duensing has logged a bloated 6.92 ERA with horrid strikeout and walk rates (5.88 K/9, 6.92 BB/9) in 26 innings.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/1/18

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Sunday’s minor moves…

  • The Indians cleared room for Rzepczynski by releasing lefty Shawn Morimando, Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com tweets. Morimando, 25, had been with the organization since it selected him in the 19th round of the 2011 draft. He ascended to Triple-A in 2016 and has since pitched to a 4.45 ERA with 6.9 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 in 242 2/3 innings at the minors’ highest level. Morimando also had a 4 2/3-inning stint with the Tribe in 2016.

Earlier moves:

  • The Indians have selected the contract of left-handed reliever Marc Rzepczynski from Triple-A Columbus, per a team announcement. The club will need to create 40-man room for Rzepczynski, whom it signed to a minor league deal two weeks ago. “Scrabble” had been with the Mariners, who released him after he pitched to a 9.38 ERA with 13 hits allowed, nine walks and 10 strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings this season. In doing so, Seattle cut the cord on a player it signed to a two-year, $11MM deal entering 2017. Now, Rzepczynski’s set for his second stint in Cleveland, where he previously pitched from 2013-15. The 32-year-old, a veteran of seven major league teams, owns a 3.92 ERA with 8.5 K/9, 4.25 BB/9 and an impressive 59.7 percent groundball rate in 432 career innings. He has also held southpaw swingers to a weak .222/.295/.303 line in the bigs.
  • The Yankees announced that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander David Hale from Triple-A. The 30-year-old has yo-yoed between the Yankees and their top affiliate in Scranton this season, and he has also had a stint with the Twins. Hale has combined for just eight innings between New York and Minnesota in 2018, but he has amassed 55 frames in Scranton and pitched to a 4.20 ERA with 7.11 K/9 and 2.75 BB/9.
  • The Orioles announced that they’ve outrighted infielder Corban Joseph to Double-A Bowie. The club designated Joseph for assignment this week after he saw limited action in Baltimore, collecting just 10 plate appearances. The 29-year-old Joseph has spent most of this season with Bowie, where he has hit .332/.398/.534 in 281 PAs.

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