2017 International Signings

[Y2Jimmy0]

Eh, I am not sure why anyone would really expect different this year. These deals were pretty much made before this new cap program came out at a point when the White Sox thought they had about half of the money they do now. Maybe there is a guy or two that had fell through the cracks, but the timeline isn't really there to have been superaggressive in this market. I mean we all knew they were never going to go over allotment, so the fact that they aren't shouldn't reawlly be a shock.

 

The one place they might be able to still make same hay is Cuba.

 

 

They'll spend the full $4.75 million. During a rebuild, hell during any season, there's no excuse to not acquire more $$ and spend the full $8 million.

[southsider2k5]

They'll spend the full $4.75 million. During a rebuild, hell during any season, there's no excuse to not acquire more $ and spend the full $8 million.

 

If the players are already gone in deals that were already agreed on before the new rules giving the Sox the extra $2 million went into existance, there isn't any real way to spend it, unless something happens in Cuba to suck up those dollars. By the time December rolls around the deals for the next year are long since done for the top players.

[southsider2k5]

It's pretty clear the Sox are much more inclined to get three or four notable guys as opposed to one big fish and maybe another guy or two that are notable. I am not sure it's the worst plan but the results aren't that promising.

 

We are just now starting to get to the point where we can grade these players at a minimum standard. The first group is starting to get into High A ball. The largest chunk of them is pretty much in rookie ball or the DSL itself.

[Chicago White Sox]

We are just now starting to get to the point where we can grade these players at a minimum standard. The first group is starting to get into High A ball. The largest chunk of them is pretty much in rookie ball or the DSL itself.

This is true, but to raBBit's point the early returns haven't been promising. Out of the first group, Martinez is probably the biggest success and he barely cracked futuresox's top 30. I'm higher than most on Cruz, but he doesn't deserve a top 30 spot at this point in time. Rodriguez's 2016 season was a huge failure. Same goes for Adolfo, although it's way too early to jump to any conclusions on him just yet.

 

Honestly, outside of Nunez's breakout season, Solorzano's solid performance (despite underwhelming stuff), and Tatis's rise in prospect status (not with us mind you), there were simply not a lot of positives on the Latin American side of things.

[steveno89]

This is true, but to raBBit's point the early returns haven't been promising. Out of the first group, Martinez is probably the biggest success and he barely cracked futuresox's top 30. I'm higher than most on Cruz, but he doesn't deserve a top 30 spot at this point in time. Rodriguez's 2016 season was a huge failure. Same goes for Adolfo, although it's way too early to jump to any conclusions on him just yet.

 

Honestly, outside of Nunez's breakout season, Solorzano's solid performance (despite underwhelming stuff), and Tatis's rise in prospect status (not with us mind you), there were simply not a lot of positives on the Latin American side of things.

 

Sox need to do a better job with international scouting and signings

 

The bonus skimming deal really set them back, but hopes are that Paddy can start to right the ship

 

Frankly, the mlb needs to overhaul it's international player rules. Having a few clubs go nuts with overspending in certain years is really not the best way to handle it.

 

Next CBA should include more discussion on an international draft

[southsider2k5]

This is true, but to raBBit's point the early returns haven't been promising. Out of the first group, Martinez is probably the biggest success and he barely cracked futuresox's top 30. I'm higher than most on Cruz, but he doesn't deserve a top 30 spot at this point in time. Rodriguez's 2016 season was a huge failure. Same goes for Adolfo, although it's way too early to jump to any conclusions on him just yet.

 

Honestly, outside of Nunez's breakout season, Solorzano's solid performance (despite underwhelming stuff), and Tatis's rise in prospect status (not with us mind you), there were simply not a lot of positives on the Latin American side of things.

 

For the most part outside of big named signings, most of these guys coming out of LA don't make their marks this early. We are finally getting to the point where some of these guys should start to emerge or wash out. The process is just so long coming out of signing as a 16 year old.

[southsider2k5]

Sox need to do a better job with international scouting and signings

 

The bonus skimming deal really set them back, but hopes are that Paddy can start to right the ship

 

Frankly, the mlb needs to overhaul it's international player rules. Having a few clubs go nuts with overspending in certain years is really not the best way to handle it.

 

Next CBA should include more discussion on an international draft

 

They did. For starters they instituted a hard cap on spending.

[Thad Bosley]

This is true, but to raBBit's point the early returns haven't been promising. Out of the first group, Martinez is probably the biggest success and he barely cracked futuresox's top 30. I'm higher than most on Cruz, but he doesn't deserve a top 30 spot at this point in time. Rodriguez's 2016 season was a huge failure. Same goes for Adolfo, although it's way too early to jump to any conclusions on him just yet.

Honestly, outside of Nunez's breakout season, Solorzano's solid performance (despite underwhelming stuff), and Tatis's rise in prospect status (not with us mind you), there were simply not a lot of positives on the Latin American side of things.

The same Adolfo signed the same year the Cubs signed BOTH Gleyber Torres AND Eloy Jimenez? That Adolfo?

[Dick Allen]

Hostetler was saying these guys are coming fast and we will know all about them soon at Soxfest.

[Y2Jimmy0]

If the players are already gone in deals that were already agreed on before the new rules giving the Sox the extra $2 million went into existance, there isn't any real way to spend it, unless something happens in Cuba to suck up those dollars. By the time December rolls around the deals for the next year are long since done for the top players.

 

 

The players can't really all be gone necessarily anymore. The small market teams can trade for max of $10 million total, big market teams at $8.3 million total. There is only so much money to go around now under this new system.

[southsider2k5]

The same Adolfo signed the same year the Cubs signed BOTH Gleyber Torres AND Eloy Jimenez? That Adolfo?

 

Injuries have also made evaluating Adolfo pretty difficult.

[Soxfest]

It's pretty clear the Sox are much more inclined to get three or four notable guys as opposed to one big fish and maybe another guy or two that are notable. I am not sure it's the worst plan but the results aren't that promising.

Doing it this way 1 out of 20 may pan out.

[Chicago White Sox]

The same Adolfo signed the same year the Cubs signed BOTH Gleyber Torres AND Eloy Jimenez? That Adolfo?

I pointed this out a month or so ago, but yeah it's not a good look for us. Regardless, it's way too early to write off a prospect with the physical tools Adolfo has. I'm not overly optimistic, but you never know what happens if we can stay healthy and maintain some consistent development time.

[harfman77]

It's pretty clear the Sox are much more inclined to get three or four notable guys as opposed to one big fish and maybe another guy or two that are notable. I am not sure it's the worst plan but the results aren't that promising.

 

It is hard to fault that approach given how things have worked out not only for the Sox, but for all of the LA talent that has been signed. You have a couple guys that stand out as big money signings that have lived up to their bonuses, but you also have quite a lot of guys that were signed for less than $500K that have become at least regulars in the MLB. When the Sox went for Adolfo, they spent a ton of money on a highly rated guy, and that approach didn't really work out either as Adolfo now barely ranks in the orgs top 30 prospects. On the flip side, the Sox just acquired Reynaldo Lopez, a top 25 prospect in baseball and he was signed for $17K. Fernando Tatis Jr. was a guy signed for $825K who has developed into a legitimate prospect and was a product of the Sox "shotgun method" approach.

 

The LA market is such a crapshoot, even those teams that have busted through their spending limits have had mixed results. Yes, they have ended up with some high end talent, but they have seen a lot of guys turn into non-assets. I used to think that if the Sox weren't pushing the limits, they weren't really engaged, but based on results it is hard to fault their process.

[harfman77]

Sox need to do a better job with international scouting and signings

 

The bonus skimming deal really set them back, but hopes are that Paddy can start to right the ship

 

Frankly, the mlb needs to overhaul it's international player rules. Having a few clubs go nuts with overspending in certain years is really not the best way to handle it.

 

Next CBA should include more discussion on an international draft

 

This was fixed in the current CBA. The pools are now a hard cap.

[Y2Jimmy0]

Badler updated his article: http://www.baseballamerica.com/internation...VD1cwd79uCYp.97

 

Still nothing for the White Sox

[Dick Allen]

Badler updated his article: http://www.baseballamerica.com/internation...VD1cwd79uCYp.97

 

Still nothing for the White Sox

Which, If you like this young Cuban, puts them in a prime position to sign him if he doesn't clear before 6/15.

[bmags]

Which, If you like this young Cuban, puts them in a prime position to sign him if he doesn't clear before 6/15.

 

This seems like a very risky strategy for a rebuilding team.

[southsider2k5]

This seems like a very risky strategy for a rebuilding team.

 

This is one of those moments where Sox fans have to remember who they root for. I know a lot of people seemed to think these things would change when we went into rebuild mode, but I just can't see it happening, this is just one of those signs. I will say this year is odd because of the last minute changes in the CBA, but the Sox are never going to be that team.

[bmags]

This is one of those moments where Sox fans have to remember who they root for. I know a lot of people seemed to think these things would change when we went into rebuild mode, but I just can't see it happening, this is just one of those signs. I will say this year is odd because of the last minute changes in the CBA, but the Sox are never going to be that team.

 

I kinda figured that after last yera, when at Soxfest the sox acted like they would go big but then seemed to act like their 5 signings and staying under the cap was some industry pushing move.

 

It's just disappointing. Their draft strategy seemed to change. They shook up their development team. This seems like such low-hanging fruit, but I can totally see it just being JR gruffly saying "16 year olds are too risky"

[harfman77]

Which, If you like this young Cuban, puts them in a prime position to sign him if he doesn't clear before 6/15.

 

If the Sox don't have many deals lined up for 7/2, it shouldn't matter when Robert is cleared. They will still have $4M+ to spend, though they will have to do it in increments of $300K and less. Getting Robert his year and 15 kids this summer under $300K would give you quality this season and quantity next season.

 

I don't see anyway that Robert isn't declared a FA before 6/15. Too many teams with interest will be putting pressure on the commishs office to get it done.

 

From MLBTR article on Cards interest in Robert:

 

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.”

 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/02/card...uis-robert.html

 

 

[Dick Allen]

If the Sox don't have many deals lined up for 7/2, it shouldn't matter when Robert is cleared. They will still have $4M+ to spend, though they will have to do it in increments of $300K and less. Getting Robert his year and 15 kids this summer under $300K would give you quality this season and quantity next season.

 

I don't see anyway that Robert isn't declared a FA before 6/15. Too many teams with interest will be putting pressure on the commishs office to get it done.

 

From MLBTR article on Cards interest in Robert:

 

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.”

 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/02/card...uis-robert.html

J4L got a job with a AL MLB team?

[Chisoxfn]

http://www.baseballamerica.com/internation...b1xKFyoskYw5.97

 

Ben Badler's first International Preview is out. The White Sox are not linked to anyone in this article. They have $4.75 million to spend. They can acquire $3.5 million more. If they don't capitalize this year, they are the same old White Sox in my opinion. There is no excuse not to spend $8 million on the foreign market this year and they should get eviscerated if they do not do so.

I agree..I want to see them acquire that extra $3.5M.

[Chisoxfn]

It's pretty clear the Sox are much more inclined to get three or four notable guys as opposed to one big fish and maybe another guy or two that are notable. I am not sure it's the worst plan but the results aren't that promising.

Hard part is, it is still tough to evaluate. Tatis Jr. looks promising (unfortunately he's a Padre). It takes a long time for these guys to become much of anything and it really hasn't been that long since the whole Wilder fiasco and the related scandal, then add in the fact that Paddy hasn't been around that long (in the scheme of developing 16 year old kids...you really are talking 5-7 years of doing your thing in a space before you get a good idea). We should be at the point where we start seeing some of these guys emerge as they come into the states though and I'm hoping that is a trend we start to see here in 2017 / 2018 (as we are getting to that point in the window, imo).

 

I don't necessarily fault the Sox strategy either (given how raw all of these kids are...a few good ones might be better then 1 great one). They should maximize their opportunity to go out and expand their pool though, especially given the current rebuilding state.

[southsider2k5]

If the Sox don't have many deals lined up for 7/2, it shouldn't matter when Robert is cleared. They will still have $4M+ to spend, though they will have to do it in increments of $300K and less. Getting Robert his year and 15 kids this summer under $300K would give you quality this season and quantity next season.

 

I don't see anyway that Robert isn't declared a FA before 6/15. Too many teams with interest will be putting pressure on the commishs office to get it done.

 

From MLBTR article on Cards interest in Robert:

 

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."

 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/02/card...uis-robert.html

 

The Sox are not in the penalty phase. They can spend their allotment however they like.