NEWSLETTER
The 2015-16 International Free Agency period opens today, and, if you’ve missed out on why that’s a big day, you can read yesterday’s primer here, and you can read the latest rumors on Cubs targets here.
The persistent question as we’ve approached the open of this period has been: If the Cubs are going to blow out their budget, as rumored, are they going to make it worthwhile by getting enough talent?
Early rumors had the Cubs tied to six of MLB.com’s top 30 IFA prospects, but (1) that was before a handful of additional entrants were added to the very top of the list (most of whom are not connected to the Cubs); and (2) other lists don’t necessarily agree with MLB.com.
Are the Cubs going to blow their budget, and incur two years’ worth of penalties, for a very small return?
Well, I still say give this front office the benefit of the doubt, and, in his latest big board update, Kiley McDaniel now has several more prospects predicted to go to the Cubs – by far the most, in quantity, predicted to any single team. Seven of those players are predicted to get seven-figure bonuses, which is huge. Indeed, McDaniel has the Cubs spending quite a bit more than they did in 2013 when they blew it out that year.
In the early going, it looks like the Cubs opted this year to go for a quantity approach – well, more accurately, they’re going for quality, but not necessarily elite, where the expense gets disproportionately skewed by one or two teams with an almost infinite supply of cash.
Ben Badler also has an update today, and the Cubs are tied to four of the top 30 prospects, but, once again, not the elite guys. Keep in mind, there’s quite a bit of difference of opinion on the rankings once you get past the top handful, and obviously the Cubs have ranked guys, internally, based on their own evaluations.
Speaking of the elite players, Jeff Passan reports something that’s been expected for months:
Sources: Dodgers expected to finish $16M deal with July 2 headliner Yadier Alvarez tomorrow. Cuban RHP is 19 with a huge arm. FB up to 99.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 2, 2015
With their overage penalty, Alvarez will essentially cost the Dodgers a hair under $32 million. He’s a big-time prospect, but it’s hard to fault the Cubs – or any other team without the Dodgers’ resources – for failing to spend $30 million on a 19-year-old prospect arm.
We’ll see what happens with the other top Cuban prospects, whose future plans are a little less well-known. Indeed, it’s hard to gauge just how desired some of those prospects are, since many have only become available within the last couple months.
The biggest non-Cuban prospect is probably shortstop Lucius Fox, and he’s reportedly headed to the Giants:
Source: #Giants agree to an estimated $6.5M deal with SS Lucius Fox, #3 on @MLB Top 30 Int’l Prospects http://t.co/YduPYJGNy2 @MLBPipeline
— Jesse Sanchez (@JesseSanchezMLB) July 2, 2015
UPDATES aplenty: The Cubs have reportedly agreed to deals with a ton of prospects already. I’ll have more on them later, but just to keep things in front of you for now …
Source: #Cubs agree to a $600K deal with RHP Yunior Perez @MLBPipeline
— Jesse Sanchez (@JesseSanchezMLB) July 2, 2015
Source: #Cubs agree to a $1.25Mdeal with C Miguel Amaya, #25 on @MLB Top 30 Int’l Prospects list http://t.co/YduPYJGNy2 @MLBPipeline
— Jesse Sanchez (@JesseSanchezMLB) July 2, 2015
Source: #Cubs agree to a $2M deal with SS Aramis Ademan, #19 on @MLB Top 30 Int’l Prospects list http://t.co/YduPYJGNy2 @MLBPipeline
— Jesse Sanchez (@JesseSanchezMLB) July 2, 2015
Cubs Agree To Sign No. 12 International Prospect Aramis Ademan http://t.co/Xczy7URFyG
— Ben Badler (@BenBadler) July 2, 2015
Source: #Cubs agree to a $2.5M deal with OF Yonathan Sierra, #16 on @MLB Top 30 Int’l Prospects list http://t.co/YduPYJGNy2 @MLBPipeline
— Jesse Sanchez (@JesseSanchezMLB) July 2, 2015
Source: #Cubs agree to a $1.3M deal with SS Yonathan Perlaza, #13 on @MLB Top 30 Int’l Prospects list http://t.co/YduPYJGNy2 @MLBPipeline
— Jesse Sanchez (@JesseSanchezMLB) July 2, 2015
Source: #Cubs agree to est. $1M deal with Christopher Martinez, #28 on @MLB Top 30 Int’l Prospects list http://t.co/YduPYJGNy2 @MLBPipeline
— Jesse Sanchez (@JesseSanchezMLB) July 2, 2015
