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White Sox Claim Jacob Turner From Cubs

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The White Sox have claimed right-hander Jacob Turner off waivers from the Cubs, according to the club’s transactions page at MLB.com. Turner, 24, didn’t pitch in the Majors this season, spending most of the year on the 60-day disabled list due to  a strained right flexor tendon and right shoulder inflammation.

Formerly one of the top prospects in the game — Baseball America ranked him within its Top 30 for three consecutive offseasons from 2010-12 — Turner’s career has been slowed dramatically by injuries. The Tigers selected him ninth overall in the 2009 draft, and he was the centerpiece of the trade that sent Anibal Sanchez and Omar Infante from Miami to Detroit.

Turner spent parts of three seasons with the Marlins and was mostly healthy there (he did miss time in 2014 with shoulder issues), but he wasn’t able to deliver on his considerable upside. Miami made the tough call to designate him for assignment in August of 2014, as he was out of options and couldn’t be sent to the minors without clearing waivers (which was never going to happen at that point). Miami placed Turner on revocable waivers, with the hope of working out a trade to a club with a high priority, and there was some surprise when the Rockies, who then had the No. 1 waiver priority, neglected to place a claim. The Cubs, who were second in line, promptly claimed him and worked out a trade, sending minor league right-handers Tyler Bremer and Jose Arias to Miami in return.

In hindsight, the series of transactions was largely inconsequential, as Turner was healthy enough to throw just 34 2/3 unsuccessful innings for the Cubs, though it made plenty of sense for the Cubs to roll the dice on a prospect with the type of upside Turner possessed.

The White Sox will now look to do the same, although because he’s out of options, they’ll have to either pass him through outright waivers — something the Cubs just failed at doing, hence the claim — or keep him on the 40-man roster all winter and Spring Training. Turner would have to break camp with the big league club next year or be exposed to outright waivers late in the spring.

This Date In Transactions History: Starlin Castro

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It was on this day in 2006 that a 16-year-old from Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic signed an amateur contract with the Cubs.  Over the last decade, Starlin Castro has gone from being a prized prospect and “face of the franchise” stardom all the way to perhaps being becoming a symbol of the team’s rebuilding years rather than a cornerstone of their future.

Castro quickly rose through Chicago’s minor league system and debuted in the majors in 2010.  At first, it seemed like Castro was a natural, posting a .755 OPS over 125 games in his rookie year and then hitting .307/.341/.432 (with a league-leading 207 hits) over 715 plate appearances in 2011.  Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein and GM Jed Hoyer cleared the deck of several of the old regime’s players in their first year running the team, but they quickly locked up Castro, signing the shortstop to a seven-year, $60MM extension in August 2012.

While that extension has been widely debated in the last few years, at the time it was seen as a logical move for the Cubs.  The deal gave them cost certainty over Castro, who was quickly going to become expensive due to an extra arbitration year as a Super Two player.  The contract gave Chicago control over all four arb years, three free agent years and potentially a fourth, as per the $16MM club option ($1MM buyout) for the 2020 season.  With Castro enjoying another strong year in 2012, many pundits figured the Cubs were saving themselves money by locking up a young player at a premium position through his 20’s when his best years were theoretically ahead of him.

That investment, however, looks shakier now given how Castro’s inconsistent play over the last three seasons.  Castro enjoyed a strong 2014 campaign that saw him hit .292/.339/.438 with 14 homers in 569 PA, but that was sandwiched between two poor seasons.  Castro put up virtual replacement player numbers in 2013 (0.1 fWAR) and then last year hit .265/.296/.375 in 578 PA, losing his starting shortstop job to Addison Russell to boot.

Rumors of a position switch or a trade had swirled around Castro essentially ever since the Cubs acquired Russell from the A’s in the summer of 2014.  Suddenly, the Cubs had a new blue-chip shortstop prospect to replace their old one, not to mention a young slugger of a middle infield option in Javier Baez.  There was great speculation that Castro could be moved to clear a big contract and make way for the future, and it’s possible that a trade could still happen this winter.

That said, Castro’s move to second base turned his season around.  He hit .236/.271/.304 in 435 PA from April 5 to August 6, exclusively playing shortstop.  His first game at the keystone came on August 7, and Castro proceeded to slash a whopping .353/.373/.588 over his final 143 PA.  With Baez still struggling to avoid strikeouts and fully harness his power on the Major League level, the Cubs may well decide to just keep Castro at second next year to either see what they have (with both he or Baez, as well) or at least give Castro more of a showcase should they pursue a midseason trade.

It will probably take more than 143 good plate appearances to convince another team to give up anything of major value since Castro is still owed at least $38MM over the next four years.  That said, Castro is still only 25 and has three All-Star appearances under his belt.  There are lots of teams in need of help at either middle infield position who could be willing to overlook Castro’s lack of plate discipline and shaky glove, at the right price.

The Cubs already tried to “aggressively” trade him at last summer’s trade deadline, so it remains to be seen if Castro will remain through this new era of competitive Cubs baseball, or if Castro may one day appear in a future This Date In Transactions History that details his move out of the Windy City.

NL Central Notes: Brewers, Cherington, Schwarber

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The Brewers have told other teams that they’re open to hearing offers for anyone on their roster, ESPN’s Buster Olney reports in his latest Insider-only column.  As Olney notes, this could make Jonathan Lucroy a potential trade candidate this winter, though obviously, “only in the right deal.”  Lucroy’s name was mentioned in several trade rumors last summer since Milwaukee fell out of the pennant race so soon, though the Crew reportedly had no interest in dealing the catcher.  New GM David Stearns could have a different perspective, however.  In his recent Brewers Offseason Outlook piece, MLBTR’s Charlie Wilmoth speculated about a possibly Lucroy trade, and also suggested that the club might wait for a midseason deal to allow Lucroy to rebuild some value after an injury-plagued and subpar 2015 campaign.

Here’s some more from the NL Central…

  • Also from Olney’s post, he reports that the Pirates are in “informal discussions” with Ben Cherington about a possible front office job.  Since stepping down as Boston’s general manager last summer, Cherington reportedly declined opportunities to interview for both the Mariners and Phillies GM jobs out of a desire to take some time away from the game.  It’s fair to speculate that a position working under his friend Neal Huntington could be more attractive to Cherington than a return to the full-time grind of a GM position.
  • Could the Cubs shop Kyle Schwarber this offseason?  Grantland’s Ben Lindbergh explores the possibility, noting that the defensively-challenged Schwarber would be a good fit as an American League DH.  The Rays and Indians are two clubs with a hole at DH and the young arms to offer the Cubs, who are openly looking to add pitching.  While scouts are mixed at best about Schwarber’s ability to play catcher or left field over the long term, a trade may be unlikely given Schwarber’s already-impressive hitting potential.  “He’s not attainable now,” one AL scout tells Lindbergh.  “He still has a chance to hit .285 with 40 bombs. They’d be insane to trade that.”  I tend to agree with the AL scout; Chicago would need a massive return to even consider moving Schwarber’s bat.
  • Jason McLeod, Cubs senior VP of player development and amateur scouting, spoke to Fangraphs’ David Laurila about a couple of Cardinals players who were well-liked by the Cubs and Red Sox when McLeod was running the drafts for those clubs in 2012 and 2008, respectively.  “A lot of the teams that passed up on Michael Wacha, us included, probably kicked themselves,” McLeod said.  St. Louis took Wacha with the 19th overall pick of the first round, while the Cubs (picking sixth) instead chose Albert Almora, who is a well-regarded 21-year-old prospect but has yet to play beyond the Double-A level.  For Boston in 2008, Lance Lynn was “a guy we liked quite a bit; he was high up on our board.”  The Sox instead took Casey Kelly with the 30th overall pick, leaving Lynn to be drafted by the Cards 39th overall.
  • Also from Laurila’s piece, he cites the Reds’ trade of Mat Latos to the Marlins for Anthony DeSclafani (and minor league Chad Wallach) as perhaps “the best under-the-radar trade of last offseason.”  DeSclafani posted a 4.05 ERA, 2.75 K/BB rate and 7.4 K/9 over 184 2/3 innings in his rookie season, and looks to have solidly earned himself a spot in Cincinnati rotation.

David Ross Plans To Return To Cubs In 2016

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Catcher David Ross told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that he will return to the Cubs next season rather than retire.  Ross, who turns 39 in March, has one more year to go on his contract.

“It was a great ride,” Ross said of the Cubs’ postseason run. “It’s more sad we didn’t play well and [the Mets] played great. A lot of positives as I look back, but thought we had a legit chance at the World Series. I really wanted to get [Jon] Lester and [Jake] Arrieta another start.”

Ross has never been known for his bat, but he still had a rough season even by those depressed standards.  The veteran slashed .176/.267/.252 across 182 plate appearances on the year.  However, the Cubs likely value Ross more for his defensive skills, veteran leadership, and his ability to work with the team’s pitchers when called upon.  If the Cubs do not trade or release Ross, he’ll likely return to the team to serve as Miguel Montero’s understudy.  Meanwhile, the Cubs are still unsure of their future plans for Kyle Schwarber, who could wind up in the outfield or behind the plate.

Ross inked a two-year, $5MM deal with Chicago in December of 2014.  The signing, presumably, was made in part because of Ross’ history with Lester.

Cafardo On Murphy, Price, Davis, Cueto

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In today’s column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe spoke with eight major league officials about the players trending up and trending down as free agency approaches.  It probably won’t surprise you to learn that the list of players trending in the right direction starts with Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy.

“Obviously, he’s not going to be as hot as he’s been in the postseason, but he plays positions where his power plays well,” an American League GM told Cafardo. “There are teams like the Dodgers and Yankees who need a second baseman. Others, like the Angels, need a third baseman, where he also plays. He’s going to be sought-after and get a five-year deal at around $75MM. Maybe more.”

Murphy, who can also play at first base, would also have appeal for the attractive to the Orioles, Astros, Padres, and Tigers, Cafardo writes.

Here’s more from today’s column..

  • The feeling is that a seven-year, $210MM deal for David Price would be fair, Cafardo writes, though some are concerned that Price won’t live up to that kind of deal unless he goes somewhere that he’s comfortable. The incumbent Blue Jays could be that place, but the Dodgers, Cardinals, and Cubs are also listed as possibilities.  Price, 30, pitched to a 2.45 ERA with 9.2 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 32 regular season starts for the Tigers and Blue Jays this past season.
  • The group of eight anonymous scouts, managers, and GMs polled by Cafardo would not want to give Orioles bopper Chris Davis more than a five-year deal.  Of course, a team out there very well could. “In the heat of the negotiations and fearing someone else will get him, this will likely get beyond what everybody wants. Scott Boras is the agent, so we may be looking at seven years,” one scout remarked.  Recently, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes profiled the two-time home run king and estimated that he’ll be in line for a six-year, $144MM pact.
  • Johnny Cueto had a rough second half after being traded to the Royals and one National League GM told Cafardo that a “few teams have scratched him off their list.”  Still, that GM estimates that Cueto can net a Jon Lester-type $155MM deal.  Recently, we learned that the Red Sox are mulling a serious push for Cueto.  The Marlins also like Cueto, but financial constraints will probably hold them back in that pursuit.
  • One GM told Cafardo that he wouldn’t give Royals outfielder Alex Gordon anything more than a three-year deal at $36MM-$38MM.  In addition to KC, Cafardo recently listed the Indians, Orioles, Mets, Tigers, and possibly the Red Sox as potential fits.
  • Nationals hurler Jordan Zimmermann didn’t have a great season, but he was listed by Cafardo as a player whose arrow is pointing upwards.  One NL scout praised Zimmermann’s work ethic and toughness.  At the end of the regular season, Zimmermann sounded like a player who knows that he’ll be changing teams.
  • One AL GM envisions Blue Jays pitcher Marco Estrada attracting attention from “six or seven teams” who could offer up a “four- or five-year deal in the $12MM-$15MM [per year] range.”  Last month, MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk checked in on Estrada’s free agent stock.  The right-hander posted a 3.13 ERA with 6.5 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 across 28 starts and six relief appearances in 2015.
  • Cafardo’s panel indicated that Scott Kazmir could get a three-year deal this offseason, but at a reduced rate because of his struggles with the Astros down the stretch.  The group of eight officials sees Kazmir getting $10-$12MM AAV over a three year period.  The Tigers are among the clubs with interest in the veteran left-hander, though Kazmir has also expressed a desire to return to Houston.
  • At least two teams have their top advisers and scouts looking at Rich Hill’s last four starts with the Red Sox to see if his emergence in 2015 is for real.  One AL scout who has done his homework on the left-hander praised the hurler for his confidence.
  • Cafardo identified the Braves, Dodgers, Rays, Astros, and Mariners as teams that could have interest in Orioles catcher Matt Wieters.  Of course, his market will be impacted by whether or not he receives a qualifying offer.  The Rangers will be among the teams with interest, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, but only if he does come with a QO attached.  In a recent MLBTR poll, 60% of readers said that the O’s should give Wieters a QO.

Quick Hits: Cespedes, Cubs, Allison

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Mets GM Sandy Alderson traded for Yoenis Cespedes because he believed the club needed another hitter, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Alderson originally focused on Brewers outfielder Carlos Gomez and Reds outfielder Jay Bruce because they came with additional club control. However, the Gomez deal was nixed after the Mets reviewed his physical, and the Reds pulled Bruce off the trade block on July 31. Alderson preferred Justin Upton of the Padres, but they refused to back down from demands for pitcher Michael Fulmer, shortstop Amed Rosario, and others. While Alderson still preferred a higher OBP hitter, Cespedes had the best acquisition cost. Per Alderson, if the Mets didn’t acquire a top bat, “people will point to the fact that we were not all in.”

  • The Cubs will be a trendy pick to win the National League next season, writes Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun Times. However, Theo Epstein and crew have a difficult road ahead of them. Within their own division, they’ll have to compete with the always successful Cardinals and recently excellent Pirates. The Mets formidable pitching staff will return next year, the Giants have a way of appearing every even year, and the Dodgers spend the most money in baseball. Unexpected opponents could also jump to the forefront. As Epstein admits, “We have to put ourselves in a position where we have a chance to be great. So we can win the division and not have to go through the coin flip of being in the wild-card game. I’m not saying you can always get there. Some things are beyond your control.” To be great, the club probably needs to add an ace. A veteran to help stabilize the young lineup could also be useful.
  • The Mariners have promoted Tom Allison to head of both professional and amateur scouting, tweets John Manuel of Baseball America. Allison had previously served as Seattle’s head of pro scouting so the promotion is an expansion of duties. Per Manuel, Allison had a strong run as an amateur scout with the Diamondbacks from 2007 through 2010. He also worked with the Mets and Brewers in a scouting capacity from 1996 through 2006.

Quick Hits: Cubs, Royals, Rios

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The Cubs’ season is now over, but they enjoyed a strong season overall, and the successes of their young hitters can be a double-edged sword for players further down in the system, Cubs player development executive Jason McLeod tells Gordon Wittenmyer of Baseball America. “I said, ’You can look at it two ways: You can say, those guys aren’t much older than me. I have no chance. Or you can look at it and say look how they did it: If you perform they’re going to give you the opportunity,'” says McLeod. Wittenmyer notes that it might be tough for current Cubs prospects to endure the typically slow path through the minors to the big leagues now that they’ve seen players like Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber rocket to the Majors. “Kris and Kyle have warped even my sense of where (other prospects) should be sometimes, just with how fast they exploded through the system,” says McLeod. Here are more quick notes from around the big leagues.

  • The Royals’ recent run of success — which continued yesterday as they advanced to the World Series for the second consecutive year — has been powered in large part by their 2010 trade of Zack Greinke, the Associated Press writes. That deal brought back both Lorenzo Cain and Alcides Escobar, the last two ALCS MVPs. Also included in that trade was Jake Odorizzi, who helped bring back Wade Davis, who finished last night’s game.
  • Another Royal, outfielder Alex Rios, turned down a two-year deal with the Mariners last offseason to take a one-year deal with Kansas City, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports tweets. That’s interesting, because Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported last December that Rios had used his no-trade clause to nix a deal to the Royals the previous July after the Royals wouldn’t pick up his option as a condition of the deal. He ended up playing out the season with a non-contending Rangers team. Perhaps watching the Royals in the playoffs last season caused Rios to change his mind about what he wanted.

NL Central Notes: Cubs, Cards, Reds, Brewers

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As the Cubs head into the offseason, the team is expected to look at reviving many of the summer trade deadline talks that never came to fruition, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. As president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said yesterday, Chicago is after pitching. The team could rejoin its pursuit of pitchers such as Tyson Ross of the Padres, Julio Teheran of the Braves, and Carlos Carrasco of the Indians, per Wittenmyer. Interestingly, he adds that the Cubs are rather enamored of Indians converted outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall, who rather suddenly became an outstanding right fielder last year after moving off of third base. Wittenmyer says it wouldn’t be surprising to see Javier Baez, Starlin Castro, or Jorge Soler (or any two of them) moved for pitching this winter, adding that Atlanta is “especially high on Soler.”

Here are some more notes out of the NL Central:

  • The Cardinals could see some turnover this winter, and MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch takes a look at the overall roster situation. She notes that the organization may not be able to strike as quickly as it has in past offseasons if it makes Jason Heyward a priority, as his market may take a bit longer to come into focus. New reserve options at catcher and the middle infield could be pursued, and bullpen additions — possibly including a re-signing of Carlos Villanueva — appear likely.
  • Meanwhile, the Cardinals will maintain the same coaching staff for 2016, Langosch reports. The whole group had been invited back, and reached new agreements in short order. Serving under manager Mike Matheny once again will be bench coach David Bell, first base coach Chris Maloney, third base coach Jose Oquendo, pitching coach Derek Lilliquist, hitting coach John Mabry, assistant hitting coach Bill Mueller, and bullpen coach Blaise Ilsley.
  • The Reds have announced some coaching staff changes for 2016, with Mark Riggins taking over as the pitching coach and Tony Jaramillo joining the staff as assistant hitting coach. Per the club, Jim Riggleman will remain the bench coach under skipper Bryan Price, while Don Long (hitting), Billy Hatcher (third base), Freddie Benavides (first base), Mack Jenkins (bullpen), and Mike Stefanski (catching) all return.
  • In an inter-division switch, the Brewers have hired away Derek Johnson from the Cubs to serve as their pitching coach, David Kaplan of CSN Chicago and ESPN Chicago reports on Twitter. Johnson had served as the minor league pitching coordinator in Chicago after a lengthy stint at Vanderbilt University’s outstanding baseball program.

 

Epstein On Offseason, Pitching, Fowler, Arrieta, Schwarber, Castro

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Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein addressed the Chicago media today, one day after his team’s season came to an end at the hands of the National League Champion Mets. Some highlights from Epstein’s media session, courtesy of Carrie Muskat of MLB.com and Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune…

  • Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the press conference was Epstein definitively stating, “We would like to add more quality pitching. … We need more pitching, that’s obvious.” He would go on (as can be seen in this video link from Gonzales) to point out that the team’s rotation and pitching staff as a whole ranked third in ERA, first in FIP and first in wins above replacement. Epstein called the free agent market for pitching a “necessary evil” but stopped short of definitively stating that would be the route the club goes this winter. “…whether it’s through trade or free agency, we would like to add at least one quality starting pitcher this winter.” Not only will the team focus on adding to the pitching staff, though, they’ll also focus on improving their pitchers’ abilities to hold runners on base. The Mets exposed that flaw significantly in the NLCS, as Gonzales points out in the second of his two above-linked columns.
  • Epstein said that the Cubs “certainly” have interest in re-signing Dexter Fowler as a free agent, as the Chicago Tribune’s Paul Sullivan tweets. “[Fowler] made a big impact on the field and off,” Epstein said of Dexter (MLB.com video link), “and we love having him around.” Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com has more of Epstein’s comments on Fowler and notes that the Cubs are expected to make a qualifying offer to Fowler, though he’ll assuredly reject that and test the open market.
  • The Cubs would be “foolish” not to pursue a long-term deal with Jake Arrieta this offseason, Epstein said. “I’m sure there will come a time where we approach Jake and his agent, Scott Boras, about seeing if we can extend that window. … More than anything, we’re just appreciative of the person he is and the year that he had, and what, at the very least, the next two seasons in a Cub uniform look like for him.” Arrieta is controllable through arbitration for two more seasons, and while extensions for Boras clients that are so close to free agency are rare, but the Cubs do have a new TV deal coming in the near future, which can’t hurt their cause in trying to lock up one of the game’s best pitchers.
  • Epstein briefly acknowledged that the TV deal will give the team some additional flexibility down the line, though he didn’t get into specifics. “The 2016 payroll is not going to be as big as the 2020 payroll because of the TV deal, but what we accomplished this year should help,” he said in reference to the added revenue from the team’s NLCS run. “We’ll have an aggressive mindset.” Epstein did also acknowledge, however, that the arbitration salaries facing the team will limit some of the resources. MLBTR projects the Cubs’ nine arb-eligible players to combine for $33.4MM in salaries (Arrieta’s $10.6MM projection accounts for nearly one-third of that sum), though obviously some of those players could be non-tendered or traded.
  • The Cubs won’t yet forecast how Kyle Schwarber’s defensive career will play out, Epstein said (via Gonzales). Schwarber will continue to work out as a catcher next spring, putting in extra time with catching coach Mike Borzello. Chicago will continue to allow Schwarber to work out behind the plate and in the outfield “until we reach a point where we think it’s not the right path,” Epstein said.
  • Epstein also noted that despite a rocky second half and postseason, Jason Hammel will return as an important piece of the 2016 rotation. The organization is confident that he can be the pitcher he was in the first half of the 2015 season once again.
  • Gonzales tweets that Epstein also offered praise for Starlin Castro and the manner in which he handled his initial benching and eventual shift to second base as well as the way in which he rebounded at the plate late in the regular season and into the playoffs.
  • The entire coaching staff has been invited back for the 2016 season, as ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers tweets.
  • Asked about a new contract for himself — Epstein’s current deal runs through 2016 — Epstein downplayed that as a priority (via Muskat’s second piece above), saying it’s “not anywhere near” a top priority this winter. He also emphasized that the same conversation must be had with a good deal of the front office: “I’m sure this winter, at some point, we’ll talk not just about me but about a lot of the guys in the front office who contribute behind the scenes and make sure this group can stay together for a while and finish what we started.”

Further Details On Eddy Julio Martinez’s Deal With Cubs

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Cuban center fielder Eddy Julio Martinez’s $3MM signing bonus from the Cubs has generated quite a bit of controversy, as reports prior to that signing indicated that he’d reached a $2.5MM deal with the Giants. San Francisco GM Bobby Evans had acknowledged the agreement, but Martinez soon after the fact was said no longer to be signing with the Giants.

Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle sheds some light on the scenario. As has been previously reported, Martinez hired U.S.-based agents at the Beverly Hills Sports Council to represent him, but he also was already employing local agents (or “buscones”) from the Dominican Republic — at least two more, per Schulman. Martinez’s family hired BHSC to conclude negotiations once his buscones had agreed to a deal with a team.

The Giants received a signed offer sheet from Martinez’s agents at BHSC, and the story was picked up by the media, and the Giants, according to Schulman, believed that the Cubs saw the report and upped their offer to Martinez’s buscones at the last minute. A source tells Schulman that when the Giants met with Martinez’s buscones to collect a signature from Martinez himself in the Dominican Republic, San Francisco was informed that Martinez would not be signing after all.

Schulman writes that those familiar with the Cubs’ side of the story reject the notion of upping their offer based on media reports, saying the Cubs had been speaking to Martinez’s buscones for quite some time, and the buscones stayed in contact with Chicago after BHSC took over talks with the Giants. In the end, Major League Baseball concluded that the player’s signature was final, as opposed to an offer sheet signed by Martinez’s U.S. agents. The league also cleared the Cubs of any wrongdoing in the scenario.

While the entire situation undoubtedly seems shady from the outside, it’s not unprecedented. The Giants themselves even benefited from a similar situation this year, as MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez reports (links to Twitter). San Francisco’s top international signing was Bahamian shortstop Lucius Fox, who received a $6MM signing bonus (which cost the Giants $12MM after luxury tax considerations). However, the Dodgers believed they had a deal with Fox right up until the international signing period kicked off on July 2 and were “stunned” to learn that he would instead sign with the Giants.

Per Sanchez, Fox’s father played a large role in the decision to sign with the Giants over the Dodgers, and Martinez’s father was involved in the Giants/Cubs situation as well. Schulman hears that the Giants acquired Fox’s signature by sending a team representative to his 18th birthday party.

Evans referred to the international prospect scene as the “wild wild West” when speaking to Schulman about the situation, adding: “Without an international draft, a player remains an international free agent until he signs a contract. That’s why, when deals get reported early, it’s not an advantage to the club making the deal.”

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