Luis Robert Leaves Cuba

[clvclv]

http://www.baseballamerica.com/inter...ovS06KQ86FA.97


Would be another great add for the Braves.

[bravesfanMatt]

yes please. reminds me of the Lazzaro hoopla last year however.

[smootness]

We should definitely be in on him, but I would assume we're probably a tad wary of the Cuban market, and he's probably going to sign for quite a bit if he gets cleared in time. I think he's a significantly better prospect than Armenteros, though.

[Hudson2]

He should be pushing hard to sign before the June deadline given the new rules from the CBA kick in starting in July. If we could add him that would be pretty big for the farm.

[Enscheff]

He should be pushing hard to sign before the June deadline given the new rules from the CBA kick in starting in July. If we could add him that would be pretty big for the farm.

A team could still offer him $5M+ next signing period if they want him, so waiting isn't going to affect him much. Any team that signs him this period will pay the 100% penalty so the overall cost will be doubled.

Is he worth $8M+ to the Braves?

[Hudson2]

With how we've bought a prospect before like Touki I wouldn't be surprised to see us go over and pay a penalty. Especially with us probably gonna get a later draft pick next year with a better record.

[mqt]

A team could still offer him $5M+ next signing period if they want him, so waiting isn't going to affect him much. Any team that signs him this period will pay the 100% penalty so the overall cost will be doubled.

Is he worth $8M+ to the Braves?

I'm not saying the answer is necessarily yes, but it wouldn't shock me. We were in on Lazarito before we inadvertently shot ourselves in the foot by running it through the agent he parted ways with instead of his parents, and I'd imagine at that juncture the price tag was at least similar. The FO has said in the past that they really want to blow it out of the water this IFA period and that we'd make signings throughout the period. Wouldn't it make more sense to pay the price to get another impact youngster in the system than it would to sign a guy like Wieters? Everyone seems to agree the Braves have money left to spend and are just waiting for the right opportunity to do so. Adding to our stable of impact up the middle prospects would seem like such an opportunity.

[Enscheff]

I agree 100% with the notion of preferring Robert to some FA that represents a marginal upgrade to the MLB team like Wieters.

[Carp]

Would be surprised if we went after him honestly, with the 100 percent penalty we'd have to pay.

[Horsehide Harry]

Would be surprised if we went after him honestly, with the 100 percent penalty we'd have to pay.

Different fiscal year for Liberty. They just announced losses for the Braves and blamed it mostly on stadium costs and pursuit of international FA talent such as Maitan and Gutierrez.

[Chico]

I'm not sure if he's worth it or not, but it does seem like the kind of risk we'd be glad to take. He fits the profile.

[CJ9]

Baseball America profile on him: http://www.baseballamerica.com/inter...QxfVfP7XGz1.97

The most meaningful paragraph for us: "Before then, teams are still free to spend past their bonus pools. Most of the teams with the best chance to sign Robert are the ones that have already exceeded their pools. The Padres and Cardinals are drawing the most attention. The Astros could be in the mix. The Braves, Reds, Nationals and Athletics are also over their bonus pools."

Doesn't really sound like we're in the mix all that much if the only mention is that we're over our bonus pool.

[Managuarantano's Volunteers]

I feel like Coppy in his typical weaselly Coppy way has suggested that he was basically forced into trying to field a competitive team and that he did not have unlimited cash resources to buy free agents or prospects.

We ain't going to know for sure.

It sounds pretty reasonable that he would have been pressured to be not the worst team in baseball

[Enscheff]

It sounds pretty reasonable that he would have been pressured to be not the worst team in baseball

And how did that work out? Well...I guess they weren't technically the worst team in the game. So...congrats?

[thethe]

Braves already signed the best international prospect since Sano. What more do you want from them?

[Russ2dollas]

Braves already signed the best international prospect since Sano. What more do you want from them?

To sign this guy too. Dickey could be replaced By one of wisler/Blair/Newcombe/wiegel/collementer

[thethe]

To sign this guy too. Dickey could be replaced By one of wisler/Blair/Newcombe/wiegel/collementer

What if the expectation was always he wouldn't be available this j2 period?

[Managuarantano's Volunteers]

And how did that work out? Well...I guess they weren't technically the worst team in the game. So...congrats?

I was half sarcastic with that, but I meant this year. Should be pretty safe to project us as mediocre/bad but not atrocious.

Would I rather have Robert than Dickey? Yeah. Are the Braves willing to spend more money than the Padres for him? I dunno.

[thethe]

To hoard assets based on the availability of a guy a year from the J2 deadline if\when he lands on US soil and gets cleared by MLB in time seems like waiting on 00 to hit in roulette (and that's assuming we'd like him enough at the price he will command). If he didn't get get here fast enough Coppy would be damned for holding money back and not using it if he doesn't get cleared. It would be a total waste. Would it be awesome if we got him? Of course... we need bats like that. Also- there is nothing indicating we can't sign him anyway. The Braves may send guys to his showcase and go bonkers. Who knows?

We had to sign some starters. We did. At pretty much market value... I don't think the IFA budget necessarily coincides with the MLB roster budget? I would think funds are earmarked for certain things and stay fairly independent of each other. I'd always assumed this was the case under the total budget, but I don't have any confirmation on it one way or the other.

Coppy sucks. He can't predict the future.

[bravesfanMatt]

I still don't get why anyone is equating Dickey/Colon =not signing this guy. That is not the reason. 2017 budget is set colon and dickey are apart of that. I have no idea how much they have allocated for off budget signing. There will be 20 or so teams that will have a reason why they didn't sign him.