International News, Rumor and Signing Thread

Cuban Brothers Expected to be 2017 signees...

There was a buzz across through Dominican Republic Monday upon news that Yulieski Gurriel and younger brother Lourdes Jr. had fled the Cuban team at the Caribbean Series so they could each pursue a contract with a major league team.

Yulieski, 31, is the best player in Cuba. We ranked him as the No. 1 Cuban player still on the island last year in April, and now that he’s hit .494/.586/.861 with just two(!) strikeouts in 215 plate appearances this season with 37 walks and 14 home runs, he’s only further cemented his status as the country’s top player. Yes, his prime years are behind him, but he’s still an offensive force who can play good defense at third base and would be an option at second base as well, with the ability to step into the top or the middle of a major league lineup immediately.

Lourdes Jr. is 22 and would need time in the minors first. His lanky, long-armed frame and skill set make him a different type of player than Yulieski, without the same present ability or ultimate ceiling either, but he’s a talented prospect who is going to draw plenty of attention. He’s mostly played left field this season, but he has experience at shortstop and third base (the position Yulieski played for their Industriales team in Cuba), so he’s likely going to move back to the infield when he works out for teams.

But if you’re expecting the Gurriel brothers to sign and start playing games for an MLB team in 2016, you’re probably going to be disappointed. The process for Cuban players to become eligible to sign takes several months, and in the case of Lourdes Jr., he is unlikely to sign anyway until October. To be exempt from the international bonus pools, players must be at least 23 and have played five seasons in a foreign professional league, such as Cuba’s Serie Nacional. Lourdes Jr. already has more than five seasons in Serie Nacional, but he doesn’t turn 23 until Oct. 19.
 
sturg33 said:
I'm sure we are the favorites to land Matian... but all of the posts already penciling him as a sure bet is dangerous, IMO.

How many times do we have to be disappointed before people stop getting their hopes up?
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That number doesn't exist. That's what makes you a fan.
 
mqt said:
Well, shucks. I guess we'll see, though. Perhaps the market is lower for Lazarito than DOB's source thinks. I don't really get the sense DOB is particularly in tune with the IFA market anyway. I'm going to expect him to sign elsewhere, though.
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DOB is the last person I expect many "scoops" from - even when it comes to the Braves.

That said, my guess is that Lazarito plans to sign with one of the bigger market teams that went over their budget already. Making it known that he plans to choose a team today points to that above all else. You don't announce that you've picked a team that you're going to sign with in July - that would more or less be announcing that there's a handshake agreement in place.

Someone asked earlier why Maitan would attend workouts and showcases if there already is an agreement in place. That's exactly the reason - he HAS to proceed as if he's still unsigned.
 
WaitingFor2017 said:
Is DOB a lousy beat writer? I follow him on twitter and seem to get nothing but music or food tweets.
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This is entirely subjective, but I think DOB is okay. He or Bowman never really break anything noteworthy, but that's true with 99% of beat writers. The only issue that I have with DOB is he can get a bit prickly on Twitter responding to the Twitter eggs.

I've been impressed with his recent Maitan/Lazarito coverage the past few weeks. I'm sure that type of material doesn't generate a lot of clicks, but he still pushed through a really interesting Gordon Blakeley interview. Meanwhile, I haven't seen Bowman write a thing about Maitan or Lazarito.
 
WaitingFor2017 said:
Is DOB a lousy beat writer? I follow him on twitter and seem to get nothing but music or food tweets.
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He's interesting. I'm a News Reporter for a local paper in North Carolina and even though I don't always show correct grammar on here - mainly because it's an internet forum and I could don't really care - he tends to have a ton of grammatical mistakes and be a bad investigative journalist.

Bowman tends to be worse though.
 
IslandBrave said:
Keith Law just said the Braves agreement with Maitan is the worst kept secret in the industry.
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No doubt. That's why I'm convinced Lazarito wants to be paid now and is signing with one of the clubs already over their caps. Maitan's not going to have a press conference to say "I've decided, and I'll tell you who I decided on in 5 months".
 
Per Ben Badler: "He was listed on the original roster, but Kevin Maitan is not in attendance here at the MLB international showcase."

Now I feel a little better. Sorry, I'm a paranoid worry wart.
 
clvclv said:
No doubt. That's why I'm convinced Lazarito wants to be paid now and is signing with one of the clubs already over their caps. Maitan's not going to have a press conference to say "I've decided, and I'll tell you who I decided on in 5 months".
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I still feel like there's a difference in the situations. If Lazarito wants to sign a contract in 5 months, how is that the same as negotiating with a player who is not old enough to legally sign a contract?
 
mqt said:
I still feel like there's a difference in the situations. If Lazarito wants to sign a contract in 5 months, how is that the same as negotiating with a player who is not old enough to legally sign a contract?
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Signing Lazarito BEFORE July 2nd would mean that we're blowing out our cap now. Doing so would mean we CAN NOT sign Maitan and others who aren't eligible to sign today. The Braves can't officially sign any international player prior to July 2nd if they want Maitan and the other guys they've been connected to (and may also have handshake agreements with).

If he's signing with someone before July, it won't be the Braves, Gnats, or Padres. There wouldn't have been an "announcement" that he was probably going to make a choice this week if he wanted to sign with those three teams.
 
clvclv said:
Signing Lazarito BEFORE July 2nd would mean that we're blowing out our cap now. Doing so would mean we CAN NOT sign Maitan and others who aren't eligible to sign today. The Braves can't officially sign any international player prior to July 2nd if they want Maitan and the other guys they've been connected to (and may also have handshake agreements with).

If he's signing with someone before July, it won't be the Braves, Gnats, or Padres. There wouldn't have been an "announcement" that he was probably going to make a choice this week if he wanted to sign with those three teams.
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I fully understand this, but I don't really see how him coming out now and saying he's signing with a certain team in 5 months would be on par with a player that isn't currently allowed to negotiate with teams at all.
 
mqt said:
I fully understand this, but I don't really see how him coming out now and saying he's signing with a certain team in 5 months would be on par with a player that isn't currently allowed to negotiate with teams at all.
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I'm with you. Telling people he has an agreement with a club, but not signing with them until July 2nd, is just an extreme example of how a lot of teams sign free agents in the offseason: they negotiate, the deal is leaked, then some amount of days later they DFA someone from their 40-man and officially have the player sign the contract. It's not exactly the same, and 5 months is longer than the usual 3 or 4 days, but it's the same in principle. Don't see a problem with it.
 
praeceps93 said:
I'm with you. Telling people he has an agreement with a club, but not signing with them until July 2nd, is just an extreme example of how a lot of teams sign free agents in the offseason: they negotiate, the deal is leaked, then some amount of days later they DFA someone from their 40-man and officially have the player sign the contract. It's not exactly the same, and 5 months is longer than the usual 3 or 4 days, but it's the same in principle. Don't see a problem with it.
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Exactly. I see it as a move that would draw Manfred's ire and something that might be discussed during CBA negotiations, but just fail to see the big violation that has been suggested.
 
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