Comments on: Introducing Miguel Angel Sano

By: Trinidad Vreeland

Trinidad Vreeland — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 07:23:40 +0000

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By: Paul Thomas

Paul Thomas — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 07:12:55 +0000

Based on where international players typically appear on top-prospect rankings compared to draftees who are paid the same bonuses, international bonuses should (in my semi-informed opinion) be discounted by a factor of somewhere between 1/2 and 2/3 compared to draft bonuses, because they are obtained through a partially open market.

Just emphasizes how effective the draft is at screwing minor leaguers out of fair wages…

In general, we should expect bonuses paid to international players to be lower than those for domestic players, once you discount properly for open versus closed markets. Why? Because international player evaluation is much less effective than domestic evaluation.

There are a number of reasons for this (culture shock, poorly organized or nonexistent amateur ball systems [as compared to the very well-organized NCAA and high school systems in the US], malnourished players in poverty-stricken regions) but the biggest reason is simply the age of the players at signing. Most American players will have minimal height growth after signing, so physical projection is comparatively easy. It’s a lot harder to figure out how heavy a guy is going to be (and thus what positions he’ll be able to play) when you’re guessing at two dimensions instead of one.

By: JasonL

JasonL — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:58:02 +0000

Pena was not signed by the Reds initially. He was acquired from the Yankees.

By: R.J. Anderson

R.J. Anderson — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:48:12 +0000

Correction: Yorman Rodriguez.

By: milkman41

milkman41 — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:35:40 +0000

“Reds signed outfielder Rafael Rodriguez for a positional player record” – it was actually the Giants who signed Rodriguez, if I’m not mistaken.

By: metty5

metty5 — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:42:59 +0000

RJ–

I have to disagree with the rational at the bottom because of the last sentence you wrote:

“Teams must answer whether Sano would be a top five selection in his first eligible draft, if the answer is yes; they should put forth the money. If the answer is no, they need to evaluate where he would fall. Remember, this is 4.28 million in closed negotiations; Sano is on the open market, in theory that would inflate his price.”

You can’t evaluate players monetarily in different systems. An open vs. closed market is a huge difference. Giving a player the ability to negotiate with several employers rather than a sole bidder own your professional rights (draft) will greatly increase your earning power.

I’m not really sure were the draft picks come into this other than that Pittsburgh went below slot to save money for Sano. I’m not sure that the open international system can be equated to; find the players true ranking among draftees, offer them in the ballpark of that slot recommendation/what that position has been historically paid.

Pittsburgh really hasn’t been a huge player in the Latin area like the Giants or Rangers. A Sano signing could really put them on the map down there as serious contenders.