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Notable International Signings: 1/15/24

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January 15 marks the official opening of the international signing period. While the vast majority of top talents have reached verbal agreements with teams months or years in advance, they’re allowed to formally put pen to paper to begin their affiliated careers. The signing period technically runs until December 15, but the top signees will ink their contracts as soon as first eligible.

Ben Badler of Baseball America and Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com are among those covering the activity. At MLBTR, we’ll highlight a few of the top signees. Both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline provide scouting reports and bonus information on more of the highly-regarded prospects. They’re each worth full reads for those interested in the class.

Note: MLB Pipeline ranks the class on talent. Baseball America orders the players by bonus amount, not on evaluations of the players’ ability. Since international amateurs are so young and tend to agree to their bonuses well in advance of signing day, a player’s profile can change significantly between the time they reach agreement on a bonus and the official opening of the window.

Some of the top names (ordered by signing bonus):

  • Jose Perdomo, SS, Braves: A right-handed hitting infielder from Venezuela, Perdomo leads the class with a $5MM signing bonus. MLB Pipeline ranks him as the #3 prospect in the group. He’s regarded as a polished hitter with a good chance to stick somewhere on the infield. Badler notes (on X) that the $5MM bonus is the largest ever for a Venezuelan player.
  • Leodalis De Vries, SS, Padres: De Vries lands the second-highest bonus at $4.2MM. Sanchez and Badler each indicate he’s now regarded as the most talented prospect in this year’s class. It’s the second straight year in which San Diego landed the #1 player in the international period after last year’s signing of catcher Ethan Salas. De Vries, a native of the Dominican Republic, is a 6’1″ switch-hitter. He draws praise for a well-rounded offensive profile with power potential and a chance to stick at shortstop.
  • Fernando Cruz, SS, Cubs: A $4MM signee out of the Dominican Republic, Cruz is a 5’11” infielder. Evaluators praise his bat speed and all-fields power potential. He draws attention for his athleticism and defensive toolset at shortstop. MLB Pipeline notes he has an aggressive offensive approach, while BA indicates some scouts have expressed concern about the length in his swing. MLB Pipeline ranks Cruz as the #4 talent in the class.
  • Dawel Joseph, SS, Mariners: Signed for $3MM from the Dominican Republic, Joseph is a right-handed hitter with a 6’2″ frame. That build leads to ample raw power projection. BA and Pipeline each indicate that Joseph has lost some of his formerly elite speed as he has grown, although he still has a shot to play somewhere up the middle. Both outlets suggest he sports more of a power-over-hit offensive profile.

A few others with a noteworthy signing figure and/or placement on MLB Pipeline’s prospect rankings:

  • Yovanny Rodriguez, C, Mets: $2.85MM signing bonus, Venezuela native, MLB Pipeline’s #6 prospect
  • Victor Hurtado, OF Nationals: $2.7MM-2.8MM signing bonus*, Dominican Republic native, MLB Pipeline’s #20 prospect
  • Adolfo Sanchez, OF, Reds: $2.7MM signing bonus, Dominican Republic native, MLB Pipeline’s #5 prospect
  • Joswa Lugo, SS, Angels: $2.3MM signing bonus, Dominican Republic native, MLB Pipeline’s #37 prospect
  • Yandel Ricardo, SS, Royals: #9 on BA’s bonus board (specific number unreported), Cuba native, MLB Pipeline’s #16 prospect
  • Emil Morales, SS, Dodgers: #10 on BA’s bonus board (specific number unreported), Dominican Republic native, MLB Pipeline’s #14 prospect
  • Paulino Santana, OF, Rangers: $1.3MM signing bonus, Dominican Republic native, MLB Pipeline’s #2 prospect

* BA reports Hurtado’s bonus at $2.7MM, while MLB.com pegs it at $2.8MM

Sacramento Among Potential Home Venues For A’s In 2025

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In mid-November, the A’s were officially granted approval from MLB to relocate to Las Vegas. Their planned 33,000-seat stadium on the Vegas strip won’t be ready until 2028. With the team’s lease at the Coliseum in Oakland expiring at the end of next season, they’re still sorting through possibilities for the intervening three years.

A handful of options are on the table. Team president Dave Kaval has floated the possibility of a short-term lease extension at the Coliseum, but that’d require approval from Oakland officials. Given the broken relationship between the organization and city, that seems unlikely. Reports have suggested city officials could condition a lease extension on the franchise leaving the A’s moniker behind, which would be a non-starter for the organization. Other options include sharing Oracle Park with the Giants or playing at their Triple-A affiliate’s field in Summerlin, Nevada.

John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle added a fourth possibility this morning, reporting that the A’s are considering Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park. That’s also a Triple-A venue — in this case, the home of the Giants affiliate, the River Cats.

One of the factors for the A’s is their local broadcasting contract. Their TV rights deal with NBC Sports California runs through 2033. The A’s lose those broadcasting revenues once they depart the Bay Area. If they’re hoping to retain the revenues between 2025-27, they’d need to find a park in the area.

A lease extension at the Coliseum or an agreement to share Oracle Park would meet that criterion. Shea notes that Sacramento, on the other hand, is outside the bounds of their contract. However, he reports the sides could renegotiate the deal at a lesser value if the A’s were to land in Sacramento. A new agreement could allow the A’s to continue receiving some portion of the revenue while getting the network off the hook for a chunk of the money which they wouldn’t be able to shed if the A’s stayed in Oakland or San Francisco until 2028.

While the broadcasting situation remains uncertain, the organization has ensured another key revenue source. The collective bargaining agreement provided that the A’s would lose their status as a revenue sharing recipient if they didn’t reach a binding stadium agreement by today. Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal confirmed earlier this month the stadium deal is sufficient to maintain revenue sharing. That’s despite the fact that community benefits and lease agreements technically still need to be finalized for the A’s to receive their $380MM in agreed-upon public funding for the park’s construction.

Giants Hire Dusty Baker As Special Assistant

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The Giants are hiring Dusty Baker as a special assistant, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (X link). He’ll add an experienced voice to work with president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi; Nightengale adds that Baker will also assist CEO Larry Baer on certain business operations.

It’s an unsurprising development. Baker revealed last month that he was in talks with the Giants about some kind of non-coaching role. It allows the baseball lifer to remain involved with the game in a less demanding capacity than the managerial position in Houston from which he stepped down after the 2023 campaign. Changing teams also allows Baker to work closer to his home in Sacramento.

Baker is plenty familiar with the Giants. He managed for a decade in San Francisco, winning a trio of Manager of the Year honors along the way. Baker led the Giants to an 840-715 showing from 1993-2002. He helmed them to an NL pennant in ’02. Baker capped off what’ll very likely be a Hall of Fame career when he led Houston to a World Series in 2022.

Rays Sign Jacob Waguespack To Minor League Contract

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The Rays announced the signing of right-hander Jacob Waguespack to a minor league deal. He’ll get a look in big league camp as a non-roster invitee.

Waguespack, an Ole Miss product, is familiar with the AL East. His MLB experience came with the Blue Jays between 2019-20. He started 13 of 18 appearances as a rookie, working to a 4.38 ERA over 78 innings. His follow-up season didn’t go as planned, as he surrendered 20 runs in 17 2/3 frames of relief. Toronto outrighted him from the roster during Spring Training in 2021.

After spending the ’21 season in Triple-A, Waguespack headed overseas. He signed with the Orix Buffaloes of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. He found success in his first NPB campaign. In 72 2/3 innings spanning 32 games, he posted a 2.97 ERA with an impressive 26.2% strikeout rate. That led the Buffaloes to keep him around last year, but he struggled in his second season.

Waguespack allowed 5.77 earned runs per nine in 43 2/3 frames. Control was the main issue, as he walked almost 13% of opposing hitters. On the plus side, Waguespack continued to miss plenty of bats. He punched out a third of batters faced last season. Over his two-year tenure, he ran a strikeout rate above 29%.

The Rays will see if the 30-year-old can carry some of that swing-and-miss stuff against MLB hitters in Spring Training. He’ll likely open the season with Triple-A Durham as a long relief depth hurler. The Rays frequently shuttle multi-inning bullpen arms between Durham and Tampa Bay. Waguespack still has a pair of options, so the Rays could move him freely to the minors if he earns a spot on the 40-man roster at any point.

Athletics Re-Sign Carlos Pérez To Minor League Deal

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The Athletics have re-signed catcher Carlos Pérez to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. The backstop will presumably receive an invitation to major league Spring Training.

Pérez, 33, should not be confused with his younger brother Carlos Pérez, who is a backstop in the White Sox system. The elder Pérez returned to the majors leagues in 2023 after not making it to the show during the 2019-2022 period. He had been in the big leagues as a part-time catcher with the Angels, Braves and Rangers from 2015 to 2018 but the next four year saw him sign minor league pacts with various and not get selected to a major league roster.

Last year, he signed a minor league deal with the A’s and cracked the Opening Day roster. He served as a backup to youngster Shea Langeliers, getting into 68 games on the year. His .226/.293/.357 batting line translated to a wRC+ of 84. That indicates he was 16% below league average overall, but not too bad for a catcher. MLB backstops produced a wRC+ of 90 in 2023, so getting near that from a backup isn’t too shabby. On defense, Statcast wasn’t especially fond of his blocking or framing but did like his work with the running game.

The A’s could have retained Pérez via arbitration, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting a modest salary of $1.2MM, just a bit above next year’s $740K minimum. Instead, they outrighted him off the roster in October, with Pérez electing free agency shortly thereafter.

The A’s go into 2024 with Langeliers once again likely to handle to everyday catching duties but no obvious backup. Tyler Soderstrom is also on the 40-man but he has long faced questions about his defense, with many prospect evaluators expecting him to move off the position eventually. He also limped to a line of .160/.232/.240 in his first 138 MLB plate appearances.

The club has also signed Yohel Pozo to a minor league deal, meaning they have a couple of catchers with major league experience providing non-roster depth. If Soderstrom gets sent back to the minors for more seasoning or is spending his time as a first baseman/designated hitter, then someone like Pérez could get added to the big league roster as a veteran backup. Then there’s always the possibility of an injury opening up more playing time. If Pérez gets selected to the roster at some point, he’s out of options.

White Sox Sign Joe Barlow To Minor League Deal

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The White Sox have signed right-hander Joe Barlow to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He’s been assigned to Triple-A Charlotte for now but will presumably receive an invitation to major league Spring Training.

Barlow, 28, is coming off a rough year but is not too far removed from being a big league closer. He debuted with the Rangers in 2021 with 31 appearances, posting an earned run average of 1.55 in those. A tiny .143 batting average on balls in play surely helped him out that year and his 10.8% walk rate was a bit on the high side, but he also struck out 24.3% of opponents and racked up 11 saves. In 2022, the ERA normalized to 3.86 as he saved another 13 games for the club. He dropped his walk rate to 8.9% but he only punched out 19.2% of opponents.

But in 2023, the Rangers signed Will Smith to fortify their bullpen prior to the season, then later traded for Aroldis Chapman and Chris Stratton at the deadline. Those moves coincided with a drop-off from Barlow, who only tossed 9 2/3 innings for the Rangers last year with an ERA of 4.66 in that time. He spent most of the year on optional assignment in Triple-A and then went to the Royals in August via a waiver claim. Between those two clubs, he threw 44 innings at the Triple-A level with a 5.52 ERA. The Royals outrighted him off their roster in September and he was able to elect free agency at the end of the season.

It was obviously not a great year for the righty but he’s a sensible gamble for the White Sox to take. The club itself was also facing plenty of struggles in 2023 and ended up moving significant pieces at the deadline, and then into the current offseason as well. In the past six months, they have traded relievers Kendall Graveman, Reynaldo López, Aaron Bummer, Keynan Middleton and Joe Kelly out of the organization. Also, Garrett Crochet is planning to get stretched out as a starter going into the spring, potentially subtracting another arm from the relief corps.

That should leave plenty of opportunities available for a reliever or two to step forward. That could be an internal option like Gregory Santos, a major league signee like Tim Hill or Rule 5 pick Shane Drohan. As for Barlow, he was getting big league saves not too long ago and would be a nice pickup if he could make steps to get back into that form. If he is added to the roster at any point, he still has two option seasons and less than two years of service time, meaning the club could retain him well into the future if the results justify such a path.

Nivaldo Rodríguez Signs With CPBL’s Fubon Guardians

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Right-hander Nivaldo Rodríguez has signed with the Fubon Guardians of the Chinese Professional Baseball League in Taiwan, per CPBL Stats.

Rodríguez, 27 in April, was a notable prospect in the Astros’ system as he climbed the minor league ladder. From 2016 to 2019, he threw 225 1/3 minor league innings with a 2.40 earned run average, pairing a 25.6% strikeout rate with a 7.5% walk rate. He was added to the club’s 40-man roster in November of 2019 to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft and was considered the #23 prospect in the system by Baseball America going into 2020.

He then appeared in nine major league games over the next couple of seasons, pitching in five contests in 2020 and four more in 2021. He tossed 16 innings with a 4.50 ERA in that small sample. The Tigers claimed him off waivers in August of 2021 but kept him in the minors. He finished that year having thrown 62 Triple-A innings between the two systems, with a combined 5.37 ERA.

The Tigers outrighted him off the roster in November of 2021 but he didn’t have the ability to elect free agency, sticking with the club as non-roster depth. In 2022, he made 15 starts and four relief appearances at Triple-A with a 6.92 ERA in his 65 innings. He was released in August and signed on with the Sioux City Explorers of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an independent league. He tossed 30 innings over five starts for that club with an ERA of 1.50. He then spent 2023 with the Sultanes de Monterrey of the Mexican League, posting a 2.76 ERA in 94 2/3 innings there.

The former prospect obviously struggled in his last taste of affiliated ball but has shown some encouraging results over the past year-plus. The righty will now head to Taiwan to see how things fare over there. The CPBL is considered to be a lower level of competition than Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball or the Korea Baseball Organization, but Rodríguez is still young and could perhaps get himself back on track and pitch his way into other opportunities.

Submit Your Questions For This Week’s MLB Trade Rumors Podcast!

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On the MLB Trade Rumors podcast, we’ll frequently answer questions from our readers and listeners.  With the next episode set for Wednesday, we’re looking for MLBTR’s audience to submit their questions and we’ll pick a few to answer.

Whether it’s a question about a recent transaction, a future transaction or anything else related to the offseason, we’d love to hear from you!  You can send your questions to mlbtrpod@gmail.com.

Also, if you want to hear your voice on the podcast, send us your question in audio form and we might play it.  iPhone users can find instructions on how to do so here.

In the meantime, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

The Opener: Bellinger, International Signing, Spring Training

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Here are three things worth watching in baseball today…

1. Bellinger’s still out there:

After a bounceback season with the Cubs in 2023, Cody Bellinger seemed to set himself up for a nice payday going into 2024. That hasn’t materialized just yet, as he lingers on the open market in mid-January. His most recent employer held 2024 Cubs Convention over the weekend and Bellinger seemed like the star of the event, despite not being there. Per Patrick Mooney of The Athletic, everyone was talking about Bellinger throughout the festivities. Will he end up back with the Cubbies? And when?

2. International signing period begins:

The 2024 international signing period has officially begun. Young players from countries like the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and others often agree to deals years before they become official, but today is the day when pen can be put to paper. Each club has a fixed spending pool which they can use to give bonuses to players they sign from now until December 15. The lower-revenue clubs get larger pools and clubs sacrifice pool space by signing free agents that have rejected qualifying offers, while pool money can also be traded. Ben Badler of Baseball America is tracking each club’s pool space and the players they have agreements with.

3. Spring Training a month away:

Many parts of North America are currently dealing with frosty winter conditions and/or severe storms, but the boys of summer are just over the horizon. Not all clubs have the same date for pitchers and catchers to report to Spring Training, but it will be somewhere in the February 13-15 window for most clubs. If you’re one of the people who has to dig a car out of the snow today, perhaps you can hold that thought inside to help keep you warm.

Trade Candidate: Ha-Seong Kim

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After an underwhelming 2021 rookie season, Ha-Seong Kim has emerged as a standout big leaguer over the last two years, posting an 8.1 fWAR due to his combination of above-average (109 wRC+) hitting, excellent baserunning, and top-tier defense.  The Padres have certainly gotten a great return on the four-year, $28MM contract they signed to attract Kim from the KBO League during the 2020-21 offseason, yet with Kim now entering the final year of that deal, his time in San Diego could be running short.

While a mutual option is in place for the 2025 season, such options are almost never exercised by both parties, and the 28-year-old Kim seems like a lock to again hit the open market next winter now that he has an established MLB track record.  If the Padres don’t feel they can extend or re-sign the infielder, a trade remains a possibility, and The Athletic’s Dennis Lin writes that “internally, at least, San Diego has been discussing the idea for weeks.”

Whether or not a trade actually happens remains to be seen, as a Padres official told Lin that the return would need to be “way above the line” to get the club to actually move Kim.  In addition, Kim will also naturally be one of the centerpieces of the season-opening two-game series between the Padres and Dodgers in Seoul on March 20-21, and Lin doubts that the Friars take the awkward position of moving a Korean star prior to the first MLB regular-season games to ever take place in South Korea.

That being said, adding multiple long-term assets for one year of Kim’s services is obviously a tempting concept for a Padres team that has a lot of needs to address.  Trading Kim would create a big hole in San Diego’s infield, though the team is still in dire need of outfielders and as many as two starting pitchers to slot behind Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, and the newly-acquired Michael King.  The high cost of pitching would make signing a starter more expensive for the Padres than perhaps signing an infielder as a stopgap Kim replacement, plus top prospect Jackson Merrill could be part of the big league infield picture at some point in 2024.

Cost-cutting has been one of the major storylines of the San Diego offseason, and since the Padres seem to be stepping back from their financial splurges of the last couple of seasons, retaining Kim looks like less of a possibility.  The team is reportedly looking to reduce spending to around $200MM in payroll in 2024, and ideally get under the $237MM luxury tax threshold if possible.  After signing Yuki Matsui and Woo Suk Go to upgrade the bullpen, the Padres are projected (via Roster Resource) to have a $156.3MM payroll and a tax number of just under $212MM, so there isn’t a ton of flexibility for the team to add meaningful outfield and rotation help.

Kim is a big part of this financial picture, in the sense that he’s quite a bargain at only an $8MM salary.  Since Manny Machado might be limited to early-season DH duty while he recovers from elbow surgery, Kim carries even greater import within San Diego’s infield, as he might be needed to handle third base while Machado heals up.  Jake Cronenworth would likely move first base to second base in the event of a Kim trade, but that would then leave the Padres in need of a first baseman and at least a temporary replacement at the hot corner.

It isn’t a reach to suggest that Kim might be just about the most prized trade asset on the market if the Padres made him available, as Lin notes that the Friars have already drawn “widespread interest” in Kim from rival teams.  Though he primarily played second base last season, Kim won the NL utility Gold Glove for his all-around defensive work at second, third, and shortstop.  Considering how many contenders and would-be contenders have a need at at least one of these infield positions, up to half the league could be seen as plausible suitors to bid on Kim, even if some teams are better equipped than others to meet San Diego’s high asking price.

Kim’s $8MM salary might fit the budget of smaller-market teams like the Rays, Guardians, Pirates, or Royals, though perhaps only Tampa (who has a long history of trades with the Padres) is the only true World Series contender of that group that might be inspired to make an all-in move to land Kim.  The Brewers, Blue Jays, Mariners, Giants, Angels, Tigers, Cubs, and Marlins all have holes to fill in their infield, even if San Francisco might be less likely if San Diego doesn’t want to deal Kim within the NL West.  Clubs like the Twins, Braves, Yankees, Red Sox, or Phillies are more speculative candidates since another infielder probably would have to be moved to create space for Kim, but an aggressive play can’t be ruled out.

Though Kim is only under contract for 2024, some teams might view him as a longer-term opportunity if they feel they have a chance to extend or re-sign him next offseason.  Even if clubs could also see a Kim trade as strictly a move for the coming season, he is certainly a candidate to receive a qualifying offer, so a team could recoup a draft pick as compensation if he signed elsewhere.

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