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Dayron Varona

Minor MLB Transactions: 6/3/17

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Here are today’s minor moves from around baseball, with the newest transactions at the top of the page…

  • The Angels have signed outfielder Cesar Puello to a minor league contract, as their Triple-A roster in Salt Lake indicates.  Puello, 26, hit free agency when he exercised an opt-out clause in his deal with the Rangers on Friday. That came after Puello hit .247/.307/.420 in 179 plate appearances with their Triple-A affiliate. Although Puello ranked as Baseball America’s 77th-best prospect after the 2010 season, when he was with the Mets, he still hasn’t debuted in the big leagues. The majority of his work has come at Triple-A, where he owns a .261/.365/.403 line in 839 trips to the plate.
  • The Rays have released outfielder Dayron Varona, the Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin reports (Twitter link).  After a very impressive seven-year stint in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, Varona signed a minor league deal with the Rays in May 2015 and struggled in his first stint at Triple-A last season.  The 29-year-old Varona had posted a .268/.325/.479 slash line over 77 PA this year, though he spent much of May assigned to Tampa’s short-season A-ball affiliate in Hudson Valley.

Rays To Sign Cuban Outfielder Dayron Varona

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The Rays have signed Cuban outfielder Dayron Varona to a Minor League contract, reports Baseball America’s Ben Badler. The signing bonus on the deal for the 27-year-old isn’t known at this time, though ESPN’s Keith Law recently wrote in a scouting report that he expected Varona to receive an eight-figure bonus when he eventually signed. Badler notes that Varona’s bonus isn’t believed to be a “high-level investment.”

Varona has been working out for clubs since January, and Badler shares Law’s view that his best tools are his defensive capabilities. Badler notes that Varona has above-average speed and enough arm strength to play all three outfield spots. In the above report from Law, he notes that while he didn’t personally see Varona cover enough ground to definitively say that he could handle center field, his speed seems to indicate that he can do just that. Law says that Varona’s arm is strong with a quick release, grading it at least a 60, if not a 70 on the 20-80 scouting scale.

As Badler notes, Varona does not yet have his visa, so he must first obtain that before jumping into the Rays’ Minor League ranks. Some scouts have pegged him as Triple-A depth, per Badler, while others feel that he can be a viable fourth outfielder at the Major League level. One would assume the Rays, of course, fall into the latter camp. In seven seasons in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, Varona is a .312/.376/.470 hitter that has averaged a homer ever 39.5 plate appearances.

The Rays have already exceeded their 2014-15 international signing pool, so this move continues an aggressive push on the international market. While Tampa is already in the maximum penalty bracket, they will not owe any penalties on Varona because he is exempt from the international spending limits.

Quick Hits: Moncada, Dodgers, Johan, Varona

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In an interview with Mike Ferrin and Jim Duquette on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (audio link), Rays president of baseball operations Matt Silverman said his team will scout Yoan Moncada as they would any prospect of “great intrigue,” but “given our financial situation, I wouldn’t expect us to be the winners of an auction.”  Silverman feels this is another example of how difficult it is for successful small-market teams to replenish their systems, as “all of the [player acquisition] structures, whether it’s the draft or international, put us at a disadvantage.”

Here’s some more from around baseball…

  • A group of South Korean investors are talking with the Dodgers about buying a minority stake of the franchise, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports.  The news was originally reported by two South Korean newspapers, one of which (the Korea Joongang Daily) reports that the discussed terms were $370MM for 20 percent of the team.  A source with knowledge of the talks told Shaikin there is a “zero” chance the Dodgers’ ownership group would give up control of the team in these negotiations.
  • The Phillies face a tough road back to respectability but they can get there within two to four years if they augment their financial resources with good young talent, Fangraphs’ Jeff Sullivan opines.  The worst-case scenario would be if they make the wrong moves and revenues decline, thus putting the club in a long streak of losing seasons, a la the Orioles prior to their 2012 playoff appearance.
  • Peter Greenberg, Johan Santana’s agent, said his client doesn’t have any structural damage in his shoulder, FOX Sports’ Jon Paul Morosi tweets.  Santana was recently scratched from a Venezuelan Winter League start due to his shoulder, though Greenberg said Santana might return to pitch in the league playoffs.
  • Cuban outfielder Dayron Varona receives a scouting report from ESPN’s Keith Law (Insider subscription required), who praises Varona’s running and plus arm but has some questions about his hitting.  The current popularity of Cuban players could inflate Varona’s market, Law feels, though he thinks Varona will sign for “close to eight figures as a potential big league backup.”
  • The Blue Jays could consider Everth Cabrera as an option at second base, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman tweets.  Presumably the Jays’ interest would hinge on the outcome of Cabrera’s ongoing legal case, which may not take place until April.  Heyman also notes that Rickie Weeks “seems to be further down [Toronto’s] list.”
  • ESPN.com’s David Schoenfield lists the five teams he felt improved the most and least this winter.

International Notes: Oeltjen, Varona, Moncada

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Outfielder Trent Oeltjen has seen action in parts of three MLB seasons and no less than eight Triple-A campaigns. The Aussie outfielder is now set to retire after playing his final ballgame this weekend for his hometown Sydney Blue Sox, according to a club release. Though Oeltjen had limited opportunity to have an impact at the big league level, he was a force in the upper minors. Across 2,908 plate appearances at Triple-A, he slashed .294/.358/.479 with 68 home runs and 122 stolen bases.

  • A large gathering of scouts was on hand for a showcase this week featuring Cuban outfielder Dayron Varona, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick tweets. (Crasnick estimates that fifty sets of eyes were on hand to see the bonus limit-exempt Varona, while Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets that it was more like 75.) Via ObstructedView.net, Varona’s Serie Nacional statistics show a high-contact approach (.312/.376/.470 lifetime slash), though he has not put up big counting stats with 38 home runs and 22 steals (against 25 times caught) in a career spanning 1,504 trips to the plate.
  • In the pursuit of Cuban second baseman Yoan Moncada, who is subject to international bonus caps and penalties, the rich teams have the edge, Ben Badler of Baseball America explains. Any team signing Moncada will, of course, have to pay a 100% tax on most of the anticipated signing bonus. While the bonus itself can be paid out over three years, Badler notes that the penalty amount must be paid in a lump sum within a month of the June 15th end of the signing period. Regardless of exactly how many tens of millions of dollars Moncada commands, that is going to be a very significant, inflexible hit to the balance sheet — especially since it will go to a 19-year-old who will not add big league value for some time. Additionally, Badler notes, the potential for large arbitration paydays must also be accounted for. In the aggregate, even if the total cost (bonus plus penalty) added up to something akin to the payouts promised to players like Jose Abreu and Rusney Castillo, the required structure of the deal would greatly increase the cost to the team and present cash flow roadblocks. Deeper-pocketed teams will have an obvious edge in freeing resources to make that work.

International Notes: Varona, Guerrero Jr.

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Last night, the Angels made their $8MM signing of Cuban infielder Roberto Baldoquin official more than two months after reportedly striking a deal with him. He debuts at number three on an updated list of the team’s top prospects, via MLB.com. As the book closes on that signing, here’s a pair of notes on some potential future signings on the international front…

  • Cuban outfielder Dayron Varona will host a showcase for interested teams on Jan. 20 in Delray Beach, Fla., reports MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (Twitter link). There’s little public knowledge regarding Varona at this time, although the 25-year-old’s stats are viewable over at ObstructedView.net. Varona hasn’t shown much power or speed in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, but he has demonstrated a high-contact approach that has helped him to hit for average. In 1504 plate appearances, he’s a .312/.376/.470 hitter with 38 homers and 22 steals (although he’s been caught stealing an alarming 25 times). Varona has enough pro experience and is old enough that he is exempt from international spending limitations, but that doesn’t necessarily guarantee him a sizable payday.
  • Fangraphs’ Kiley McDaniel reported back in October that Dominican prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was rumored to have a $3.2MM agreement in place for the next signing period, and yesterday he reported (Twitter link) that the Blue Jays are the team believed to have that agreement in place. Of course, Guerrero cannot sign until July 2 when next year’s international signing period kicks off. However, verbal agreements of this nature are the norm on the international prospect front, despite MLB’s best efforts to curtail advance deals.

Cuban Shortstop Arruebarruena Defects

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Promising Cuban shortstop Erisbel Barbaro Arruebarruena has left his home country to try and sign with a major league team, according to Ben Badler of Baseball America.  Arruebarruena is known for his tremendously sharp defense at the shortstop position, drawing comparisons to Jose Iglesias in the field.

Arruebarruena, 23, has played in Serie Nacional for six seasons, so his bonus will not be subject to the international bonus pools. MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez tweets that Arruebarruena has established residency in Haiti. He will now need to be cleared to sign by the U.S. government and MLB.

Earlier this year, Baseball America ranked Arruebarruena the No. 10 World Baseball Classic prospect not signed with an MLB team.  Badler writes that the shortstop is a below-average runner but he makes up for it with a quick first step and solid instincts that give him good range.  Scouts have called Arruebarruena a magician in the field, but he'll have to step things up at the plate.

In related news, Cuban reporter Ibrahim Rojas tells MLBTR that 19-year-old pitcher Javier Gonzalez, 22-year-old pitcher Jorge Hernandez, and 25-year-old outfielder Dayron Varona have left Cuba.

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