Mariners Sign Guillermo Pimentel
The Mariners signed Guillermo Pimentel to a bonus of $2MM, according to ESPN.com's Jorge Arangure Jr.. Pimentel signed the contract as the clock struck midnight on July 2nd, the earliest moment he was eligible.
Just a few minutes ago, Baseball America's Ben Badler passed on reports from Dominican papers suggesting Pimentel signed. The Rangers and Mariners were considered front-runners to sign the Dominican outfielder.
International Free Agent Update
ESPN.com's Jorge Arangure relays the latest on a pair of international players with his Twitter account.
- Cheslor Cuthbert, who agreed to terms over the weekend, will receive a bonus of about $1.2MM from the Royals.
- The Rangers appear to be closing in on Jurickson Profar.
- It looks like he'll receive a bonus of about $700k to play short.
- He could probably have received more if he'd signed as a pitcher, but he doesn't want to pitch.
Our own Mike Axisa questioned Baseball America's Ben Badler about some other international players over at River Ave. Blues:
- It looks like top Latin catching prospect Gary Sanchez will sign with the Yankees for about $3MM.
- The Mariners seem to be the favorites to sign Guillermo Pimentel.
- Ugueth Urbina's son, Juan, will likely sign with the Mets.
- Badler says Miguel Angel Sano would have gone somewhere between fourth overall and the end of the first round if he'd been eligible in this month's draft.
Odds & Ends: Sheets, Blanco, Coghlan
Links for Friday…
- RotoAuthority talks about the popular fantasy pickups this week.
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels says Ben Sheets is "watching from a distance" while recovering from elbow surgery, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan says the Rangers "apparently are in position to sign Guillermo Pimentel, a top outfield prospect from the Dominican Republic" for $1.5-2MM.
- Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe says Red Sox reliever Javier Lopez cleared waivers and will head to Triple A.
- Sam Miller of the OC Register assembled a lineup/slideshow of prospects who deserve a big league shot.
- Henry Blanco isn't sure why he wasn't able to re-sign with the Cubs, according to the Chicago Tribune's Paul Sullivan.
- Nick Yohanek, the fan who caught Chris Coghlan's first big league home run, explains his side of the story in asking for the following for the ball: a signed Coghlan game bat, a signed Coghlan ball, and a Hanley Ramirez game bat. What's your take on this?