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Yoan Moncada

Cafardo On Vazquez, Cabrera, Papelbon

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Yankees GM Brian Cashman feels that the potential is there for a big year, but he’s not guaranteeing the AL East title or anything of that sort, as Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes.  “We have a lot of talent,” he said. “Like other teams, we have some ifs. If we get good comebacks and our rotation stays healthy, if our team stays healthy, we’re a good team.”   Additions like Andrew Miller will be counted on for production, but the Bombers will really hope for some vintage performances from guys like Mark Teixeira, Carlos Beltran, and embattled third baseman Alex Rodriguez.  Here’s more from today’s column..

  • The Phillies continue to insist on Blake Swihart in any deal for Cole Hamels and there’s been no movement to ask instead for Christian Vazquez.  The Red Sox, meanwhile, refuse to part with their top young catcher.  Cafardo suggests the Phillies could have a better chance of working out a deal with the Padres as they are more open to moving catching prospect Austin Hedges.
  • There are no substantive talks between the Mets and Everth Cabrera’s camp at the moment as they seem committed to Wilmer Flores.  It was reported earlier this winter that the Mets had interest in the former Padres shortstop.  A major league source with knowledge of Cabrera’s situation indicated to Cafardo that he has made great strides personally.
  • Cafardo writes that the Blue Jays remain interested in Phillies reliever Jonathan Papelbon.  A report from earlier this month characterized the Blue Jays as a “major long shot” to land the closer due to financial reasons.
  • General Managers around the league can’t stop raving about 19-year-old Cuban prospect Yoan Moncada.   “He could be the next Robinson Cano/Chase Utley, but more Cano. That’s the kind of potential bat we’re talking about,” one National League talent evaluator said.  An NL GM told Cafardo that Moncada “may be better than [Yasiel] Puig or [Jose] Abreu or [Yoenis] Cespedes or [Jorge] Soler.”   Meanwhile, one GM tells Cafardo that the middle infielder would still require some minor league seasoning before breaking into the majors.
  • There’s a good amount of interest in Brandon Beachy for when he’s finally ready to sign.  The 28-year-old owns a lifetime 3.23 ERA over 46 big league starts, with a 3.34 FIP, 3.54 xFIP, and 3.39 SIERA.

Latest On Cuban Market: Gutierrez, Olivera, Ibanez

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While much of the focus has been on stud prospect Yoan Moncada, another Cuban infielder — veteran Hector Olivera — is the biggest wild card looming over the traditional free agent market. Another intriguing younger player is available in Andy Ibanez, and the market also saw yet another possible infusion of talent over the weekend, with young righty Vladimir Gutierrez and infielder Dainer Moreira defecting.  Here’s the latest…

  • Gutierrez is applying for political asylum in Puerto Rico, according to El Nuevo Dia, a Puerto Rican newspaper (hat tip to MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez).  If he claims asylum in Puerto Rico and then establishes residence in another country, he’ll go through the usual international signing process. If he establishes residence in Puerto Rico, however, Gutierrez would be eligible for the first-year draft since Puerto Rico is a United States territory.
  • Moncada has at least one workout scheduled during the week of February 16th-20th, Baseball America’s Ben Badler reports (via Twitter), so Badler doesn’t think the phenom will sign before then.

Earlier Updates

  • Olivera petitioned MLB for free agency two weeks ago and has not yet received a determination, MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez reports on Twitter. On the positive side for Olivera, it would appear that the new rules regarding clearance of Cuban players will permit him to sign as soon as he receives the nod from MLB.
  • While Olivera waits, he is working out for clubs and trying to build a market, as Sanchez further tweets. Olivera has held session recently for the Padres, Mariners, Giants, Yankees, and Braves. He has open showcases scheduled for this Friday and next Wednesday.
  • Indeed, the Mariners had more than the usual contingent on hand to see both Olivera and Ibanez, according to Ben Badler of Baseball America. Seattle sent not only GM Jack Zduriencik but also president Kevin Mather to join international director Tim Kissner in the Dominican Republic for the private workout. As Badler notes, that level of front office involvement is unusual, and is all the more odd in this case since the club has Robinson Cano and Kyle Seager installed in the infield.
  • Cuban baseball documentary project El Trogon (cinematographer Jonathan Miller, director Sami Kahn) has video from Puerto Rico depicting Gutierrez and Moreira, who left their team, Pinar del Rio, during the Caribbean Series.

Mets Notes: Niese, Alderson, Moncada

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Jon Niese’s name surfaced in trade rumors earlier this offseason, but the left-hander tells Kevin Kernan of the New York Post that he has been told he won’t be dealt. “They told me they didn’t want to move me,” Niese said, which is fine with him since he’s excited about the club’s young talent. The Mets have reportedly been shopping Dillon Gee, Bartolo Colon and Niese, though of that trio, Niese was the pitcher the team was least willing to deal since he’s the only lefty in the rotation and is controllable through 2018 (if the Mets exercise both of their options on his contract). Here are some more Amazin’ news items…

  • GM Sandy Alderson discussed the positives of the Mets’ pitching surplus during a recent interview with Chris Russo of the MLB Network (hat tip to MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo). “Right now, we feel very good about the fact that we’re eight or nine deep going into the season,” Alderson said. “You always need extra starting pitching. Things will probably work themselves out during Spring Training. Hopefully we don’t have an injury. But we do have some flexibility in the ’pen, so if somebody has to move to the ’pen for a period of time, I think that would be acceptable to us.” Earlier this winter, Alderson said he intended to trade a starter prior to Spring Training, though this no longer appears to be the case.
  • In a Q&A with season ticket holders on Wednesday, Alderson said the Mets are unlikely to pursue Yoan Moncada, Metsblog.com’s Matthew Cerrone writes. While the Mets have scouted Moncada and “we like him,” Alderson notes that the financial commitment required to sign Moncada would essentially prohibit them from the international market for the next two years. “From my standpoint, it’s a little like the stock market. Do you want to go all in on Shake Shack? Or, do you want to invest in a mutual fund that gives you a little more diversity and a little more spread over time,” Alderson asked. “œI think our goal here is that we invest at least somewhat efficiently, but also spread it out so we give ourselves the best chance to succeed.”
  • The Mets’ offseason has been underwhelming, Joel Sherman of the New York Post opines, as he feels even a modest $20MM payroll increase could’ve helped address several uncertain positions on the team. Sherman notes that David Wright’s struggles in 2014 could have a major impact on the Mets’ willingness to spend, as management could be more hesitant about signing major contracts if Wright continues to under-perform over the course of his extension.

Latest On Yoan Moncada’s Market

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The news that 19-year-old Cuban phenom Yoan Moncada is now eligible to sign with Major League teams launched an outpouring of speculation, and we may not have to wait too long for resolution to the situation, as the infielder tells MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez he hopes to sign in the near future. “My goal is to sign with a team soon, start training with them, and make it to the Major Leagues as fast as I can with whichever team that might be,” Moncada told Sanchez. Moncada could sign as soon as this month, according to Sanchez, who reminds that the infielder has already had private workouts for the Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox, Padres, Giants, Rangers, Rays, Tigers and Brewers. The first three teams listed are reportedly the heavy favorites to sign Moncada, though Sanchez notes that other teams will schedule private workouts now that Moncada is unblocked. He also adds that contract negotiations have intensified since news broke that he was cleared to sign.

Here are the latest updates on the market for Moncada, who has captured the intrigue of baseball fans around the world…

  • Hall of Fame journalist Peter Gammons spoke to three different GMs whose teams have been previously connected to Moncada and was told that they are not pursuing him after all (Twitter link). The unnamed GMs each pointed to the Yankees, Red Sox and Dodgers as the favorites, although each warned to keep an eye on the Tigers as well.
  • ESPN’s Buster Olney tweets that there is an expectation among rival executives that the Athletics will make a serious run at Moncada, as they did with Yoenis Cespedes three offseasons ago.
  • In a full article (ESPN Insider required/recommended), Olney writes that there is also a belief among execs that the Dodgers’ financial restraint to this point in the offseason could make them more aggressive on Moncada, with some believing that they will ultimately land him. Olney adds that many execs feel the Red Sox’ current surplus of Dustin Pedroia, Xander Bogaerts, Pablo Sandoval and Mookie Betts will limit their interest and limit how far the team is willing to stretch. As Olney puts it, Boston simply isn’t as desperate for Moncada as some of their competition.

Yoan Moncada Market Notes

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With the evening’s news that prized young Cuban infielder Yoan Moncada is free to sign, additional information has begun to roll in. It isn’t hard to see why he has generated so much attention. As Ben Badler of Baseball America explains, Moncada may not have quite the certainty of an otherwise generally comparable prospect such as Corey Seager, but could reasonably be valued in the same range as — and, indeed, ahead of — a young player as heralded as Miguel Sano. That would make Moncada one of the best dozen or so pre-MLB properties in the game.

Here’s the latest:

  • Moncada is expected to sign soon, reports MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez, although he does have workouts scheduled with individual teams through the middle of this month. The list of teams he has already worked out for does not appear to have been expanded upon from prior reports, with Sanchez noting (via Twitter) that the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Padres, Giants, Rangers, Rays, Tigers, and Brewers have all had private looks.
  • With Moncada now eligible to sign, and a long stretch remaining before the July 2 market flips over, Badler tweets that the Cubs and Rangers are probably out of the mix. Moncada could still theoretically wait to sign with one of those teams — each of which is currently prohibited from paying all but relatively small international signing bonuses for blowing their allotment in past seasons — but that seems rather unlikely.
  • Some clubs believe the Dodgers are a “strong favorite” to add Moncada, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweets. Los Angeles has made no secret of its intention to pursue the talented 19-year-old.
  • Another expected front-runner, the Red Sox, have remained fairly tight-lipped about Moncada, as Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe reports.
  • Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski confirmed that his club had expressed interest and held a workout for Moncada, but otherwise would only acknowledge that Moncada is a talented player, as James Schmehl of MLive.com reports.

With MLB Rule Change, Yoan Moncada Cleared To Sign

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Much-hyped Cuban second baseman Yoan Moncada is free to sign after MLB modified its standards for incoming players from his home nation, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports on Twitter.

With a so-called “specific license” from OFAC no longer needed, MLB will now accept a “general license” combined with a “sworn statement [by the player] that the prospect permanently resides outside of Cuba and has no intent to return to Cuba,” Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs reports on Twitter (quoting from a league memo).

Already technically a free agent, Moncada was awaiting clearance to actually sign a contract. Some uncertainty in the standards had arisen in the wake of recent diplomatic maneuvers between the United States and Cuba, with MLB and the U.S. Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) reportedly working to sort out the impact of changes in the nations’ relationship.

Moncada is perhaps the most intriguing player impacted by this news, but is presumably not the only one. Fellow middle infield prospect Andy Ibanez was also reportedly awaiting clarification of the new standards. The most immediate impact could be made by Hector Olivera, a veteran standout who figures to join an MLB roster in the near-term but who is still waiting to be declared a free agent, as Ben Badler of Baseball America notes. And the new system will clear a significant roadblock from the way of other Cuban players who can establish residency in a third country en route to the big leagues.

Unlike the 29-year-old Olivera, Moncada and Ibanez do not qualify for exemption from MLB’s international bonus pool system. Accordingly, the winning team will be forced to pay a 100% penalty tax on the amount by which it exceeds its pool allotment — which, if expectations prove correct, could be quite a substantial sum.

AL Notes: Shields, Samardzija, Moncada, Rangers

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James Shields, the top free agent still available, has lost his leverage and is in the worst possible spot as most teams have exhausted their payroll space and are more willing to identify reasons to dismiss an available player, opines ESPN’s Buster Olney in an Insider piece (subscription required). The longer a premium free agent like Shields remains unsigned, Olney notes, the more his negotiating strategy and leverage position are picked apart. Along those lines, a National League GM tells Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, “It’s hard to project a team would go five years.”

In today’s news and notes from the American League:

  • Agent Mark Rodgers told MLB Network Radio’s Jim Bowden and Jim Duquette (audio link) he will listen to any overtures from the White Sox to extend Jeff Samardzija, but his client will most likely find out what his “ultimate value is in the open market, which is what free agency is all about.“
  • The Tigers hosted a private workout for Yoan Moncada, reports Lynn Henning of the Detroit News. MLB.com’s Jason Beck adds the workout was held last week at the team’s facility in Lakeland. Both Henning and Beck believe this was simply due diligence on the Tigers’ part because of the signing bonus Moncada will command.
  • In today’s mailbag, a reader asks Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer why the Indians allowed J.D. Martinez to slip through their fingers and join their divisional rivals last year. The Tigers, he explained, needed depth in the outfield late in Spring Training. The Tribe, on the other hand, had more than enough with David Murphy, Ryan Raburn, Nick Swisher, Michael Bourn, and Michael Brantley. At the time, they didn’t know Raburn would struggle and both Swisher and Bourn would be hindered by injuries.
  • Matt Harrison told reporters, including Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News, he expects the Rangers to place him on the 60-day disabled list to open the season. Harrison also acknowleged a minor setback in his rehab, but the issue had to do with his mechanics rather than his health.
  • Rangers infielder Jurickson Profar told reporters, including FOX Sports Southwest’s Anthony Andro, he is pleased with the results his throwing program has had on his right shoulder. Profar, who is slated to take some dry swings from the right side this week, said his goal is to play in all of Texas’ Spring Training games.
  • In a nod that today is Super Bowl Sunday, Rangers GM Jon Daniels confirmed Russell Wilson will participate in the club’s Spring Training camp, Andro tweets. To illustrate the quarterback’s love of baseball, Rodgers, who also represents Wilson, told MLB Network Radio (audio link), if Wilson could figure out a way to play both sports, he would.

Latest On Signing Eligibility Of Cuban Players

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SATURDAY: MLB sent a memo to teams today instructing them not to sign Cuban players, Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan reports (all Twitter links). MLB said it hoped to receive advice from OFAC “early next week,” hoping to receive assurances that the league won’t be getting itself into trouble if Cuban players falsify their identities. If it does get those assurances, players like Moncada, Olivera and Ibanez might become eligible to sign right away.

FRIDAY: There has been quite a bit of confusion of late as to how and when a group of high-profile Cuban middle infielders will be freed to sign. The U.S. Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) — the agency tasked with administering the United States’ now-loosening embargo against Cuba — has now notified Yoan Moncada in writing that it will not consider specific licenses for Cuban players who are already unblocked via the general license, agent David Hastings tells Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs.

Ben Badler of Baseball America explains the distinction here. In essence, the general license requires only residence in a third country, while the specific license carries more stringent standards. This news effectively means that OFAC will not perform any particularized assessment of Cuban players seeking to sign with MLB clubs.

The result is that, in McDaniel’s words, “the onus is now 100% on MLB.” Badler has previously explained the league’s role in this regard, and the OFAC letter to Moncada’s representative appears to remove any room for interpretation.

Simply put, the league must decide whether simply to accept the general license as sufficient for signing eligibility or find some other procedure to replace the OFAC specific license. If MLB decides to allow the general license to suffice, then presumably all Cuban players who have established third-country residence would become eligible to sign — including, presumably, Moncada and fellow top players Hector Olivera and Andy Ibanez.

As McDaniel goes on to explain, the latest industry speculation holds that the veteran Olivera could land a guarantee of between $20MM to $40MM. The younger Ibanez, meanwhile, is expected to land at or slightly above the range of recent signees Roberto Baldoquin ($8MM) and Yoan Lopez ($8.25MM) while also requiring the signing team to pay a near-100% penalty on that amount.

West Links: Luhnow, Reimold, Angels, Dodgers

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In an interview with Casey Stern and Jim Bowden on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (Twitter link), Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said his club had looked at signing Kevin Correia and Kyle Kendrick.  Houston’s interest in Correia was reported earlier this week, while Kendrick has been linked to the ’Stros as another potential fit to fill out the back of their rotation.  Luhnow also stated that the Astros had been looking at other similar starters with Major League experience.  Here’s some more from both the AL and NL West divisions…

  • The Athletics have checked in on free agent outfielder Nolan Reimold, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko tweets.  The Indians and Orioles are also known to be interested in Reimold, and Dan Duquette said earlier today that the O’s have extended an offer for Reimold to return to Baltimore.
  • Angels GM Jerry Dipoto was non-committal about the idea of his team pursuing any of the top arms available in next year’s free agent market, MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez writes.  Payroll space could be an issue given how (according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts) the Halos have over $128MM committed to only seven players for the 2016 season.
  • With Jered Weaver and C.J. Wilson both set for free agency after 2016, Gonzalez wonders if the Angels could sign a major starter and then use Weaver or Wilson as trade bait, similar to how the Nationals signed Max Scherzer and now have the depth to explore trading Jordan Zimmermann or Doug Fister.  There were rumors earlier this winter that the Angels were already shopping Wilson, though Dipoto issued a denial.
  • Sergio Santos will earn $1MM if he makes the Dodgers’ Major League roster, Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times reports (via Twitter), plus another $3.05MM is available in incentives.  Santos signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers last month.
  • The Dodgers are committed to rebuilding their minor league system and thus are wary about exceeding their international bonus pool to sign Yoan Moncada, MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick writes.  While L.A. is very interested in Moncada, any team that wants to sign the Cuban phenom would have to greatly exceed their bonus pool to do so, and thus be limited to international signings of $300K or less for the next two international signing periods, or until July 2017.  Of course, several teams have employed the strategy of exceeding the pool limit to load up on premium international talent during one signing period — the Red Sox, Angels, Rays, Yankees and Diamondbacks already face that $300K limit during the 2015-17 international signing market.
  • The Diamondbacks hired former slugger Joe Carter as a special assistant to GM Dave Stewart, the team announced.  Carter and Stewart were teammates in Toronto in 1993-94, both playing major roles in the Blue Jays’ 1993 World Series title.

Rays Notes: Moncada, Moore, Teaford

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Here’s the latest from Tampa Bay…

  • Yoan Moncada took part in a private workout for Rays officials at Tropicana Field on Wednesday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.  Despite the Rays’ interest in Moncada, it is widely expected that they will be outbid given the widespread interest in the Cuban phenom.
  • Left-hander Matt Moore threw off a mound on Tuesday of this week for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery, reports Topkin. Moore made 15 tosses from halfway up the bullpen mound at Tropicana Field and said the session couldn’t have gone better. Moore says he is targeting a return to the Tampa rotation sometime in June. In the meantime, trade acquisition Nate Karns and prospect Alex Colome should battle to hold down the fifth slot behind Alex Cobb, Drew Smyly, Jake Odorizzi and Chris Archer.
  • The Rays’ minor league signing of Everett Teaford is yet another example of how the organization focuses on pitchers who throw high fastballs, Fangraphs’ Jeff Sullivan writes.  Tampa generally either pursues pitchers with rising fastballs or tries to add the pitch to a hurler’s arsenal after the club acquires him, as was the case with Drew Smyly last season.
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