Orioles trade away two international bonus slots for Astros LHP Chris Lee

[weams]

I am kinda shocked that you can get a 6'5" lefty starter that is 22 in A ball that throws hard for slot money that you did not intend to spend. It would have been something to criticize if they had not used it and ended up with a 28 year old AAA corner outfielder for it. Or worse.

[Can_of_corn]

They gave up the ability to spend 661 thousand on 16 year olds.

I am sure they don't need another Schoop or Reyes.

As long as they have those competitive balance picks to fall back on...

[weams]

I am sure they don't need another Schoop or Reyes.

As long as they have those competitive balance picks to fall back on...

I am certain that they will spend their money at those levels. Or bet on Manfred to get an international draft before any penalty will affect the Orioles.

[weams]

The Orioles also signed Carlos Diaz, a 17-year-old first baseman from Mexico City of the Mexican League. Diaz, who is 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, impressed the Orioles with his lefthanded power potential. Terms of Diaz’s contract were not available. The club announced both deals last week.

The Orioles spent less than any other team on international amateur players during the 2013 calendar year. Aside from Cuban outfielder Dariel Alvarez, whose bonus was exempt from the international bonus pools, Baltimore’s only other six-figure signing was righthander Ofelky Peralta, who signed for $325,000 in September.

I don't see them spending 1.75 million. Do you?

[weams]

I am sure they don't need another Schoop or Reyes.

As long as they have those competitive balance picks to fall back on...

I am not saying that spending no money internationally is a good thing. No sir.

[Can_of_corn]

I don't see them spending 1.75 million. Do you?

Throwing stuff on the wall to see what sticks works best when you have more stuff.

I'm not clamoring for a big signing, they can spread it around. I just don't want them not using it at all.

I find it hard to believe they can't find kids worth adding to the system.

[weams]

Throwing stuff on the wall to see what sticks works best when you have more stuff.

I'm not clamoring for a big signing, they can spread it around. I just don't want them not using it at all.

I find it hard to believe they can't find kids worth adding to the system.

Guess they don't want to spend any money since the MASN case was not resolved. Maybe the big "Seller Moment" if we fall out of contention might just be for cash relief. That would make sense right?

[Rene88]

Y

Throwing stuff on the wall to see what sticks works best when you have more stuff.

I'm not clamoring for a big signing, they can spread it around. I just don't want them not using it at all.

I find it hard to believe they can't find kids worth adding to the system.

Well said. The lack of resources spent on international talent is upsetting.

[Can_of_corn]

Guess they don't want to spend any money since the MASN case was not resolved. Maybe the big "Seller Moment" might just be for cash relief. That would make sense right?

Or they have shown a tendency to prefer spending money on MLB talent, to include marginal talent, then to spend money on unproven kids.

[weams]

Good insight in this thread. Thanks. It hasn't been taken over yet.

We definitely have an approach on this issue that differs from pretty much everyone else. We will see whether it makes sense over time. I am skeptical for sure.

What do you think of Chris Lee?

[Aristotelian]

I hope Dan isn't expecting to get Cliff Lee.

[MurphDogg]

Keep in mind that these are 2014-15 slots. The Orioles already weren't going to spend all the money on international amateurs. At least they got something for the slots, unlike last year when the unspent money went completely to waste.

[SpOkane]

Basically traded away the value for a mid third round pick.

I hope they utilized the rest of their allotment on a bunch of $50,000-$75,000 players. I'd like to see some int'l lhps and up the middle players come into the system, like EdRod and Schoop. Not necessarily stars, but players that can be trained up to fill needs up and down the org as well as utilized for trades in 2-3 years to improve the MLB team. The optimist in me hopes they are refining the process in finding the gems in the $50,000 to $100,000 tier and identifying 1-3 players @ the $250,000 range or higher.

Nothing wrong w/ value, as I'm frugal myself, but there needs to be a process in place that reflects this kind of spending. I suppose time will tell.

[Can_of_corn]

You think Lee should be rated as a third round pick?

He was a fourth round pick then spent three seasons in rookie ball.

[Can_of_corn]

22 in High A isn't bad at all though.

He isn't in High A.

Lancaster is the Astros High A team.