Jun 18 2008
Giants in the mix for 15 (soon to be 16) year old OF
From San Jose Mercury News:
Giants scouting director John Barr said he has the financial backing from ownership to be aggressive in signing international free agents, but he denied a report that the Giants have agreed to a $2.5 million bonus to sign Dominican teenage outfielder Rafael Rodriguez.
Barr said he has not reached deals in principle with any international free agents, though he confirmed that Rodriguez has worked out at the Giants’ Dominican complex and the club has interest. The international signing period begins July 2. “We intend to play by the rules,” Barr said. Rodriguez reportedly has drawn comparisons to Vladimir Guerrero because of his combination of size, athleticism and power potential. Barr said Rodriguez couldn’t sign until July 13, when he turns 16.
Whether it’s Rodriguez or other international free agents, Barr said he has the bankroll to compete for the top talent. “We are going to exhaust all avenues to get the best players for this organization,” Barr said.
This is a good sign for Giants fans, and would make the second big time international signing (Angel Villalona) in the past couple of years. At 2.5 million it is certainly a gamble being that the kid is only 15 at this point. However, even with just a 1/10 or even 1/25 chance this guy becomes an everyday player in the majors, or an all star, it makes it worth it. Imagine if instead of spending 126 million on Barry Zito the team used it to sign the top 50 available international teenage prospects. While we all know that many will not work out, you can be certain that the return would be tremendous.
The list of all stars who have come from Latin America is vast and because amateur free agents from outside of the US and Canada are not subject to the draft it leaves it up to the teams to spend as freely as they would like. As teams rely more and more on younger players I think you will see many franchises shy away from big $50m+ contracts for guys like Matt Clement, Gil Meche and Carl Pavano, and instead use that money internationally and try to sign 25+ of the best young players and simply hope that a few of them turn out.
Other notes:
Giants first round pick Buster Posey and his FSU Seminoles were eliminated yesterday by Miami. While his season is over Giants fans probably won’t see much of him this year in the minors, according to Baseball America, because of the contract that the Giants will likely sign him to. BA says that he will likely sign for above slot and receive something like $6 million. MLB doesn’t like to announce over slot signings prior to the Aug. 15 deadline, which would make it a late debut at best for Posey.
The Red Sox are absolutely crushing the Phillies 7-2 at this point. While the Phillies’ offense appears to be ready for a deep postseason run, the same can’t be said about their rotation. So far only ace Cole Hamels has shown real consistency and I have real questions about whether or not a rotation made up of Jamie Moyer, Kyle Kendrick, Adam Eaton and Brett Myers can really win in the playoffs.
This is great info about the Latin America influx.