Waste of International Bounty. New GM. Discuss.

[Can_of_corn]

Be interesting if he ends up back on the market.

Of course he will be able to keep the bonus he got from the Dodgers so he might be in a position to wait until July when the pools reset.

[olddogger]

7 hours ago, Cy Bundy said:

 

More on the Dodgers:  https://blogs.fangraphs.com/the-dodgers-might-be-in-actual-legal-trouble/

 

[OriolesMagic83]

11 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

Be interesting if he ends up back on the market.

Of course he will be able to keep the bonus he got from the Dodgers so he might be in a position to wait until July when the pools reset.

The O's might have a use for all that international money they have accumulated.  How much is left now after trading some to the Phillies?

[Can_of_corn]

56 minutes ago, OriolesMagic83 said:

The O's might have a use for all that international money they have accumulated.  How much is left now after trading some to the Phillies?

We do not know.

[Camden_yardbird]

Or those who have read the story that is linked above from fangraphs...Let's take a step back from what do the Orioles have to gain from this to a place where we actually acknowledge how bad that all is if true.

The article is basically saying that MLB clubs were functionally supporting mafia organizations in the pursuit of children with athletic talent.  It's basically like saying MLB teams were the legit side of child trafficking.  That's some pretty serious accusation if true.

If this is indeed what Angelos learned it had to take to participate in the international market and decided he did not want the Orioles to be a part of it then I am all for that decision.

I just hope with the federal investigation and the new rules like the Cuban posting system help eliminate some of that criminality.  And I am seriously disappointed MLB didn't take action long ago to try and curb that criminal element.  It would have been easy to  remove some of that immediate financial incentive give to say kidnap people like Leonis Martin if MLB had looked to control the bonus system that it perpetuated.

[Can_of_corn]

12 minutes ago, Camden_yardbird said:

Or those who have read the story that is linked above from fangraphs...Let's take a step back from what do the Orioles have to gain from this to a place where we actually acknowledge how bad that all is if true.

The article is basically saying that MLB clubs were functionally supporting mafia organizations in the pursuit of children with athletic talent.  It's basically like saying MLB teams were the legit side of child trafficking.  That's some pretty serious accusation if true.

If this is indeed what Angelos learned it had to take to participate in the international market and decided he did not want the Orioles to be a part of it then I am all for that decision.

I just hope with the federal investigation and the new rules like the Cuban posting system help eliminate some of that criminality.  And I am seriously disappointed MLB didn't take action long ago to try and curb that criminal element.  It would have been easy to  remove some of that immediate financial incentive give to say kidnap people like Leonis Martin if MLB had looked to control the bonus system that it perpetuated.

This is take three on my comment.

Yes baseball should do more.

So should a lot of other industries with more blood on their hands.

I'm fine with holding baseball accountable but they shouldn't be held to a higher standard.

 

I will also say that refusing to participate is not the way to go, being proactively involved and operating in the proper manner is. 

[hoosiers]

There is clearly a seedy underbelly to a not small portion of the international market.  We have seen multiple GMs lose their jobs (including one banned) because of suspicious or downright illegal activities and heard of many more illegal activities.  Baseball has improved the situation somewhat by now making real attempts to confirm ages and I believe there is some drug testing.  

It is difficult to believe the Dodgers were the only team acting in the manner in which they operated, but there is clear evidence that the Dodgers knew their employees or folks they worked with were engaged in illegal activities (and documented those suspicions!).  The Dodgers also appear to be more heavily involved in the Cuban market than most clubs (which may be why they could be alone or among only a few players with the current issue).  Given the financial issues in Venezuela, I would not be surprised if there were suspicious activities there either.

I have read several articles on this in the past 24 hours and the time period in question is a few years back - actually including the class of our new Yusniel Diaz.  So, it may be difficult to hold members of the current LA front office accountable and it may be difficult to penalize them for their most recent signing class.  Phillies manager Gabe Kapler was the LAD Player Development guy at the time and he may be in some hot water.  This is an interesting story to follow and the Os may indeed benefit from some players being thrown back into the pool this year.

Still, the Os need to be players here.

[Camden_yardbird]

22 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

This is take three on my comment.

Yes baseball should do more.

So should a lot of other industries with more blood on their hands.

I'm fine with holding baseball accountable but they shouldn't be held to a higher standard.

 

I will also say that refusing to participate is not the way to go, being proactively involved and operating in the proper manner is. 

If you think you can operate ethically in a space where functionally organized crime has taken over you are dearly mistaken.  Organized crime has a way of eliminating that type of ethical competition.

I think what we saw was probably ethical operation in that space.  Where maybe there was not so much organized crime in curacao or involvement with lower level prospects.

[Frobby]

Here is a Fangraphs study that appears to totally belie the claim by MacPhail and Klentak, back when they were with the O’s, that spending money on international players was a misallocation of resources.   https://blogs.fangraphs.com/we-analyzed-the-value-of-international-signing-bonus-money/

[weams]

Dan Duquette was being traded for this dude.

"Blue Jays catching prospect Max Pentecost has opted to retire,"