2016-17 International Signing Period

I see the Astros strategy...get all the young SS in our system so the other clubs have to trade us players we need

 

Badler mentions that the Astros are expected to blow past their bonus pool this year, and much of that is being allocated to Sierra. I would probably expect the Astros to trade some minor leaguers for some international bonus slots.

Is there is any penalty difference for being $1 over or $10 million over?

 

The CBA lays out penalties for teams that exceed their allotted bonus pool amounts:

0-5% overage: MLB taxes the overage at a 100% rate.
5-10% overage: (1) MLB taxes the overage at a 100% rate. (2) The offending club loses the right to sign any player to a bonus exceeding $500,000 during the following international signing period.
10-15% overage: (1) MLB taxes the overage at a 100% rate. (2) The offending club loses the right to sign any player to a bonus exceeding $300,000 during the following international signing period.
15%+ overage: (1) MLB taxes the overage at a 100% rate. (2) The offending club loses the right to sign any player to a bonus exceeding $300,000 during the following two international signing periods.


http://www.vivaelbirdos.com/viva-el...a-primer-on-international-amateur-free-agency

 

If they're going to go over they might as well break the bank. Sierra, Nova, and Cueta would be a great haul, especially if supplemented with 3-4 mid-six figure guys. A normal cycle for a contending team in the current system would add 1 elite international prospect and 2-3 other decent prospects that get six figures. To get twice that would be akin to what Houston did in the last Rule 4 draft, netting 3 of the top 15 prospects overall.

If the CBA keeps free agent draft pick compensation in play Houston has set themselves up to keep a very healthy pipeline, with potential comp picks coming for Castro, Gomez, and Fister. That, along with the likelihood of an international draft that might alleviate the downside of the penalty incurred for going over their pool, might be playing into Houston's strategy to go way over their pool this year.

 

Does this mention the Astros getting Nova? I heard we might be in on him. We are already going over the limit, might as well

http://www.baseballamerica.com/inte...merges-to-sign-july-2-shortstop-freudis-nova/

 

Yes, expected to sign with Astros for 1.5 million.

 

awesome. Definitely hope they break the bank this year and go all out if they're exceeding either way. Unless they think they can trade for enough slots to not exceed at all

 

Absolutely love Nova's build and swing in that video on the BA link. Only 2 minutes but looks like a player. Cueta's video was more of a hype video and included a lot of (unimpressive) fielding, so not as excited about him.

 

are we expected to get cueta also?

 

Last I saw these were the significant names Houston is expected to sign:

$1M+ bonus:
IF Anibal Sierra
IF Freudis Nova
IF Yorbin Cueta

$300k-$1M bonus:
RHP Angel Macuare
RHP Jairo Solis
C Nerio Rodriguez
IF Deury Carrasco

 

Why isn't Anibal Sierra ranked in any of these top-30 lists? If he's not an elite prospect, then why are the Astros going to be paying him so much money?

 

They didn't include Cuban players in those lists.

 

Astros Will Break International Bonus Pool, Agree To Sign Cuban SS Anibal Sierra

April 09, 2016 By Ben Badler

Add the Astros into the mix of teams planning to go beyond their international bonus pools this year. The team has an agreement in place with 22-year-old Cuban shortstop Anibal Sierra, a free agent who is subject to the bonus pools, to sign for $3.5 million on July 2 when the 2016-17 signing period begins. With a 100 percent overage tax for exceeding their pool, the total cost to the Astros to sign Sierra will essentially be $7 million. ESPN’s Enrique Rojas first reported the agreement.

It’s surprising that the Astros would be willing to break their bonus pool to sign Sierra, who was not a standout player in Cuba. Sierra didn’t play much in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, but from watching him play there during his final season (2014-15), he didn’t have any tools that stood out, with below-average speed and occasional gap power at best. He did use the opposite field, but he had trouble making contact against fastballs in the strike zone and a tendency to chase sliders off the plate.

Undoubtedly, the Astros saw something different in Sierra. Those who have seen Sierra since he left the country say his tools have ticked up, including his speed and power. Scouts who liked Sierra felt he was a true shortstop with soft hands and a good internal clock with a solid arm to stick at the position, with a line-drive, contact-oriented approach from the right side of the plate and some surprising power given his numbers in Cuba.
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Anibal Sierra does not appear to be a can't miss player.

Go figure.

 

Oversimplified, but he's going to cost the Astros about 7 million dollars in bonus and overage fees. That cost is less than what 1 win is worth on the free agent market. In other words, his contract represents what one should expect for a player that's average expected value will be about half of Marwin Gonzalez's.

 

BA added 20 more names to their rankings today and three players expected to sign with the Astros are listed.

40. Angel Macuare RHP
43. Nerio Rodriguez C
46. Deurys Carrasco SS

 

its 1 letter. relax.