AA and LaCava watched Cuban free agent Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez

[John_Havok]

I'm so glad they bid conservatively on Chapman and Darvish.

 

Me too. But I guess it's preferable to give up multiple top, mid and low ish tier prospect assets in order to acquire Guys like Happ, Buerhle and Dickey, rather than acquiring additional young assets for nothing but money.

[ElNik2013]

Get this Gonzalez guy, look at it as a FA signing, I'm sure this has been suggested already, but maybe if we post it enough, it'll happen!

[Angrioter]

Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez Cleared To Sign With MLB

 

Cuban right-hander Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez has been cleared by the U.S. Treasury Department and is free to sign with Major League teams, MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez reports (Twitter link). It isn't expected to take long for Gonzalez to find a club, as Sanchez believes the righty could be signed within the next two weeks.

 

Gonzalez, 26, is old enough that his contract wouldn't count against a team's international signing cap, and thus the highly-touted pitcher is expected to command a deal worth as much as $60MM over five years. The Dodgers are thought to be the favorites to sign Gonzalez, while the Red Sox, Rangers, Cubs and Twins are also known to have some interest.

 

 

 

jhjhjh

[Angrioter]

Great job AA

[Frag]

absolutely... wouldn't want to make a bid that might actually win, but you just want to let your fans make believe you barely missed out.

 

At least we have Osuna.

[Caper]

This would probably be the worst time to sign a guy like that. Price will be through the roof. Probably a scrub.

[ElNik2013]

Drew Hutchison pitched today for Dunedin, don't know if anyone mentioned it and didn't know where to post this. There should be a thread for injuries/rehabs.

[Abomination]

I'd do 5/60.

 

I suspect we'll be competitively in on him. The fact we aren't mentioned in the rumors is probably a good thing. We also clearly have a spot for him, basically right now.

[ElNik2013]

Sean Nolin so far tonight: 4IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 6K....I probably just jinxed him.

[Caper]

Based on what?

 

I am just guessing there are a lot of teams seen what Puig is doing and that may inflate the market for young Cuban defectors right now.... that's all.

[Terminator]

I'd do 5/60.

 

Based upon what?

[Vdubfan]

I'm young, would play for dirt cheap and wouldn't come at the costs of players. Can jays give me $60 mil??

[flafson]

I'm young, would play for dirt cheap and wouldn't come at the costs of players. Can jays give me $60 mil??

 

Ill play for 1mil.

[admin]

He'll sign for $60M/5years. Jays come in close with $12M/5years

[Boxcar]

The Cubs have landed the top international free agent but have not made it official yet. They still need to acquire over $600k in slot money. It's speculated that money will come as party of a Garza trade and in the next 3 days.

 

You know, if you phrased your things differently maybe fewer people would roll their eyes. You should say "my BEST GUESS is that he lands with the Cubs, but I don't really have inside info so it's hard to say."

[Boxcar]

No it's true, the Cubs have in fact reached an agreement with Eloy Jimenez and the whole industry knows it. They just can't announce it until they acquire some space.

 

Thought he was referring to Gonzalez.

[Angrioter]

That's probably more likely. This is an organization that was glad to spend $50M on a 34-year-old #4 ewbut wouldn't open the wallet for a 25-year-old whose floor was a #3 starter.

 

I'd be cool with Peavy though. He's a stud.

 

 

Peavy is a stud but.........Jays needs a Cuban ASAP. Cubans bandwagon

[Stangstag]

Or they're saving money for a stupid overpay on an aging player.

 

Put it this way. They sign Gonzalez, the fans all say "who the f*** is this guy?"

 

But If they sign someone like Halladay (a big name) the fans scream "Holy s***!!! Roy Halladay!!!! Jays are going all the way this year!!!"

[Stangstag]

Im just pointing out how our Front Office tends to think

[Angrioter]

Cuban Pitcher Hinojosa On Radar Of MLB Teams

 

Cuban righty Dalier Hinojosa defected in February and began petitioning MLB to become a free agent last month, writes MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez. He still must be cleared by the U.S. government before signing with an MLB team. The Cubs, Dodgers, Red Sox, and Yankees are among the teams that have shown interest in the 27-year-old, Sanchez adds.

 

Hinojosa throws in the low-to-mid 90s with a slider, curveball, two-seam fastball, and changeup, according to Sanchez. He starred with the Cuban national team, and is a former teammate of Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez. Gonzalez, who has been cleared to sign with MLB teams, with throw three innings in front of scouts as part of a Thursday showcase in Tijuana, writes Sanchez. There is no limitation to the contracts these Cuban defectors may receive, because they are at least 23 years old and have played as a professional in a Cuban professional league for at least three seasons. For the 2014-15 international signing period, that minimum requirement will jump to five seasons.

 

Otro Cubano

[flafson]

Im just pointing out how our Front Office tends to think

 

It doesn't really matter, media attention fades away very quickly, what stays is winning record. If you have it people will be happy, if you don't we failed anyway.

[G-Snarls]

Cuban Pitcher Hinojosa Granted Free Agency

 

By Tim Dierkes [July 16 at 11:52am CST]

 

Cuban righty Dalier Hinojosa defected in February and began petitioning MLB to become a free agent last month, has received clearance from the U.S. government and has been granted free agency by MLB, tweets MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez. The Cubs, Dodgers, Red Sox, and Yankees are among the teams that have shown interest in the 27-year-old, Sanchez wrote in June. Hinojosa is represented by Praver/Shapiro, MLBTR has learned.

 

Hinojosa throws in the low-to-mid 90s with a slider, curveball, two-seam fastball, and changeup, according to Sanchez. He starred with the Cuban national team, and is a former teammate of Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez. Gonzalez, who has been cleared to sign with MLB teams, with throw three innings in front of scouts as part of a Thursday showcase in Tijuana, writes Sanchez. There is no limitation to the contracts these Cuban defectors may receive, because they are at least 23 years old and have played as a professional in a Cuban professional league for at least three seasons. For the 2014-15 international signing period, that minimum requirement will jump to five seasons.

[flafson]

What i don't understand is how does anyone believe that they are worth a big contract? Same with Darvish (clearly now you can see that he does)

[Arkadium]

Going into next year you could say Darvish is getting about the same $$ as Mark-f***ing-Buehrle (If you average out Yu Darvish's contract including the posting fee it's about $18mil/year)

[G-Snarls]

What i don't understand is how does anyone believe that they are worth a big contract? Same with Darvish (clearly now you can see that he does)

 

That's it - these guys with no MLB experience are a gamble

 

Darvish will pay off

 

These guys? Maybe, maybe not

[Terminator]

IMO we'll get a glimpse into our offseason payroll flexibility when he signs. The biggest offer tends to land players like this. Its pretty unanimous that this kid is a legit major league starter with front-rotation upside. We have a huge need, and the opportunity to get an arm using only cash. If he signs for 5/60 and it isn't with us I'll take it as a sign that payroll may not be going much higher in the offseason.

 

Him signing isn't going to tell us anything about the Jays' payroll flexibility. The Jays FO could simply think he's not that good, thus the fact that they don't throw 5 for 60 at him is based upon their own scouting rather than what money is available.

 

The only way it tells us something is if the Jays come through with a huge offer and he signs with us. Then we'll know the Jays have more money to spend. Otherwise I don't think you'll be able to draw conclusions from it.

[Chappy]

Him signing isn't going to tell us anything about the Jays' payroll flexibility. The Jays FO could simply think he's not that good, thus the fact that they don't throw 5 for 60 at him is based upon their own scouting rather than what money is available.

 

The only way it tells us something is if the Jays come through with a huge offer and he signs with us. Then we'll know the Jays have more money to spend. Otherwise I don't think you'll be able to draw conclusions from it.

 

Didn't Beeston say a few weeks back that this team has more money if needed? I highly doubt they don't add more payroll this winter.

[Terminator]

Didn't Beeston say a few weeks back that this team has more money if needed? I highly doubt they don't add more payroll this winter.

 

I agree, I think there is probably some more room. How much I'm not sure.

 

Regardless, I don't think what happens with this one particular Cuban pitcher is going to tell us how much this team will have to spend.

[flafson]

Didn't Beeston say a few weeks back that this team has more money if needed? I highly doubt they don't add more payroll this winter.

 

If needed usually means if we are in contention. We are clearly not.

[Chappy]

As BTS has pointed out many times, because of salary raises they would need to raise payroll to add anyone. Reyes and Buehrle will combine to make $13M more in 2014 than they did this year.

 

Everyone is certain that they will add at least one more piece. So it follows that significant payroll will also be added.

 

They have known since last winter payroll would go up quite a bit based on the structure of current contracts and arbitration eligible players. So they have a clear idea of what the 2014 payroll is already sitting at. How much it goes up beyond that no one knows, but I would be surprised if they didn't at least have enough to add about $15M more. I just don't see this team going in so big this past winter and then decide that is it. Attendance and ratings support the idea that payroll can and probably should go up.