International News, Rumor and Signing Thread

rico43 said:
Another view of the Maitan deal...

CARDINALS, at least their International writer, lusts after Maitan. He even talked to Law about him. You can almost see the drool on his keyboard as he wrote this:

IT is quite possible, reasonable even, that you might not have heard of Kevin Maitan. He is not eligible to sign with a team because he is too young. International players must turn 17 years old by September 1 can sign beginning July 2, and that is when we can expect one of the best international players available to sign. The Cardinals have been scouting him since he was 13, and he has received national notoriety since he was 14 years old. There are reports that he has reached a handshake agreement with the Atlanta Braves. How firm is that handshake and what does a handshake deal mean?

When I wrote about the possibility of the Cardinals making a major move in the next international signing period, I discussed the possibility of Maitan.

As for Kevin Maitan, the Venezuelan shortstop prospect is likely the best player available in this year's class. The Cardinals have been active in Venezuela, signing Avaro Seijas last season for $762,500, and rumored to be in on Victor Garcia this season. There are reports that the Atlanta Braves have had a handshake agreement with Maitan for $4.25 million since last July, but in his chat Goold called the international market "fluid" and the week before indicated the Cardinals were not "willing to concede to others".

Team's like the relative certainty when planning their signings in advance so they agree to with players and their handlers/teams on a signing bonus before they are actually allowed to do so, sometimes a year in advance. Teams can budget ahead of time and count on players and their teams to keep their agreement despite the lack of ability to enforce them. They are generally kept because often a player's handler will have other players he represents in the future, and he wants the team to count on his word.

As for who can break a handshake deal? Anybody.

They are called handshake deals because they are not in writing and they are not allowed, even though everyone understands that they happen.

The recourse for violating a handshake deal: None.

Again, they are not allowed and thus impossible to enforce. A player has literally no power in this situation. Once a team backs out, he likely has to take an offer for significantly less than what he believed he had agreed with the team. If a player backs out on a "deal", the team can steer clear from the player's representative due to a lack of trust, but they cannot get a handshake deal enforced. While future income is important to a player's representative, a one-time jackpot could be considerably more important. Kevin Maitan might be that kind of jackpot, and it is possible he has already backed out of one handshake deal already.

ESPN's Keith Law discussed his top prospect lists on a conference call earlier this week. Given the Cardinals reported interest in Maitan and the handshake deal with the Braves, I asked Law about Maitan's situation.

My understanding is that at one point Maitan and/or his representative broke an agreement with Atlanta, agreed to another number with a different club, and then Atlanta came in and offered more, and then they went back to the original arrangement just with a higher dollar figure. So it says to me if somebody calls tomorrow and says, hey, here's $8 million instead of the four and change supposedly that Atlanta has offered, why wouldn't Maitan and/or his people take that deal? They are not legally bound to anything right now. Major League Baseball cannot enforce an illegal agreement, so why wouldn't they just switch it up if it's that much more money?

He did not know about the Cardinals situation relative to Maitan, but if he were a GM, he would be making a call to Maitan's representative.

I would call and absolutely dare them to turn down $8 or $9 or $10 million because it sounds like he might be worth it. I've only seen video and it's a hell of a swing, but I've also talked to many scouts who have seen him, and they all say in some way or another, hey, this kid is the real deal.

I asked for clarification on the number, as paying that kind of bonus, given the dollar for dollar penalty would mean paying $15-$20 million for a 16-year-old. He said yes.

This is the situation where it might make sense to do that, whereas with your typical $2 million prospect out of Santo Domingo, there's no point in turning around and offering him $4 million because he's probably not a $4 million player, but if Maitan is what people think he is, then he might really be the $8 million player or the $12 million player. He seems to be a real exception. He might, and again, I haven't seen the guy, but he might be the best position player prospect in the non‑Cuban division since Sano, and if that's the case, then that's the guy where somebody should just say, screw it, we're going to ignore the convention, ignore the gentlemen's agreements, and make a run at this guy because he's that good, because it's in your individual team's best interest to be able to maybe break up that agreement and get the player.
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I guess the real question he should of asked, is how often are these deals broken? I have a feeling that he did ask that question and didn't like the answer so he didn't include this in his article.
 
from what I am hearing, that Cards writer is just making up an article based on his hope that he gets his way. They are a spoiled and entitled group those cards fans and writers.
 
There's usually more to it than money. It's often about building a relationship with the kid and his trainer. I remember one scout saying that to some of these kids the concept of a million dollars is unfathomable to them because they are dirt poor.
 
To add to my Cards post above. i follow a lot of the beat writers on Twitter, and the Cards guys constantly say things like "the allure of playing for the Cards should make Heyward's decision an easy one" and " David Price has a choice whether to play in the harsh spotlight of Boston, or with the greatest fans in baseball"....etc

They take their opinion, present it as a fact, then trash the players when they make other choices.
 
smootness said:
Fair enough. I've always believed that as long as someone's not posting every piece of information in every subscriber article, giving people a taste of what is found inside articles is actually a good way of increasing subscribers, but I understand. I figured it wasn't anything new, just always love hearing more about guys we're going to have.
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Yeah - nothing in this particular article that hasn't been posted about him here. Questions about whether or not he'll outgrow SS, says scouts are split since he doesn't look like he'll be Sano-like in that department.
 
clvclv said:
Yeah - nothing in this particular article that hasn't been posted about him here. Questions about whether or not he'll outgrow SS, says scouts are split since he doesn't look like he'll be Sano-like in that department.
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I don't care if he ends up at 1b or LF, if he can end up with a Miguel Cabrera type bat, he's welcome on my team! :-)
 
clvclv said:
Yeah - nothing in this particular article that hasn't been posted about him here. Questions about whether or not he'll outgrow SS, says scouts are split since he doesn't look like he'll be Sano-like in that department.
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Sano goes about 260 now, so Maitan would have to start eating and eating and eating.

No doubting Sano's hit tool though. If he stays healthy, he will be a top drawer power hitter. He hits the old horsehide so hard that you can hear it screaming "Wil-burrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!" as it leaves the bat.
 
We're now the favorites to sign Yefri del Rosario, RHP out of the Dominican Republic.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/international/top-international-prospects-know-july-2/

Yefri del Rosario, rhp, Dominican Republic
Del Rosario’s situation will be one of the interesting ones to monitor on July 2. Del Rosario is a 16-year-old who trains with Carlos Guzman and has some of the best present stuff in the class. At the MLB international showcase in the Dominican Republic in February, Del Rosario struck out five of the 14 hitters he faced with four swinging strikeouts.

Del Rosario is only 5-foot-11, 165 pounds, but he’s athletic with quick arm speed to generate a fastball that ranges from 90-94 mph. At his best, he flashes a plus breaking ball with sharp action and shows feel for a changeup at times. Some think del Rosario could be a starter, though many scouts see reliever risk between his stature, the effort in his mechanics and stabbing arm action, which affects his command. Still, even those who thought he might end up in the bullpen considered him one of the top arms in the class.

Up until recently, the Indians looked like they were the favorites to sign Del Rosario, likely for a bonus in the $600,000-$700,000 range. The latest word out of the Dominican Republic is that the Braves are now the favorites to sign del Rosario for a higher price. While there won’t be too much drama for the top international prospects when it comes time to sign on July 2, del Rosario’s situation is more fluid than most.
 
praeceps93 said:
We're now the favorites to sign Yefri del Rosario, RHP out of the Dominican Republic.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/international/top-international-prospects-know-july-2/

Yefri del Rosario, rhp, Dominican Republic
Del Rosario’s situation will be one of the interesting ones to monitor on July 2. Del Rosario is a 16-year-old who trains with Carlos Guzman and has some of the best present stuff in the class. At the MLB international showcase in the Dominican Republic in February, Del Rosario struck out five of the 14 hitters he faced with four swinging strikeouts.

Del Rosario is only 5-foot-11, 165 pounds, but he’s athletic with quick arm speed to generate a fastball that ranges from 90-94 mph. At his best, he flashes a plus breaking ball with sharp action and shows feel for a changeup at times. Some think del Rosario could be a starter, though many scouts see reliever risk between his stature, the effort in his mechanics and stabbing arm action, which affects his command. Still, even those who thought he might end up in the bullpen considered him one of the top arms in the class.

Up until recently, the Indians looked like they were the favorites to sign Del Rosario, likely for a bonus in the $600,000-$700,000 range. The latest word out of the Dominican Republic is that the Braves are now the favorites to sign del Rosario for a higher price. While there won’t be too much drama for the top international prospects when it comes time to sign on July 2, del Rosario’s situation is more fluid than most.
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There was a Carlos Guzman who played in the Braves' minor league system in the early 2000's. Wonder if this is the same guy.
 
So 2015 period closes today.

two big names remain out there Lazo (#4 over all) and Vladimir Gutierrez (#2 over all)

The Dodgers have been linked to both of them... but they have to make their move today or they are out. the Friars are favored to ink Lazo, but they also have ties to Ona and Morejon as well.. plus they have about 6 other prospects they are 'favored' to get. I personally don't see how the Friars could get Lazo and Ona and morejon as well as the other Latin players they are favored to get. That would be a huge amount of money even with out the 100% tax.

Personally, I would love to swoop in on Ona and make a run at Valdimir.. let the Friars spend on Lazo and Morejon.

a Intl Class of
Maitan
Vladimir Gutierrez
Ona
Abraham Gutierrez
and others..

that would be a class of the ages and quite expensive...
 
bravesfanMatt said:
So 2015 period closes today.

two big names remain out there Lazo (#4 over all) and Vladimir Gutierrez (#2 over all)

The Dodgers have been linked to both of them... but they have to make their move today or they are out. the Friars are favored to ink Lazo, but they also have ties to Ona and Morejon as well.. plus they have about 6 other prospects they are 'favored' to get. I personally don't see how the Friars could get Lazo and Ona and morejon as well as the other Latin players they are favored to get. That would be a huge amount of money even with out the 100% tax.

Personally, I would love to swoop in on Ona and make a run at Valdimir.. let the Friars spend on Lazo and Morejon.

a Intl Class of
Maitan
Vladimir Gutierrez
Ona
Abraham Gutierrez
and others..

that would be a class of the ages and quite expensive...
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Would love Ona but have never even heard us mentioned for him
 
zbhargrove said:
Would love Ona but have never even heard us mentioned for him
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no one has been mentioned except the Friars.. but that was back in Feb...

I see no way they can afford Lazo/Ona/Morejon plus the others they are linked to. Those three alone will be around 20+million without penalties.
 
bravesfanMatt said:
no one has been mentioned except the Friars.. but that was back in Feb...

I see no way they can afford Lazo/Ona/Morejon plus the others they are linked to. Those three alone will be around 20+million without penalties.
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Which is less than what the White Sox took off their books when they took Shields off their hands.
 
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