Here’s the latest on some high-profile international talent from MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez…
- The Reds have a workout scheduled with Cuban outfielder Eddy Julio Martinez tomorrow in the Dominican Republic, Sanchez tweets. The Giants are also “still in [the] mix” to sign the 20-year-old. There hasn’t been much news on Martinez since early July, though he’d worked out for at least six teams and drawn interest from several more. The highly-touted Martinez is expected to command at least a $10MM signing bonus, so if Cincinnati were to sign him, the Reds would far exceed their current international bonus pool and be limited to $300K-or-less signings in each of the next two international signing periods. San Francisco, meanwhile, has already exceeded its 2015-16 pool limit so the Giants could decide to load up on international talent now since they face restrictions from 2016-18.
- Yadier Alvarez’s $16MM bonus from the Dodgers is thus far the biggest bonus of the 2015-16 international class. Sanchez checks in with the 19-year-old Cuban righty to see how he’s adjusting to life at the Dodgers’ Dominican academy, as well as the challenges Alvarez faced in finding a trainer after leaving Cuba.
- Also from that piece, Sanchez notes that Enrique Estrada, another Cuban teenage pitcher, has left the island and recently established residence in Haiti. Estrada “has a history of success in Cuba” but it isn’t know when he’ll be cleared to sign with an MLB team. He’s still weeks away from showcases and Sanchez notes that Estrada is still “an unknown in some Major League circles.”
