It’s a disappointing conclusion to the Cuban outfielder’s seven-year stint in the A’s system. Armenteros was a high-profile amateur signee back in 2016. He landed a $3MM bonus on the strength of his raw power potential. It didn’t take long for prospect evaluators to express concerns about Armenteros’ defense and pure hitting ability, though. The right-handed hitter never made enough contact to get a major league look in Oakland.

Armenteros has fanned in more than 37% of his professional plate appearances. Even with huge walk rates and double digit home run totals, that’s not viable against minor league pitching. The A’s nevertheless added Armenteros to their 40-man roster at the start of last offseason on the heels of a .248/.380/.464 showing in Double-A. At the time, Oakland’s front office still had some belief that he could translate his physical tools into better results and didn’t want to let him reach minor league free agency.

The A’s gave the 25-year-old Armenteros his first look at Triple-A pitching this season. It didn’t go well, as he struck out nearly 40% of the time en route to a .191/.321/.309 slash over 42 games. The A’s demoted Armenteros back to Double-A last month. While he managed decent results behind a .481 average on balls in play, a 37.5% strikeout rate in 16 Double-A games led the team to move on entirely.

Armenteros is now on the cusp of his 25th birthday, which will arrive on May 22. Once a high-profile prospect out of Cuba, he signed with the A’s in 2016, earning a $3MM bonus at that time. Baseball America ranked him as one of the club’s top 30 prospects in five straight years after he entered the system.

His natural athleticism has been on display for quite some time, with obvious speed and power. But as he has spent time in affiliated ball, strikeouts have been an ongoing problem. Apart from a brief stint in Rookie ball back in 2017, he’s never had a strikeout rate lower than 32.8% at any stop on the minor league ladder. He’s hit some home runs and stolen some bases along the way, but those punchouts have sapped his prospect stock.

Splitting his time between High-A and Double-A last year, he continued to strike out in a third of his plate appearances but offset that somewhat with a 14.9% walk rate. He also hit 20 homers and stole 17 bases. His combined batting line of .252/.383/.496 led to a 134 wRC+.

That showing was strong enough that the A’s were worried about losing him in the Rule 5 draft, so they added him to their 40-man roster in November. They promoted him to Triple-A to start this year but the results have not been pretty. In 72 plate appearances, he’s been punched out 37 times, a 51.4% clip. He’s drawn walks at a 12.5% rate but his .133/.278/.250 line is obviously rough.

The A’s bumped him off their 40-man when selecting left-hander Tyler Ferguson this week. The other 29 clubs all passed on a chance to grab him off waivers, so Armenteros will return to Vegas and try to play his way back onto the roster.

Ferguson gets his first major league call at age 30. A Vanderbilt product, he entered the professional ranks in 2015 as a sixth-round pick of the Rangers. Ferguson topped out at High-A in the Texas system and was released shortly before the start of the 2019 season. He bounced between the independent Can-Am and American Associations between brief affiliated stints in the Dodgers and Braves systems. Ferguson made it as high as Triple-A with Atlanta before qualifying for minor league free agency.

The right-hander spent last season working in multi-inning relief with Arizona’s top farm team in Reno. He posted a 5.49 ERA over 78 2/3 innings and returned to free agency. The A’s signed him to a minor league deal with an invitation to MLB camp early in the winter. He tossed 8 2/3 innings of one-run ball this spring and opened the regular season in Vegas.

Ferguson has logged 15 frames over 14 appearances for the Aviators. He has allowed eight runs (only four of which were earned) while striking out 24 hitters. That strong start was enough to crack the A’s bullpen after a nearly decade-long climb through the professional ranks. He steps in for Jiménez, who has walked 13 of his first 67 opponents.

Armenteros, 25 this month, has yet to reach the big leagues. The right-handed hitting outfielder was a high-profile amateur signee out of Cuba back in 2016. Massive strikeout totals have long since damaged his prospect stock. Even though Armenteros hadn’t shown signs of significantly improving his contact skills, the A’s surprisingly added him to the 40-man roster to keep him from getting to minor league free agency at the start of last offseason.

The A’s assigned Armenteros to Triple-A for the first time this year. He has punched out a staggering 37 times in 72 plate appearances, making him the only Triple-A hitter (minimum 50 PAs) to strike out more than half the time. He’ll likely end up on waivers in the next few days. Assuming he goes unclaimed, the A’s could assign him back to Las Vegas without keeping him on the 40-man roster.

Andujar, 29 in March, had a tremendous season with the Yankees in 2018, finishing second in Rookie of the Year voting to Shohei Ohtani. But since then, he hasn’t been given an extended stretch of playing time in the big leagues. Shoulder surgery put him out of action for much of 2019 and Gio Urshela stole the third base job in the Bronx while he was gone. Since then, he has generally crushed in the minors but struggled when given brief looks in the majors.

2023 continued that pattern, with Andujar in the Pirates organization. He was up in the majors for a couple of weeks from late April to mid-May but hit just .161/.212/.387. But his Triple-A season was far stronger, as he hit .338/.404/.536 at that level. He got back to the big leagues as a September call-up and was able to post an excellent line .302/.351/.528 in the final month of the season.

Given that encouraging finish, the Bucs could have held onto Andujar but he was projected for an arbitration salary of $2.2MM and is out of options. He was also limited to playing first base and the outfield corners in 2023, both in the majors and in the minors. The Pirates decided to move on but the A’s have come in to claim him.

The latter club has traded away their most established big leaguers in recent years, which perhaps makes Oakland the ideal landing spot for Andujar. He will be competing for playing time in the first base/corner outfield/designated hitter mix with Ryan Noda, Seth Brown, Brent Rooker, JJ Bleday and others. If he is finally able to click in the majors again, he can be retained for another season via arbitration, though the A’s would likely trade him in that scenario.

Kay, 28, was just claimed off waivers a couple of weeks ago. He has a 5.59 ERA in 85 1/3 career innings at the major league level. He tossed 40 2/3 innings in the minors this year, between the Mets and Cubs, with a 3.76 ERA in that time.

Lucas, 26, just came of the A’s in the deadline deal that sent Shintaro Fujinami to the O’s. He was added to the roster in early September and made his major league debut, allowing six earned runs in 6 2/3 innings. He tossed 46 2/3 frames in the minors for the year across different levels and organizations, with a 3.86 ERA across those clubs.

Scott, 31, was claimed off waivers from the Red Sox in July. He had a 5.60 ERA in the majors in 2023, splitting time between three different clubs. Between three different Triple-A clubs, he logged 38 1/3 innings with a 1.64 ERA.

Smith, 28, was acquired from the Rockies in the last offseason. He went on to throw 13 2/3 innings for the A’s in 2023 with a 6.59 ERA. His 34 2/3 innings in Triple-A didn’t go any better, with a 7.53 ERA in that time.

Armenteros was a high-profile amateur signee from Cuba seven years ago. The right-handed hitter was viewed at the time as a potential power-hitting regular, leading to a fair bit of hype preceding the 2016-17 international period. The A’s eventually landed Armenteros with a $3MM signing bonus.

That offensive potential has been undercut by huge strikeout tallies throughout his minor league career. Armenteros has punched out in more than 37% of his professional plate appearances. That’d be alarming for any prospect but is particularly concerning for a player whom most scouts project as a left fielder. His stock has dimmed considerably. Armenteros has twice gone unselected in the Rule 5 draft.

The 24-year-old had a generally solid season with Double-A Midland in 2023. He hit .248/.380/.464. Armenteros connected on 14 home runs while drawing walks at a massive 15.3% clip. Swing-and-miss remained an issue, though, as he punched out nearly a third of the time he stepped to the plate.

Oakland’s front office clearly remains intrigued by Armenteros’ physical tools. He has spent parts of seven seasons in the minors, meaning he would have qualified for minor league free agency on Monday if he weren’t on the 40-man roster. The A’s will keep that from happening. Armenteros has a full slate of options and would likely start next season in Triple-A if he holds the 40-man spot throughout the offseason.

These moves all but assure that Oakland will take on the maximum penalties for exceeding its cap, which is just over $3.8MM. That will mean that the team won’t be able to spend over $300K for any single prospect for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 periods. Additionally, the club would pay a 100% overage tax for whatever amount goes over its limits.

Armenteros is, in many ways, in the same situation as the other young players who’ll soon sign. But he has long drawn added attention because of his immense physical tools, Cuban heritage, and perhaps also the recent case of another highly athletic young player from the island in Yoan Moncada.

As Badler explains, the bonus suggests that Lazarito rates as a top traditional July 2 prospect. But he’ll come nowhere near the $31.5MM contract given to Moncada (which cost double that with the penalty). Per the scouting report, Armenteros shows good power and speed, but has a ways to go in developing his hit tool and is likely to end up as a corner outfielder in the long run.

MLB.com ranks Vargas the No. 21 prospect available this signing period, praising his projectable frame, good contact ability and strong arm. Brito ranks No. 23, with MLB.com noting that the switch-hitting 16-year-old has solid bat speed and contact ability. Baseball America rates Richards the 39th-best international prospect available during this signing period, noting in its subscribers-only scouting report he’s very athletic and fast but currently has questionable offensive ability. Bell, who does not appear in either the MLB.com or BA lists, is the son of the former MLB star of the same name.

• The Astros are now seen the most likely landing spot for Dominican shortstop Freudis Nova, Baseball America’s Ben Badler reports, with the 16-year-old in line for a bonus of around $1.5MM.  Nova had been expected to sign with the Marlins for a bonus in the neighborhood of $2.5MM, but Miami backed away from that arrangement after Nova tested positive for steroids in February.  One scout tells Badler that Nova has five-tool potential, and a fuller scouting report is available to those with a Baseball America subscription.  The highly-touted Nova may be the best international talent Houston lands in the coming signing period, which is saying something given that the Astros are expected to load up on international talent and far exceed their signing pool.
• Badler lists some other international prospects expected to sign with the Astros, noting that Venezuelan catcher Yorbin Ceuta is also expected to receive a bonus in excess of $1MM.
• Outfielder Lazaro “Lazarito” Armenteros and second baseman Jose Miguel Fernandez will take part in a showcase of Cuban talent to be held on June 13, Ben Badler tweets.  This is two days before the close of the 2015-16 international signing period, and as Badler noted two weeks ago, time is running out for the Dodgers (and other clubs facing a $300K spending ceiling in the next signing period) to sign Armenteros while they still can  Fernandez, of course, can sign at any time for any amount since he is exempt from the pools.
• Cuban righty Vladimir Gutierrez took part in a private workout for Dodgers officials yesterday, Baseball Essential’s Robert Murray reports.  The Dodgers have long been rumored to be interested in Gutierrez, though since he is pool-eligible, the June 15 deadline looms large for L.A. given the number of other teams who have been linked to Gutierrez.  That said, Gutierrez has also been a free agent for almost a full year and has yet to sign a contract.
• Roland Bolanos, a 19-year-old righty from Cuba, has been declared a free agent and can sign with any team, MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez reports (Twitter link).  Bolanos is a former member of Cuba’s junior national team, and he has a four-pitch arsenal that includes a mid-90’s fastball.
• Earlier this week, Badler compiled a list of the 50 largest international signing bonuses of all time.  (Cuban players weren’t included on the list given the county’s unique situation.)  The Giants’ $6MM bonus to Lucius Fox last summer tops the list, with the Rangers’ $4.95MM bonus to Nomar Mazara in 2011 the next-highest.  As Badler observes, relatively few of the 50 names have made an impact in the bigs since expensive bonuses are a most recent trend, though there are some very notable names (Miguel Cabrera, Byung-Hyun Kim, Miguel Sano and Mazara himself).

More from the American League:

• Righty Chris Young will join the bullpen upon his return to the Royals, manager Ned Yost told reporters including Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star (via Twitter). Yost did add, though, that he foresees Young returning to the starting staff at some point this year.
• In addition to addressing other topics, Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins raised some concerns with the state of talent in the team’s farm system, he tells Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. While he sees “some guys who could be everyday major league players,” Atkins says he’s concerned that the organization lacks “the depth of those guys that could turn into major league players, that larger number of what we call in the industry a Role 4 player, someone who is maybe not an everyday player but a solid contributing player, who could turn into a five.” That could tell when it comes to deadline additions, the new general manager suggests. “There’s no question that it impacts it,” he said. “We will have to keep our eyes on the future, but we recognize this window and opportunity. … I think fortunately we do have enough assets that if we wanted to make a move like that, we could. I think the question then becomes at what expense and at what level of sacrifice.”
• The Twins spoke with the reps for Yadiel Hernandez, but the team doesn’t seem inclined to pursue him, per Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (Twitter links). It’s unclear whether Minnesota has interest in fellow Cuban free agents Jose Miguel Fernandez and Lazaro Armenteros, but Wolfson adds that the club did have eyes on them in their recent showcase.
• Tigers GM Al Avila tells MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (audio link) that he stands behind embattled skipper Brad Ausmus. After tonight’s win, Detroit is on a 9-and-2 run since dropping to a season-worst 15-21 record recently. That leaves the club well within striking distance in the AL Central, which still looks to be a four-team dogfight.

A few more notes on the Dodgers…

• While many Dodgers fans are wondering when Julio Urias will arrive on the scene, Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times writes that Urias’ agent, Scott Boras, is surprisingly supportive of the Dodgers’ decision not to rush him to the Majors. Boras says that he is “aligned” with the Dodgers in terms of Urias’ timeline. “We understand we have a great young talent,” said Boras. Hernandez writes that the plan for Urias is to only see a “modest” increase from his career-high of 87 1/3 innings this season. Hernandez opines that rather than rush Urias to the big league bullpen, the Dodgers would be better served to allow him to continue to develop as a starter, with an eye towards next year’s rotation. Never one to pass up the opportunity to make some form of statement, Boras used Urias as an example of why the upcoming wave of CBA negotiations should result in rosters expanding to 26 players. “You ideally want to bring a guy to the big leagues and have him throw 120, 130 or 140 innings, but then you have to make up 50 or 60 innings,” he said. “Having that extra pitcher throughout that whole year would allow them to do that.”
• Outfielder Scott Van Slyke, who has appeared in just four games with the Dodgers this season due to a lower back injury, could return to the team by June 3-4, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (via MLB.com’s Chad Thornburg). In the meantime, the Dodgers plan to continue carrying an extra reliever and going with a short, four-man bench. As Roberts explained, maintaining “flexibility of different guys in the ’pen is more of a priority” than having an additional bat off the bench at this time.
• Infielder/outfielder Alex Guerrero is currently on a minor league rehab assignment, and he told J.P. Hoornstra of the L.A. Daily News last week that he thinks he can help the Dodgers at the big league level once healthy. That type of talk is expected from most players, but it’s particularly notable in the case of Guerrero, who has a clause in his contract that allows him to refuse to be optioned to the minors. Guerrero entered tonight’s contest hitting just .152/.188/.239 on said rehab assignment (he did pick up his first hit with the team’s Double-A affiliate tonight), and he’ll give the Dodgers’ front office a decision when his rehab window is up. Guerrero has a $5MM salary this season (the $10MM signing bonus on his $28MM contract was reportedly paid up front) and will earn the same in 2017, though a clause in his deal allows him to become a free agent at the end of a season in which he’s traded. The 29-year-old has been a disappointment thus far in the contract, hitting just .224/.251/.414 in 243 plate appearances while displaying questionable defensive skills.

As the Rays gear up for a historic trip to Havana, here are a few notes pertaining to some of the top Cuban talent in the world…

• The Padres are now the favorites to sign Cuban prospect Lazaro Armenteros, according to Baseball America’s Ben Badler (subscription required but highly recommended), though he notes that the Braves and Dodgers both have some interest. However, Badler notes that the player known as “Lazarito” has been “the subject of some of the most extreme sensationalism in public reports,” and ranks the 16-year-old 11th on his list of the top 15 Cuban players available to Major League clubs. Lazarito would add to what appears to be a potentially significant class of 2016-17 international prospects for San Diego, as Badler and ESPN’s Eric Longenhagen have both previously reported the Friars as the favorites to sign 19-year-old outfielder Jorge Ona (fourth on today’s rankings from Badler) and 17-year-old lefty Adrian Morejon (10th). It’s worth noting, too, that Badler isn’t downplaying Lazarito’s talent entirely; he does write that Lazarito’s talent is “right up there” with the other top international prospects that have signed in the 2015-16 international class, so the implication is merely that the “phenom” labels that have been placed on Lazarito are an overstatement.
• Third baseman Luis Yander La O, currently a bonus-pool-exempt free agent, did not perform particularly well at a February showcase that was also impacted by poor weather, Badler notes in his rankings. La O still landed eighth on Badler’s list, but he notes that La O may schedule another showcase in an effort to put on a better show for interested clubs.
• The Reds have seemingly changed course in their pursuit of shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez and will convince him to wait until July to sign, Badler reports while ranking Rodriguez 12th on his list. Had Cincinnati signed Rodriguez for his the $6MM bonus that was reported back in January, they’d have been barred from signing international amateurs for any more than $300K in each of the next two signing periods. Badler notes that as compensation for making Rodriguez wait, however, the Reds might end up giving him an even more sizable bonus than that $6MM sum (which, of course, will come with a 100 percent luxury tax).
• Guillermo Heredia’s previously reported deal with the Mariners became official today, per a club announcement. Heredia signed a one-year, Major League contract with the Mariners that will pay him the league minimum salary, as Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune reports. At the time of the signing, details on the contract were vague and did not specify whether Heredia had secured a Major League deal or a minor league deal. He’s been added to the 40-man roster, according to the Mariners, with Jesus Sucre being shifted to the 60-day DL in order to clear a spot. For what it’s worth, Badler noted in the aforementioned piece that the Mariners got “a terrific bargain” on Heredia, even with questions about his bat. Badler has previously noted that Heredia is a plus defender in center field with good speed.

Here’s more from the NL East:

• Phillies GM Matt Klentak is excited to see his prospects in live action, writes Jim Salisbury for Baseball America. Notable players who could reach the majors this season include J.P. Crawford, Nick Williams, Andrew Knapp, Jorge Alfaro, Jake Thompson, Mark Appel, and Zach Eflin. The Phillies have acquired enough major and minor league depth that these players can develop at their own pace. In other words, there’s no guarantee we’ll actually see any of them this year, or they could all reach the big show.
• The Marlins are continuing to monitor the free agent and trade markets for pitchers, writes Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. The club is happy with their current staff, but there is room to add more depth. Frisaro mentions Tim Lincecum by name, but the former Cy Young winner has yet to schedule a day to throw in front of scouts. Such an outing has been rumored to be in the works since January.
• Mets third baseman David Wright elaborated on the plan for managing his spinal stenosis, writes Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Previously, GM Sandy Alderson suggested Wright would play about 130 games. Now, Wright is saying “you can’t have a plan” for managing the injury. He’ll ease into Spring Training and see how his body responds. The important thing is that player, manager, and GM are all on the same page – even if that’s frustrating for fans. One unmentioned aspect of Wright’s injury – the club may want to consider another backup third baseman beyond Wilmer Flores and Ruben Tejada.
• The $7.25MM contract Bartolo Colon signed with the Mets wasn’t the best offer he received, writes DiComo. Per Colon, “there were higher-money offers, but that’s not something that even interested me because this is my family here.” Colon is the elder statesman of a young, exciting pitching staff. It appears he signed for the always-rare “hometown discount.”
• The Nationals are not negotiating an extension with Bryce Harper, GM Mike Rizzo tells reporters including Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post. The club has engaged in some basic conversations with agent Scott Boras to start the ball rolling. Harper is under contract for another three seasons. A highly marketable player, the Nationals and Harper have every reason to take their time proceeding.

Lazarito has already hired Octagon as his new representation, though the timing of the entire agency shuffle is rather bizarre, as Lazarito’s family claimed that Hairston’s comments were the impetus for the change in representation, but Hairston was claiming to no longer be representing Lazarito at the time he made his comments. Additionally, securing new representation in a matter of one day seems unlikely. Hairston followed up with Rosenthal and maintained that buscon is driving the thought process of the family in an effort to steer them toward signing with a particular team.

FEB. 23: Agent Charles Hairston and the Culture39 agency will no longer be representing Cuban outfielder Lazaro Armenteros after Hairston tells Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that his life was threatened by a trainer/agent out of the Dominican Republic who also represents Armenteros.  At least for the time being, Hairston will no longer be representing the Cuban phenom known as “Lazarito,” and there is now great uncertainty about when or how Armenteros will sign.

Many young players from Latin America are represented by trainers/agents known as “buscones,” who take these players under their wing as children and train, feed and house them in makeshift training camps.  In exchange for helping develop the skills of these promising talents, a buscon will then receive roughly 20-25 percent of a player’s future salary if he should go on to sign a pro contract, Hairston explains.  The rather unregulated nature of the buscon/player business relationship has led to other issues in the past — for instance, when multiple buscones lay claim to the same player, or when Leonys Martin was sued by a Mexican baseball academy for allegedly not paying the full share of what the academy felt was owed.

This situation with Lazarito’s buscon and Hairston is of an even more chilling nature, with Hairston declining to name the buscon out of concerns for the safety of Culture39 employees.  According to Hairston, the buscon withheld travel documents from Lazarito and his parents, making them unable to travel from the Dominican Republic to the United States for a meeting Hairston had arranged with a team’s GM and ownership group.

“I feel for the kid. He is truly special. We are still looking forward to working with him when he comes to the United States once his situation is resolved….But when his safety and ours is put in jeopardy, we had to think about what is most important in life,” Hairston said.

The dispute allegedly centered around the buscon’s desire that Armenteros sign a contract as soon as possible, as opposed to waiting until the new international signing period opens on July 2.  (When Hairston last discussed his ex-client’s situation two weeks ago, he noted that their camp was still uncertain as to when Armenteros would sign.)  Signing in the current international class or the next would greatly shuffle the list of teams eligible to sign the 16-year-old, as his likely bonus would instantly put a team over its spending pool limit and subject it to a virtual two-year ban on blue chip international prospects.  Such teams as the Dodgers, Cubs, Giants and Royals have already exceeded their cap in the current spending period and could add to their bounty by signing Lazarito now, while waiting past July 2 would freeze those teams out (as their penalties would begin) and clear the path for other clubs known to be planning a big splurge in the next international period, such as the Braves, Phillies and Padres.  Rosenthal and Morosi list the Dodgers, Padres and Braves as three teams with interest in Armenteros.

Here’s more recent news from around the international market…

• The shocking circumstances behind Charles Hairston and Agency39 dropping their representation of Lazaro “Lazarito” Armenteros is still the talk of the international scouting world, and Hairston shared more details with MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez.  The mysterious “buscon” (or “investor” as he’s known in Sanchez’s piece) allegedly threatened Hairston ten days ago,  and had also been working behind Agency39’s back to negotiate with teams and other agencies to arrange new representation for Armenteros.  Agency39 was still working on Lazarito’s behalf as late as noon yesterday.
• Commissioner Rob Manfred reiterated his support for an international talent draft when speaking to reporters (including Jesse Sanchez) on Monday, indicating that changes to the international system will be a significant topic in upcoming collective bargaining negotiations with the players’ union.  These talks will be particularly interesting since the desire for altering international signing rules may vary greatly from team to team.  “If you ask the teams that have been able to spend internationally, they would be happy with how [the system] is,” Athletics GM David Forst said. “There are also some teams that feel you lose some of the scouting side of it if you have the [international draft].  You lose the ability to unearth players.  But with the information that is out there, I’m not sure that happens.”
• Twenty-five teams attended a showcase yesterday for Cuban outfielder Yadiel Hernandez and infielders Yanio Perez and Alejandro Rivero, MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez tweets.  Hernandez, who defected last summer, is the most highly-regarded of the trio and is old enough (28) to not be subject to the international pool limits.
• The Dodgers have spent over $200MM on nine Cuban players over the last four years, a major investment that Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register notes that thus far yielded relatively little return.  Yasiel Puig has delivered both all-world talent and controversy in his time with the team and Hector Olivera was flipped to the Braves, while Erisbel Arruebarrena and Alex Guerrero are now afterthoughts.  “I think like any part of the talent universe there’s going to be mixed results,” said senior baseball operations VP Josh Byrnes, who also noted that the Dodgers’ big investment is still less than it would’ve cost for a similar outlay on free agent talent.  The club obviously still expects much from highly-regarded prospects still in the system, including the recently-signed Yaisel Sierra.

Here’s more from the broader baseball world:

• The Padres are expected to make some noise on the international market, as Badler writes and Longenhagen also covers in the above-linked piece. San Diego appears to be the favorite to land two high-end Cuban talents: 19-year-old outfielder Jorge Ona and young southpaw Adrian Morejon. (The Cubs had been seen as having an edge on the latter, per Badler, but now seem to have made way for the Pads.) Per the report, the club is also primed to add a few significant July 2 prospects from the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.
• GM A.J. Preller has long been known for his international attention and acumen, and it seems that he’s now putting that background to work as his organization looks to rebuild a lightly-regarded farm system. Indeed, the team appears to be giving quite a bit of attention to yet another young Cuban player, Lazaro “Lazarito” Armenteros, as Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune details. Like the Braves, San Diego would need to convince him to wait until the next July 2 period to avoid incurring penalties (for exceeding this year’s international spending caps) that would foul up other significant moves.
• We’ve heard previously that the Friars are among the clubs expected to bust their budgets in the coming July 2 signing season, and the Cardinals appear set to join them, Badler reports (building upon a recent report that St. Louis was looking to be aggressive). He notes that there’s some interplay with the possibility that the organization could be penalized relating to the Astros computer breach scandal, which might cost draft picks (or, conceivably, international money). Two names to watch for St. Louis, per Badler, are top Venezuelan outfielder Victor Garcia and 17-year-old Cuban center fielder Jonatan Machado.
• The recent MLB international prospect showcase had players from eight countries in attendance, MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez writes, and there’s hope for further expansion in the future. Athletics GM David Forst says that the process of evaluating young international players has changed dramatically in recent years, with events like this featuring actual game action (rather than just workouts) providing a chance “to see these kids play in games against their peers and similar competition.”

Waiting until July 2, notably, would eliminate multiple teams from the mix, including the Dodgers, Cubs, Royals and Giants. Those four clubs have vastly exceeded their 2015-16 international pools and would, thus, be ineligible to sign a player for more than $300K in the two forthcoming signing periods. Waiting until the next period would also open the door for clubs like the Braves, Phillies, Padres and Cardinals — each of whom is said to be preparing to be aggressive on the international front in the 2016-17 period.

Lazarito himself told Sanchez recently that he hoped to make a decision this week — possibly by Wednesday — but clearly the timeline has skewed somewhat. While it’s not entirely clear that Lazarito will wait until the 2016-17 period to sign, the fact that his agent has referenced new entrants in the July 2 scene and indefinitely delayed the decision certainly lends credence to that possibility. Sanchez had previously reported that the Dodgers, Cubs, Braves, Phillies and Padres were all in the mix for Lazarito, so waiting until July 2 would bode well for any of the latter three teams. Of course, it’s also possible that a yet-unreported club has made a compelling offer to Lazarito’s camp; as many as nine clubs were said to have serious interest at one point, and others seem to have entered the mix.

Armenteros has been working out for teams as a center fielder and drawn praise for his power, speed and athleticism, although at 6’2″ and 205 pounds as 16-year-old, some scouts reportedly believe that he’ll have to settle into an outfield corner down the line. Sanchez recently ranked him among the top international free agents (those who qualify as amateurs, that is) and provided a free scouting report. Baseball America’s Ben Badler recently profiled him and provided a highlight video, also going a bit further in-depth for BA subscribers (a highly recommended route for those interested in the international prospect scene).