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2017-18 International Prospects

Red Sox To Sign Daniel Flores, Danny Diaz, Antoni Flores

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The Red Sox have reached agreement with 16-year-old Venezuelan prospects Daniel Flores, Danny Diaz and Antoni Flores, Ben Badler of Baseball America reports.  Daniel Flores, a catcher, will receive a bonus worth $3.1MM.  Diaz and Antoni Flores, both shortstops, will respectively get bonuses worth $1.6MM and $1.4MM, as per MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (all Twitter links).

The flurry of signings marks Boston’s return to prominence in the international signing market, as the Sox were restricted to signings of $300K or less in the last two July 2 classes as punishment for exceeding their bonus pool limit in the 2014-15 class (which saw them splurge on the likes of Yoan Moncada and Anderson Espinoza).  The Flores/Diaz/Flores signings put the Red Sox in excess of their $4.75MM pool for this year’s international class, and since the new collective bargaining agreement strictly forbids teams from spending beyond their pool limit, the Sox have already made some minor trades to acquire more pool space.  Teams are allowed to acquire as much as 75 percent of their original draft pool, so the Red Sox could have slightly more than $8.25MM to spend if they traded for the maximum amount of additional pool money.

Daniel Flores is the centerpiece of Boston’s signings, and possibly of the entire 2017-18 class, as most scouts consider Flores or Wander Samuel Franco (who agreed to sign with the Rays) as the top names within this international signing period.  Both MLB.com and Baseball America rated Flores as the second-best prospect of this year’s class.

Flores has drawn raves for his defense, and he is described many scouts as perhaps the best defensive catcher they’ve seen for a 16-year-old player.  Between his strong work behind the plate and an outstanding throwing arm, MLB.com and Baseball America both use the phrase “elite defender” as Flores’ potential ceiling as a big league catcher.  He is still something of a work in progress at the plate, showing some raw power as a switch-hitter who performs better as a right-handed bat.  BA’s scouting report (subscription required) noted that Flores received mixed reviews for his work against live pitching, though in game action last summer Flores displayed “a sound approach and a high contact rate.”

Diaz was rated 7th by Baseball America and 13th by MLB.com, while Antoni Flores checked in at 20th on MLB.com’s list and 35th on BA’s list.  Diaz has a strong bat with a lot of power potential, as Baseball America feels Diaz should eventually merit a 60 in power on the 20-80 scouting scale.  On defense, Diaz will likely move off shortstop to third base or possibly even first as he keeps growing; interestingly, MLB.com lists Diaz as 6’1″ and 170 pounds, while BA pegs him at 6’3″ and 200 pounds.  Flores is said to possess good defensive tools at shortstop though a position change could be possible in the future; MLB.com’s scouting report says some scouts feel Flores could be “the next Alcides Escobar.”

Rays To Sign Wander Franco

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The Rays have reached agreement to sign 16-year-old Dominican shortstop Wander Samuel Franco, MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez reports (Twitter link).  Franco will receive a bonus worth $3.825MM.

Franco was regarded as the top prospect in this year’s international prospect class by both MLB.com and Baseball America.  Franco is a 5’10”, 170-pound switch-hitter from a baseball family — Erick Aybar is his uncle, and Franco’s two older brothers are prospects in the Royals and Astros organizations.  According to BA’s scouting report (available to subscribers), Franco is described as having excellent bat control, “premium bat speed,” and an overall very polished approach to hitting for a prospect of his age, with many scouts calling him the best hitting prospect of this year’s July 2 class.  Defensively, Franco seems to grade out as a sturdy but unspectacular shortstop, though his body type may require a move to second base (where he could become an above-average defender) down the road.

The Rays have long been linked to Franco, and he immediately becomes an important prospect for a team that relies so heavily on low-cost player development.  Flores’ deal marks Tampa Bay’s return to July 2 prominence, as the team has been limited to signings of no more than $300K for the last two international signing periods as punishment for exceeding their draft pool in the 2014-15 market.  Franco’s bonus alone accounts for a major chunk of Tampa’s $5.25MM overall draft pool, though the Rays can trade for as much as $3,937,500 in additional pool funds in deals with other teams.

Quick Hits: Baker, Reed, Bruce, Price, July 2

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It was on this day in 1908 that one of baseball’s great slang terms was coined.  In a story by the New York Globe’s Peter Morris about an 8-2 Giants win over the Pirates, Morris wrote “It isn’t often that [umpire] Hank O’Day is caught napping‚ but a young player just getting his cup of coffee in the league put one over on Hank and [umpire Bill Klem] yesterday.”  This was reportedly the first time that “cup of coffee” was used to describe a short stint in the big leagues, and it has been part of the game’s vernacular ever since.

Some news as we head into the weekend…

  • Dusty Baker’s desire for a contract extension is “not going [to] be an issue” for the Nationals, GM Mike Rizzo told the Washington Post’s Jorge Castillo and other reporters.  “We’re not going to let it be an issue. Dusty’s a true professional. He’s been through this, the rigors of the regular season, a million times. I’ve been through it a million times. It’s suffice to say there’s great communication, great respect between the front office and the manager’s office.”  Baker has been open about wanting to remain with the Nats beyond the end of his current contract, which expires at season’s end, and Rizzo has himself recommended to ownership that Baker be extended, though there hasn’t appeared to be any movement towards a new deal.
  • Cody Reed has been pitching well since his demotion to Triple-A, but Reds manager Bryan Price tells the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Zach Buchanan and other reporters that the club has no plans to bring Reed back up to the Show in the near future.  Reed, ranked by Baseball America as the #2 prospect in the Reds’ farm system, has a 7.15 ERA over 61 2/3 innings in the big leagues — a 10-start stint in 2016 and seven outings (six relief appearances, one start) to begin this year.  “I don’t want to take another step back with this kid.  He’s doing too well in Triple-A to feel like we’ve rushed him back and if he has a setback up here we feel like we’re back to square one,” Price said.
  • Jay Bruce has gone from offseason trade chip to a hugely valuable piece for the Mets, Mike Puma of the New York Post writes.  There was some question as to whether the Mets would exercise their $13MM club option on Bruce last winter given his struggles after joining the team in a deadline trade, and the Mets also shopped Bruce after they re-signed Yoenis Cespedes.  Bruce has rebounded to hit .250/.322/.514 with 15 homers in 242 PA, helping stabilize an outfield that lost Cespedes to the DL and Curtis Granderson to an ugly early-season slump.
  • David Price’s issues with the Boston media have added a new wrinkle to his contract’s opt-out clause after the 2018 season, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal writes.  Price may be tired of pitching in Boston, yet he realistically isn’t going to opt out of the four years and $127MM remaining on his deal unless he feels he can find as much or more money in free agency at age 33.  So Price now has perhaps even more incentive to pitch well for the Red Sox, though in this situation’s odd catch-22, better performance would likely alleviate the media pressure.  With over a season and a half to go before Price has to face his opt-out decision, it’s probably too early to speculate about his current thought process, especially when so many other factors (Price’s health, the team’s performance, etc.) are also in the mix.
  • Baseball America’s Ben Badler (subscription required) looks ahead to the next international signing period that opens on July 2, profiling five highly-touted young players from the Dominican Republic who are already rumored to be signing with the Mets, Pirates, Rockies, Twins, and Yankees.

NL Notes: Marlins, Padres, Cardinals

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Marlins right-hander Edinson Volquez threw the first no-hitter of the 2017 season on Saturday, tossing a 10-strikeout, two-walk gem against the Diamondbacks en route to a 3-0 victory. He accomplished the feat on what would have been the 26th birthday of late Royals righty Yordano Ventura, who passed away in a car crash in the Dominican Republic over the winter. Volquez, also a native of the Dominican, was friends with Ventura and teammates with him in Kansas City from 2015-16. Volquez paid tribute to Ventura on Instagram prior to the game and dedicated the performance to both Ventura and late Marlins ace Jose Fernandez afterward (Twitter link via Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star).

More from Miami and two other NL cities:

  • Although Padres righty Jered Weaver has been among the majors’ worst starters this season, the club isn’t ready to give up on the soft-tossing 34-year-old, according to Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The Padres’ hope is that Weaver will be able to competently eat innings when he’s ready to return from the disabled list. Weaver hit the DL on May 20 with left hip inflammation, a condition the ex-Angel says has been dealing with “for three or four years now.” Before landing on the shelf, Weaver recorded a 7.44 ERA and a 7.99 FIP over nine starts – all Padres losses – and 42 1/3 innings.
  • The Cardinals are candidates to add Cuban righty Hector Mendoza, who’s eligible to sign with a major league organization July 2, reports Ben Badler of Baseball America (subscription required and recommended). The 23-year-old Mendoza is exempt from bonus pools, meaning the Cardinals won’t have to pay an overage tax if they sign him, notes Badler. Mendoza, who has pitched in both Cuba and Japan, features “a three-pitch starter’s mix,” per Badler, though he’s likely to end up in the bullpen if he cracks the majors.
  • Marlins reliever Junichi Tazawa’s recovery from the rib issue that has sidelined him since mid-May hit an unusual snag, relays Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. The Japanese righty’s interpreter quit, thereby delaying his rehab assignment as the Marlins looked for a replacement. The club didn’t want to Tazawa to go it alone in Jupiter, Fla., “and potentially get lost or confused,” writes Jackson.

International Notes: July 2 Prospects, Garcia, Robert

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Ben Badler of Baseball America has provided three separate looks at the 2017-18 international free agency period over the past week or so, running down 20 well-regarded prospects as well as their likely destinations once the signing period kicks off on July 2. Badler’s scouting efforts do require a subscription, though I’d highly recommend it for those who are interested in the international market (as well as the upcoming amateur draft, which BA obviously covers extensively as well). Financial details on all of the names within aren’t available, though Badler does report that 16-year-old Dominican shortstop Wander Franco (not to be confused with the Royals prospect of the same name) is expected to sign with the Rays for a bonus just shy of $4MM. Franco also ranked No. 1 on the International Top 30 of MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez — another invaluable resource for those wishing to brush up on the top international prospects on the market in the weeks leading up to the new signing period.  Those seeking a refresher on the new international spending limitations from the most recent collective bargaining agreement can refer back to Badler’s recap from this past December, as well (no subscription required on that one).

A couple more notes on the international market…

  • Cuban shortstop Jose Israel Garcia was recently declared a free agent by Major League Baseball, per Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports, and he’s drawing interest from a number of clubs. To this point, the Reds, Astros and Padres have all shown interest in Garcia. That would seem to indicate that he’s looking to sign before the current period comes to a close on June 15, as each of those teams has exceeded its 2016-17 pool allotment to the point that they’ll incur maximum penalization in the 2017-18 class. There’s not much data on the 19-year-old Garcia, though Heyman has described him as “slick-fielding.”
  • ESPN’s Keith Law wonders (Insider subscription required and recommended) whether the White Sox made a mistake in making such a substantial commitment to Cuban star Luis Robert. As Law notes, position players from Cuba have flopped in the Majors more than they’ve succeeded. Law also adds that he’s spoken to a number of scouts to gauge Robert’s abilities, as he’s yet to be able to see Robert himself, and each scout to whom he spoke offered concerns about Robert’s hit tool. All agreed that he’s athletic and is a plus runner in addition to possessing above-average bat speed and raw power as well, however. Conversely, Law suggests that if one team was going to “overpay” and take such a significant gamble on Robert’s upside, the Cardinals had the best rationale. The Cards are without their top three picks in the 2017 draft after forfeiting one to sign Dexter Fowler and losing another two as punishment in the notorious data breach scandal, thus depriving them of means to add high-impact young talent. While Robert is certainly a risk, the Cardinals’ lack of alternative means of acquiring young talent would’ve made them a better fit to make the gamble. St. Louis was also already over its bonus pool even without Robert, while the Sox only just pushed themselves into the penalty bracket with Robert’s deal.

Cardinals Interested In Cuban Prospect Luis Robert

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The Cardinals have been scouting Cuban outfielder Luis Robert, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports, as the team had evaluators at Robert’s recent workout in the Dominican Republic.  It was reported last month that Robert left Cuba in November to pursue a career in Major League Baseball and he has since established residency in Haiti, as per MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez.

As one scout tells Goold, the “floodgates have opened” on the Cardinals’ international signing processes.  The Cards have already far exceeded their spending pool limit for the 2016-17 July 2 international signing period, and also added such non-pool players as the recently-signed Jose Adolis Garcia.  It’s no surprise, therefore, that St. Louis is exploring yet another highly-touted star in Robert while they still can.

Robert has yet to be declared a free agent by MLB, and if that designation comes before June 15, the Cards still have a chance at landing the 19-year-old outfielder, who is subject to pool limits due to his age.  If Robert isn’t a free agent by June 15, however, then he will become part of the next international signing class that opens on July 2.  That would take the Cardinals (as well as the Astros, Athletics, Braves, Cubs, Dodgers, Nationals, Padres, Reds and Royals) out of the running for Robert’s services, as they would be limited to spending no more than $300K on any international prospect as punishment for exceeding their pool number.

Needless to say, Robert will command far beyond that $300K figure given the eye-popping early reports on his talent.  One NL international scouting director tells Sanchez that Robert is second only to Shohei Otani on the list of best international talents in baseball, describing the 19-year-old as “a five-tool guy that can be in the big leagues soon.”  An international scouting director for an AL team goes even further, calling Robert “the best player on the planet, and that’s no exaggeration.”

Eight teams (the Cubs, Dodgers and Royals, as well as the Angels, Diamondbacks, Rays, Red Sox and Yankees) are currently under the $300K limit for past excesses of the spending cap, with the latter five teams regaining their full spending eligibility on July 2.  So Robert would have a larger market for his services if he is named a free agent sooner rather than later, not to mention the fact that he is likely to score a bigger contract while the old international signing rules are still in place.  The new rules, as negotiated in the new collective bargaining agreement, place a stricter signing cap on international players and go into effect for the coming July 2 class.

Prospect Luis Robert Leaves Cuba

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Top Cuban outfield prospect Luis Robert left his home island in November, according to Ben Badler of Baseball America. His whereabouts are not given in the report, but it seems he is working towards joining a major league organization.

Clubs figure to line up for a chance at the 19-year-old Robert, a right-handed-hitting outfielder who Badler labels one of Cuba’s five best talents, citing his plus bat speed and power. Though he may ultimately turn into a corner outfielder, Robert is currently capable of playing center. Already a productive player in his age-18 season, Robert turned things up a notch in his most recent Serie Nacional action. Before he departed, Robert was hitting a robust .401/.526/.687 with 12 home runs and 11 steals over 232 plate appearances. That put him at or near the top of the leaderboard in most major offensive categories — certainly, rather a notable output given his age (even with the number of talented players that have departed Cuba’s top league in recent years).

As Badler explains at length, Robert’s timeline for obtaining clearance will play a major role in determining his earning capacity and ultimate landing spot. Because the old CBA’s international rules will apply through to the end of the current July 2 signing period — which wraps up on June 15 of this year — it’s still possible that Robert will become eligible to sign under the current system. If not, he’ll be subject to the tighter cap that is set to go into effect under the new CBA (which Badler detailed in full right here).

While Robert could certainly still land a significant payday under either regime, the current one holds out the hope for the greatest riches. That’s because it allows organizations to spend at leisure, so long as they are willing to sacrifice their ability to dole out $300K+ bonuses for two future years and pay a 100% tax on the amount they go past their pool allocation. Under the new system, all clubs will face spending caps, which can be extended only through trades for additional space. While some smaller market teams will receive slightly higher allocations, most organizations won’t be able to go past $4.75MM with their base pool and can’t trade for more than a total of $8.3MM. Plus, Badler notes, some teams have already committed portions of their 2017-18 pool space to other players.

If Robert is cleared to sign before the signing period is up, he’d at least have greater options. That would open the door to the clubs that have already gone past their limits — the Astros, Athletics, Braves, Cardinals, Nationals, Padres and Reds. Otherwise, those organizations would join others (the Cubs, Dodgers, Giants, and Royals) on the sidelines for significant international talents. Alternatively, he could join another club either before or after the signing calendar flips. Badler notes that the White Sox have been discussed as a team with possible interest; if Robert is cleared in time, Chicago (or another hypothetical team with heavy interest) could elect to spend past its 2016-17 pool limits (thus taking on penalties) or make Robert the signature piece of their 2017-18 signing group.

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