Norichika Aoki (update: Brewers get Aoki)

[GoldGlove21]

That is depressing.

I guess the next question is - do teams know what others are posting?

Like did the Orioles post two million, and are they blindly hoping that is enough?

Blind bids which may be why baseball teams are posting an international draft so hard. Paying teams millions and millions of dollars for the rights to sign their players is just crazy IMO.

[GoldGlove21]

Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but isn't that the point? Otherwise the process would be an auction.

It is still an auction, it just means that the team that wants a player might give up $5M+ more than anyone else without knowing it until after the fact. I think MLB needs an international draft ASAP. Teams could rebuild even quicker if they had access to all markets.

[scOtt]

I agree, but it is relative too. The $2.5M posting fee would probably buy a couple good international prospects. I would have bid on him, but this may just mean that we think Reimold is the answer in LF. I am holding out hope that this means that the Orioles are more interested in Cespedes.

Maybe. Hope so.

[JTrea81]

I agree, but it is relative too. The $2.5M posting fee would probably buy a couple good international prospects. I would have bid on him, but this may just mean that we think Reimold is the answer in LF. I am holding out hope that this means that the Orioles are more interested in Cespedes.

Or Beltran...

[MrOrange82]

Or Beltran...

Ew. Letters.

[GoldGlove21]

Maybe. Hope so.

I saw an article stating that teams wanted an international draft right now. Cespedes is going to cost a ton IMO and there should be a lot of interest in him.

[GoldGlove21]

Or Beltran...

I am worried about our long term success. Beltran is a decent option on a one year deal with an option, but he doesn't get me excited or think that the Orioles can compete in 2012 if they landed him.

[33rdst]

I saw an article stating that teams wanted an international draft right now. Cespedes is going to cost a ton IMO and there should be a lot of interest in him.

The marlins look like the odds on favorite to get Cespedes.

[scOtt]

I am worried about our long term success. Beltran is a decent option on a one year deal with an option, but he doesn't get me excited or think that the Orioles can compete in 2012 if they landed him.

Aging slugger coming off a near career year. But a year and an option works. DD is doing enough about the long term for me. From the foundation.

[DrungoHazewood]

Blind bids which may be why baseball teams are posting an international draft so hard. Paying teams millions and millions of dollars for the rights to sign their players is just crazy IMO.

You do realize that the international draft will probably have nothing at all to do with posting fees, right? Japanese teams have these guys under contract. Darvish and Aoki aren't free agents. If they're to come to the US, there has to be compensation for the teams that currently have them signed.

Otherwise you're basically asking the players to jump their contract. Would you be ok if Adam Jones or Matt Wieters just announced they weren't going to honor the rest of their deals, and were going to play somewhere else with no compensation coming back to the O's?

[GoldGlove21]

I am started to think that we are really going to be disappointed this offseason. I think the Orioles have a chance at Chen and I think that we swing a trade for a need. Outside of that Damon is a guy that could interest us because DD keeps mentioning a LH OF that can play LF and spell Jones in CF or DH if needed. So our offseason would look like Chen, Wada, Damon, Flaherty, TT, Eveland and Antonelli will be the extent of our offseason additions and people are going to go nuts and not in a good way IMO.

Roberts

Guthrie

Andino

Reynolds

Markakis

Matusz

Chen

Wada (RP)

Johnson

Gregg

TT

Hardy

Wieters

Jones

Reimold

Flaherty

Britton

Strop

Simon (RP)

Arrieta

Damon

Bergesen

Eveland (RP)

Hunter

Antonelli

[GoldGlove21]

You do realize that the international draft will probably have nothing at all to do with posting fees, right? Japanese teams have these guys under contract. Darvish and Aoki aren't free agents. If they're to come to the US, there has to be compensation for the teams that currently have them signed.

Otherwise you're basically asking the players to jump their contract. Would you be ok if Adam Jones or Matt Wieters just announced they weren't going to honor the rest of their deals, and were going to play somewhere else with no compensation coming back to the O's?

It should IMO, that process is nuts.

[DrungoHazewood]

It should IMO, that process is nuts.

What's nuts about asking players to honor the system in place in their home country and the contracts they signed?

[GoldGlove21]

What's nuts about asking players to honor the system in place in their home country and the contracts they signed?

They are selling players and there is a reason that the team needs to agree to the posting before a player can be posted. International baseball anywhere in the world is not as good of a product as a whole than MLB. If it was a contract issue than the ML team that drafts him should just have to pay for the amount of money owed from that point until the end of the deal IMO.

[Remember The Alomar]

They are selling players and there is a reason that the team needs to agree to the posting before a player can be posted. International baseball anywhere in the world is not as good of a product as a whole than MLB. If it was a contract issue than the ML team that drafts him should just have to pay for the amount of money owed from that point until the end of the deal IMO.

You do realize that this would single-handedly murder Japanese baseball?