Miguel Sano

Yankees In On Sano?

By | June 13, 2009 at 1:43pm CDT

You've heard the name plenty around these parts over the past few weeks. Miguel Angel Sano, a 16-year-old infield prospect from the Dominican Republic, has been linked to the Pirates, Indians, Orioles and Twins.

Now it appears the Yankees have jumped into the bidding. As ESPN The Magazine's Jorge Arangure reported through his Twitter account this afternoon, Brian Cashman and Co. believe they have a "50/50" chance of landing the phenom.

It all comes down to dollars and cents, however, and the Yanks are actually practicing fiscal responsibility. That may come as a surprise, but keep in mind that throwing millions of dollars at a kid who just hit the legal driving age is a monstrous gamble. The Pirates are reportedly preparing an offer around $4MM, and it doesn't sound like the Yankees are willing to go that high. As Arangure continued in his "tweet," if the price was $3MM, "then yes."

Odds & Ends: Sano, Jones, Draft, Fukumori

By Mike Axisa | June 13, 2009 at 10:30am CDT

A bevy of links for your Saturday morning…

Dennis Manoloff reports that the Indians intend to make an offer to uberprospect Miguel Angel Sano.
ESPN's Jorge Arangure tweets that the "Yankees have made it very clear that catcher Gary Sanchez is their top choice" on the international market. Last night we noted that the Yanks were going to work Sano out at their Dominican academy next week.
Andruw Jones says he asked out of Dodger Blue because of the way owner Frank McCourt treated him, according to Dylan Hernandez.
Frank Seravalli reports that Phillies are set to sign second round pick Kyle Dugan today. Dugan was Philadelphia's first selection in the draft after they forfeited their first rounder to sign Raul Ibanez.
Kevin Goldstein wonders why Stephen Strasburg's impending megadeal is such a big deal. Meanwhile Michael Wilbon says "No way in the world I'd have taken Stephen Strasburg with the No. 1 pick in the draft," citing the risk. Show me a draft pick without risk, and I'll show you the three bridges in New York I have for sale.
Patrick at NPB Tracker notes that the recently released Kazuo Fukumori is set to audition for his former team, the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Japanese Pacific League.

Odds & Ends: Betemit, Greene, Sano, Draft

By Mike Axisa | June 12, 2009 at 8:30pm CDT

How do you guys feel about interleague play? I understand the problems in creates in terms of the unbalanced schedule, but the fan in me still loves it. Anyway, here's some evening links as rivalry weekend kicks off…

Wilson Betemit has been outrighted to Triple-A according to Mark Gonzales of The Chicago Tribune. Betemit had been designated for assignment to make room on the roster for Gordon Beckham last week.
Khalil Greene has returned to St. Louis not to play, but to "have his status re-evaluated" according to Derrick Goold. The Cards have been looking for middle infield help, and most recently have been connected to Miguel Tejada.
Tyler Kepner notes that prospect Miguel Angel Sano will work out for the Yankees at their Dominican academy next Thursday. Here's the money quote from Sano's agent Rob Plummer: "I would say he has a Hanley Ramirez body and the possible upside of an Albert Pujols-type bat." Oh, is that all?
Maury Brown notes that this week's amateur draft shattered MLB.com's traffic records.
MLB.com's Todd Willis reports that the Rangers have signed six draft picks including Ruben Sierra Jr.
The Blue Jays inked a nostalgic draft pick of their own, agreeing to terms with Tony Fernandez's son Jonathan according to Erika Gilbert.

Pirates, Twins Are Sano’s Top Suitors

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 12, 2009 at 3:09pm CDT

ESPN.com's Jorge Arangure Jr. hears that the Pirates may not offer Miguel Angel Sano as much as $3MM, let alone $4MM. The Pirates are still tracking Sano closely, and, along with the Twins, they're the frontrunners to sign the 16-year-old shortstop once July 2nd comes around. The Orioles recently worked Sano out, but they are not expected to beome serious bidders.

Here are some more rumors about the international free agent market:

Padres director of international scouting Randy Smith says he hopes to acquire one "big-name" international player.
Daniel Sanchez is a player to watch; Arangure says some consider him the year's best Latin American pitcher.

Orioles Considering Sano?

By Eddie Schmid | June 6, 2009 at 8:35pm CDT

The Baltimore Sun's Jeff Zrebiec reports that the Orioles invited 16-year-old phenom Miguel Angel Sano to a workout at their baseball academy in the Dominican Republic yesterday. Orioles Director of Player Development David Stocksill came out of the tryout "impressed."

Sano has been linked most often to the Pirates, who are rumored to be offering as much as $4MM to obtain the coveted shortstop prospect when international free agents are able to sign this July 2nd. Zrebiec notes that the Orioles have never dropped more than $1MM to acquire an international free agent.

Miguel Angel Sano’s Value

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 4, 2009 at 3:12pm CDT

Earlier in the week we heard that the Pirates are not likely to award a record bonus to 16-year-old Dominican prospect Miguel Angel Sano. Kiley McDaniel of Baseball Prospectus reports that Pittsburgh would be willing to approach the $4.25MM the A's awarded to Michael Ynoa. BP's sources suggest the Pirates have a "bid ceiling" of $4MM, but that may not be a hard ceiling.

As McDaniel says, the Pirates can afford to award Sano a large bonus, but they cannot afford to bid against themselves. Apparently "nearly every Latin insider" believes the Pirates will land Sano, so they need to avoid hyping him up too much even though they believe he's "better than any player" they'll pick in the draft. Pirates president Frank Coonelly sounded interested but restrained when discussing the prospect yesterday.

Pirates President On McCutchen, Draft, Sano

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 3, 2009 at 3:46pm CDT

Pirates President Frank Coonelly told fans that the Pirates plan on pursuing Miguel Angel Sano, but said they'll also be able to spend on the drraft. Here are the specifics from Coonelly's MLB.com chat:

Andrew McCutchen, who's playing well in Triple A, will likely play in the majors at some point this season.
A quote worth passing along: "Contrary to some suggestions in the media, however, we have no intention of attempting to save money in the Draft so we can apply it to one or more high profile international players."
Instead, he says the Pirates plan to acquire top talent through the draft and through international free agent signings.
Like any 16-year-old, Sano is no sure thing, if you ask Coonelly.
But since Sano's unlike most 16-year-olds, the Pirates will make him an offer.
"If Miguel decides that he has an offer that is superior to the one that we present to him, we will continue to have a strong presence in the Dominican," Coonelly said.

Record Bonus Unlikely For Miguel Angel Sano

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 2, 2009 at 9:16am CDT

Miguel Angel Sano, the 16-year-old Dominican prospect who's drawing interest from several Major League teams, isn't likely to receive a record bonus from the Pirates, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Kovacevic sees "strong indications from the team's front office" that the Pirates won't surpass the $4.25MM bonus the A's paid Michael Ynoa last year.

Instead, the Pirates believe that Sano's talent and the market for his services place his value closer to the $2-3MM given to elite prospects other than Inoa. The Pirates remains "intensely interested" in Sano, who can sign with whoever he chooses on July 2nd.

Odds & Ends: DeRosa, Bruney, Cooper

By Tim Dierkes | May 28, 2009 at 8:44am CDT

Let's kick it off today with some odds and ends.

RotoAuthority discusses responding to lame trade offers in your fantasy league.
Reliever Mike MacDougal will join the Nationals tomorrow, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Who knows, he could be closing for them by next week.
Talking to Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune, Cubs GM Jim Hendry defended the Mark DeRosa trade. Here is my problem with it: it was a financially-motivated deal made by a big-market team, and did not bring back players who could help in 2009.
According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the White Sox acquired journeyman minor league infielder Anderson Machado from the Pirates for a player to be named later.
Padres exec Paul DePodesta explains the Jody Gerut for Tony Gwynn Jr. swap. DePodesta's third bullet point, money, had to be the overriding factor given Gwynn's negligible value around the league.
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle sees Bobby Crosby as perhaps a more pressing trade situation for the A's than Matt Holliday.
Dr. James Andrews found no structural damage in Brian Bruney's elbow, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. Given the uncertainty, though, a bullpen acquisition would still make sense.
It looks like the writing is on the wall for Astros manager Cecil Cooper. Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle lists his offenses.
Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is skeptical the Cardinals will make a big move.
Kiley McDaniel of Baseball Prospectus agrees that the Pirates are the favorite for Dominican talent Miguel Angel Sano, and says the Rays, Cubs, A's, Blue Jays, Yankees, Rangers, and Twins are also after him. It's speculated by McDaniel and elsewhere that the Pirates could budget less toward their fourth overall pick in June to compensate for Sano. John Perrotto of Inside Pittsburgh Sports says they like Kyle Gibson, Aaron Crow, Bobby Borchering, and Wil Myers. Tanner Scheppers did not give the Bucs permission to redraft him.

Taking Stock Of The Pirates

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 23, 2009 at 12:40pm CDT

John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus catalogues a decade and a half of poor decisions by the Pirates in his latest column, up at ESPN.com. Some of the team's more memorable gaffes:

Releasing Tim Wakefield.
Signing Pat Meares to a four year $15MM deal that surprised even Meares.
Commiting nearly $10MM to Derek Bell, then claiming the deal sent "shock waves through baseball" during the same offseason that Alex Rodriguez signed for $252MM.
Giving Bronson Arroyo up on waivers only to have him return to Pittsburgh as an All-Star for the Reds and call the Pirates the "most inept organization in baseball."

But the Pirates have shed some contracts in recent years and appear poised to get younger and better under current GM Neal Huntington. After next year they have commitments to Paul Maholm, Nate McLouth, Ian Snell, Ryan Doumit and Pedro Alvarez, but no one else. They reportedly have a good chance of signing 16-year-old shortstop prospect Miguel Angel Sano and are considering top talent with the fourth overall pick that they hold in this year's draft.

So what's the verdict on the Pirates? They don't appear likely to end their streak of 16 straight losing seasons this year, but are they on the right track? Or do they need new direction? What moves have to take place for the Pirates to join the best teams in the NL Central?

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