International Signing Period Starts Today, Open Thread

by Jesse on Jul 2, 2009 8:00 AM EDT in News Comment 18 comments

How involved will the Minnesota Twins get?

The biggest international signing of this season, at least for this season if not for the future, will be the inking of shortstop Miguel Angel Sano. You remember him, right? We've talked about him recently.

While the Pittsburgh Pirates are still currently the favorites to sign the young Dominican prospect, there've been no shortage of rumors about the Twins being the other front-runner for his services.

Will the Twins swoop in and nab him? Or will the Pirates find themselves a superstar-in-the-making? Stay tuned and find out, because one way or another it appears that someone will be paying a record-breaking signing bonus.

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in case any one is interested - twitter

i’m fairly certain you can follow people on twitter without actually joining, and jorge arangure is an espn writer with a twitter account that has been doing a good job of reporting on the potential international signings. if anyone else has to spend the day at work, it’s an easy way to keep up on what’s going on generally without devoting your whole day to it.

http://twitter.com/jorgearangure

by dctwin on Jul 2, 2009 10:03 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

also not encouraging...

mlb trade rumors reports that pirates made sano an offer…

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/07/pirates-believed-to-make-offer-to-sano.html

by dctwin on Jul 2, 2009 10:29 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

no offer made now by Pirates

don’t think the twins will win this bidding war, but one can hope.

Will the Real Thor Please Stand Up ... ?

by the Real Thor on Jul 2, 2009 11:18 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It looks like it'll be a few days before Sano gets resolved

In the meantime, apparently Aroldis Chapman, a Cuban pitcher, has defected. He’s got massive talent, hits 100+ on the gun. 21 years old, LHP.

He’s going to get a ton of money, way beyond anything the Twins would do, but it will be fun to follow.

Talking about $30-60 million in a contract, like Contrereas got when he came.

by Eric in Madison on Jul 2, 2009 12:35 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

The Twins and Pirates Are in a Bidding War?

Are those two organizations throwing their money around again?

by East Coast Twin on Jul 2, 2009 1:12 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, par for the course.

I wish they’d throw those poor east and west coast teams a bone once in a while.

by Jesse on Jul 2, 2009 6:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Can anyone explain to me...

why the Pirates and the Twins appear to be the top suitor for Sano? Just seems odd to me that they are the top players, or rather, why there arent other teams who like to spend that are involved.

by guinness junky on Jul 2, 2009 2:17 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

This has been asked before, and it's a good question.

I’m still not entirely sure. It sounds like the Twins and Pirates have been the two teams in constant contact and have been the teams showing the most consistent interest, and that means a lot to these kids. Other teams, some of the higher-bidders, have either been scared off by the allegations of fraudulent age, or they’ve simply expressed a lack of interest.

But in regards to the “lack of interest”, some people have said it’s just a tactic to keep bidding contained. It’s still not a great economic climate for any baseball team, and no doubt teams are looking to suppress expenses, even if it’s for a stud prospect.

by Jesse on Jul 2, 2009 6:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Fact is,

The Big Money, Big Market teams have a superior strategy and an enormous advantage. They can let the Twins and Pirates and such develop these young kids, and the ones that turn out to be superstars—they can buy them through free-agency. It’s called skimming the cream. The best players end up with the Yanks and the Sox anyway, so why sweat the details on a 16 year old who can’t even speak English?

by Old Twins Cap on Jul 2, 2009 10:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Just like

Liriano and Gomez and Guerra.

"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot

by cmathewson on Jul 2, 2009 11:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Throw the Astros in the mix too...

Looks like they might be the leader’s right now…

Fuck tOSU

by ajs1122 on Jul 2, 2009 2:29 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

From La Velle:

I was told today that the Twins have made an offer to Dominican superprospect Miguel Angel Sano – but it’s contingent on him being able to prove that he’s 16.

When I first head that, I was like, "Well, yah, if he’s not 16 then aren’t all deals off anyway?" Anyway, that’s what I was told by a good source and I’m running with it.

He has more…

by Twins Territory on Jul 2, 2009 5:55 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Twins offered around $3 million.

by Twins Territory on Jul 2, 2009 5:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

That's interesting...

…because I don’t think that will get it done, whether he’s 16 or not.

And I’m not sure how it would affect things if Sano wasn’t 16. Would he still be suspended for a year? Would teams still be able to bid on him, but have to wait 12 months before placing him on a roster? Lots of questions, not a lot of answers, and I think the Twins bid low here because from their view, if he’s actually 16 and they’re in a bidding war with the Pirates…it could be enough. But if they find out he isn’t 16, then at least they didn’t bid more.

by Jesse on Jul 2, 2009 6:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't know

The cynical answer is they bid just enough not to get him. I don’t really believe that—I’m cynical, but not that cynical.

I beleive teams can void the contract if the player turns out to be older than his stated age, though I don’t know the details. If he’s older, he’s clearly not as valuable.

As for punishment for the player, I suspect it’s up to the discretion of the Commissioner, but the real problem is that with the new ICE rules, if he lies, it’s going to be difficult to get a work visa for the U.S.

by Eric in Madison on Jul 2, 2009 7:52 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs