9:22pm: De La Cruz will get an $800K bonus, according to Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus (on Twitter).
8:51pm: The A's agreed to sign De La Cruz, according to Ben Badler of Baseball America. Badler writes that the 16-year-old center fielder has impressed scouts with "some of the best all-around tools of any prospect from this year's international signing class."
8:18pm: The A's are likely to sign top Dominican amateur Vicmal De La Cruz, according to Jorge Arangure Jr. of ESPN.com (on Twitter). When Blake Bentley ranked this year's crop of July 2 prospects for MLBTR, De La Cruz topped the list because of his tools and star potential.
The contract details are not known, but it would not be surprising if the A's offered De La Cruz a seven-figure bonus. As MLBTR's Mike Axisa noted when reviewing Oakland's biggest bonuses, the A's "spend like financial powerhouses when it comes to young talent" despite being a small market team.
qudjy1
Wow… Billy is on fire.
JaySchu
This allows him to get back to MLS quicker.
Dave_Gershman
Nice. Busy week for the A’s…He’ll go along great with an already stocked farm system and I’m sure he knows Renato Nunez.
Terry L
He’s 16. Gonna be a while before he reaches the bigs–if he even makes it.
kaf64
Keep on spending Beane! Love the activity!
penpaper
Beane oh Beane you freaking mad genius
Daniel
Go Oakland! I am so over the Giants.
Joe Serrato
Kid sounds like a future stud. I sure hope so… Go A’s
CaseyBlakeDeWitt
I don’t understand how you can sign a 16-year old. In the US he wouldn’t even be a senior in high school…
Tko11
Seems like young Latin players from other countries get more attention than those in the US. Practically every time I see a 16-17 year old sign on this site, its a player from another country…
Ian_Smell
Stop making me feel old, and I am a senior.
CaseyBlakeDeWitt
Haha. I’m a Junior. I can’t imagine what it’s like for these guys.
WallaBalla
Damn Billy Beane, would have loved if Jocketty could have picked this guy up. After all, top-rated international prospect is pretty big.
safari_punch
Hopefully he has some bat control and can take the occasional walk.
Nice price on the prospect.
gammaraze
Sorry, I think you lost credibility when you mentioned Mike Axisa. He thinks the Rangers are going to let Vlad walk and be unemployed, and sign Manny Ramirez.
JeffB
Joel Guzman says hello
Kirk
Hopefully he doesn’t disappear like Yona and his 6 inning of AZL ball and Tommy John in 2 years.