caulfield12

And now back to regularly-schedule programming... Eric Longenhagen at Fangraphs said there's a RUMOR that Dodgers have a deal to acquire $3M international space for Josue De Paula. Dodgers: Josue De Paula, OF (No. 2/MLB No. 48) Few players in the Minors can match De Paula's combination of hitting ability, power potential and plate discipline, and he slashed .268/.404/.405 with 10 homers and 27 steals in 107 games between two Single-A levels at age 19. The second cousin of former NBA guards Stephon Marbury and Sebastian Telfair, he was born in Brooklyn but signed out of the Dominican Republic for $397,500 in 2022. That would be nuts if the White Sox could pull that one off...pretty much anyone would trade the entire Sox signing group as it stands today for De Paula individually.

When you're 55 years old and had four mini-strokes last year...you suddenly start noticing these little things in a way that people in their 30's and 40's don't yet quite fathom.

Cris Rodriguez, OF, Tigers: Rodriguez receives a $3.2MM bonus from Detroit, per Badler. Already 6’4″ and 200 pounds with his 17th birthday still two weeks away, Rodriguez stands out for his bat speed and raw power. Badler calls him a potential 30-homer slugger who’ll probably settle into a corner but for the time being runs well enough to have a chance in center. MLB.com’s report calls Rodriguez a “near carbon copy” of Eloy Jimenez at this same age, even down to hailing from the same city in the Dominican Republic and possessing a similarly aggressive approach. The Tigers will hope Rodriguez can do a better job of avoiding injuries, but Rodriguez possesses thunderous power — more so than any other player in this class. Damning with faint praise. Turning back to the rest of the class, Badler has a team-by-team breakdown of the most prominent signings over at Baseball America, as well as scouting reports and (in some cases) projected bonuses for as many as 100 players. Longenhagen runs through his own list of 50 international prospects with their expected team and signing bonus over at FanGraphs, as well as a detailed look at some of intricacies and idiosyncrasies of Sasaki’s unique free agent saga. Romero runs through 35 high-profile international talents and their expected team/signing bonus at his site as well. At MLB.com, Jesse Sanchez and Jesse Borek have their own ranking of the top 50 in the class, with scouting reports on each. Those interested in the finer details of this year’s collection of international amateurs are highly encouraged to check out those resources in full. Badler, Longenhagen, Romero, Sanchez and many others around the baseball world dedicate enormous portions of their time and efforts to covering this topic to the fullest. mlbtraderumors.com

Apparently you've never seen the movie MAJOR LEAGUE, nor are familiar with the legendary slugger Pedro Serrano who struggles with off speed stuff about as much as Andrew (not Ricky "Wild Thing") Vaughn and Luis Robert. And talks like 1990's Sammy Sosa... Is very bad to steal Jobu's rum. Is very bad.

Since this entire White Sox Reign of Terror seems like it was meant to follow the script of Major League minus Rachel Phelps' non-politically correct cardboard mannequin being stripped down, I'll take it. Lou Brown is definitely dead in real life. and Eddie Harris (greaseball soft tosser) is 82...Dennis Haysbert is 70 (gone on to do countless commercials), Charlie Donovan (front office exec) is dead, Bob Uecker is 90, Suzanne Dorn left Hollywood in 1992, Renee Russo is 70. Corbin Bernsen/Roger Dorn is 70 and Tom Berenger 75. Apparently Margaret Whitton/Rachel Phelps has also passed away, sadly. Can't find the two Asian dudes who opine "They suck." and then later, "They still suck."

At least I haven't been accused of Cubs' random yet...so there's that. SD has been my second team (and official NL club, growing up it was Cardinals) ever since Tatis/Machado. At any rate, I will applaud Getz as soon as he learns a foreign language as difficult as Japanese just to recruit an international prospect as impactful as Sasaki. Frankly, wouldn't be shocked if their recent signee Wendelken out of Japan is tied into Sasaki somehow. They have another Japanese pitcher Matsui in their bullpen just for this moment...four more years on his contract, similar to Darvish. https://www.mlb.com/padres/news/yuki-matsui-japanese-reliever-signs-with-padres

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=3896358620627240&vanity=NassauGuardian Oakland A's also expected to sign #12 guy from the Bahamas, SS Ayden Johnson...

https://www.si.com/mlb/braves/news/atlanta-braves-sign-five-tool-international-outfield-prospect-01jhnbfg6nfb Lost a top flight Cuban outfielder to the Braves for a big chunk of money.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/chicago-seeks-authorization-sell-830-214041625.html Chicago's credit rating takes a hit as attempted bond offering nears

"Serrano, a 16-year-old from the Dominican Republic, received more money from the Twins than he would have with the Dodgers, according to FanGraphs. A 6-1 center fielder who hits lefthanded, Serrano is ranked No. 50 on MLB.com’s top international prospects list. “He can really run,” Barinas said. “He can really hit — advanced approach at the plate. There is actually some power, too. Really exciting at a premium position.” Serrano is one of the Twins additions headlining their 2025 international signing class, with five players expected to command signing bonuses around $1 million or higher. The Twins entered this year’s signing period with $7.56 million they can spend in bonuses, one of eight teams with the highest international bonus pool." http://www.google.com.hk/url?q=https://www.startribune.com/twins-international-signings-teilon-serrano-santiago-leon/601206371&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwie8tG36_iKAxWiI0QIHSM0B58QFnoECAUQAg&usg=AOvVaw0j-Z7H-H2-5qgTQGaKvpIn "Honestly, this is kind of the craziest signing period I’ve seen,” said Roman Barinas, the Twins’ director of Latin America scouting. "In addition to Morel and Patiño, the Dodgers also lost a commitment from Teilon Serrano as too received a larger bonus upon signing with the Minnesota Twins, according to baseball insider Francys Romero: Dominican SS Teilon Serrano is set to sign today with the Minnesota Twins for approximately $1M, sources confirmed." 50. Teilon Serrano, OF, D.R.: Twins ($847,500)

At the plate, Serrano shows off plus bat speed among his peers, giving confidence that despite his current smaller frame, there will be more pop in his bat as he matures. He employs a dip in his left-handed swing and front leg kick in an attempt to generate power from his 185-pound frame. His sweet swing is his best known commodity, which when coupled with pro instruction, gives him the floor of being at least an average bat. Serrano’s carrying tool is his well-above-average speed, which should suit him well as he makes the transition to center field in pro ball after getting looks on the infield as an amateur. A dynamic, high-twitch athlete, Serrano has had 60-yard dash times clocked as quick as 6.4 seconds. Those wheels have clubs believing he is destined for gap-to-gap outfield coverage, which enhances his overall upside as his pro career begins. mlb.com scouting report

Twins pick DR OF Teilon Serrano off from Dodgers...their third none lost player. "Some executives with knowledge of the International market predict Sasaki will make his decision first before giving the chosen team some time to acquire further bonus pool money (teams can increase the total value of their pools by 60 per cent). In the Blue Jays’ case, they could increase their allotment from $6,261,600 to $10,018,560. Whether Sasaki would expect all that money is one of the many unknowns here, but he’d certainly get most of it, meaning the winning bidder for Sasaki will likely have to back out of some existing deals." https://www.sportsnet.ca/mlb/article/blue-jays-in-limbo-as-roki-sasakis-decision-looms-large/ Only pool cash move so far for Sabol...between SFG/Boston.

BLue Jays still haven't announced their anticipated Christopher Polanco signing fwiw. https://www.si.com/fannation/mlb/fastball/news/toronto-blue-jays-set-to-sign-exciting-shortstop-christopher-polanco-out-of-dominican-republic

Daniel Hudson come on down...

https://pinstripesnation.com/who-is-kyle-hart-ex-red-sox-kbo-record-lefty-on-yankees-radar-2025-01-1/ Does anyone know? Harold? Mac?

Maybe we can have a contest to name the Twins' final price?...good case study, not a premium franchise by any stretch, but still potentially undervalued. High/premium price would be anything over $1.65-1.80 billion.

Roki Sasaki is from Rikuzentakata in the Iwate Prefecture. Born in 2001, he was named after the villain Rouki from Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger, a Super Sentai show that was aired in the same year.[2][3] He was in the third grade during the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake. The resulting tsunami swept away his house. His father and grandparents died, while Sasaki, his mother, and his two brothers had to live in a nursing home during the recovery.[4][5][6] The family moved to Ōfunato the next year and Sasaki began to play baseball at his new school. wikipedia Wow....didn't know this part of his backstory.

The problem here is that Toronto already seems to be out... SD doesn't have any high profile targets like the last two years and the Dodgers have already lost a couple of their better guys. And Sasaki isn't as motivated by up front money, as they're looking at a plethora of marketing/sponsorships from Japanese companies to start off with. Have the White Sox ever ACQUIRED instead of traded away international pool money lol???

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/toronto-blue-jays-2025-international-class-scouting-report/ Look for movement here if there's even the slightest chance he goes to Toronto instead of SD/LAD. Or Toronto trading for signing pool money in increments of $250k.

Unfortunate that they couldn't get a live signing video out today with Cruz and/or Patino. Makes it feel more like mlb draft//NCAA signing day excitement.

Well...haven't you heard that mantra repeated ad nauseum everything is more expensive in California these days? $105 Sounds like a rounding error on the Dodgers' payroll, but still almost double where the White Sox are heading without Robert and Benintendi. Meanwhile, Cohen doing Cohen things... https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/mets-sign-elian-pena-to-5-million-bonus-to-open-2025-international-signing-period/

That job and UCLA have seemingly been cursed...getting grounded by an average Iowa team didn't help much.

And Morel to the Pirates for even bigger money... Would have expected news of teams trading cash/pool money to LA SD Toronto by now. Toronto has at least 4-5 prospects that are upper tier but all the attention on the two West Coast teams right now. Fwiw, Toronto believes their "splitter" factory/pitching philosophy might be one of the reasons they made the final cut.

https://www.bluebirdbanter.com/2025/1/14/24343286/today-in-blue-jays-history-trade-david-wells-for-mike-sirotka

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/andrew-salas-signs-with-marlins-for-3-7-million-in-2025-international-signing-period/ Cash-challenged Marlins betting big on another Salas brother....