International Signings This Week...

[BrunoCherrytown]

Diamondbacks Signed Wagner Mateo...

Reds signed Felix Perez

Pirates signed 6 Latin American players

Blue Jays signed Adonis Carbona...

I know we signed a bunch of low level international players nobody had ever heard of a few months back (and the Sano failure too), but maybe with all this activity this week we signed somebody and I missed it.

Mateo was one I'd hope we'd go after.

His "eye" issue dropped his price down from that $3 million or whatever he signed with the Cardinals down to the $512k he signed for with the DBacks. I was hoping we'd think he was worth the risk.

The Blue Jays GM is doing a pretty good job with his rebuild. Trading for the future, drafting, and going after (and signing) the upper tier international talent. And he almost got Chapman too.

It'll be interesting to see if his "plan" outpaces ours. I sure hope not.

[Camden_yardbird]

There are 4-5 really promising SS prospects coming out of latin america this year. Two or three should definitely be targets. And yes, all of them are expected to get a million in signing bonuses.

[crowmst3k!]

Doesn't matter...the O's need to go after them. The team is very poor in positional talent, and if they hope to compete in the near future, they need to supplement the amateur draft with high-ceiling intl signings. There's no two ways about it.

[hobbycars]

There are 4-5 really promising SS prospects coming out of latin america this year. Two or three should definitely be targets. And yes, all of them are expected to get a million in signing bonuses.

Wait until that MASN money rolls in....

[soxhotcorner14]

Wait until that MASN money rolls in....

:clap3::laughlol:

[bluehens45]

http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2010/05/17/two-dozen-international-free-agents-worth-knowing/

Here is a link to the top Int. players. Looks like some good SS. If we go another year without even considering any of these players ill be upset.

[Tony-OH]

My guess is we're fed the same crap about players not being worth the money. Until I see us do something different and sign an impact guy from the DR, it's same old same old.

Actions speak louder than words!

[Roll Tide]

My guess is we're fed the same crap about players not being worth the money. Until I see us do something different and sign an impact guy from the DR, it's same old same old.

Actions speak louder than words!

I agree & its beside me the number of posters here that are still willing to give AM & the O's the benefit of the doubt.

AM is a cheap skate.... He operates a team like its his money he's spending. Uhh a tight business owner.

[Sports Guy]

I agree & its beside me the number of posters here that are still willing to give AM & the O's the benefit of the doubt. AM is a cheap skate.... He operates a team like its his money he's spending. Uhh a tight business owner.

Its been going on here for years...Just replace the initials AM with B and F or Duq and its the same ol stuff from the same posters.

At some point you would think they would be smart enough to see that they are wrong but nope...they just continue on with the same thoughts.

Oh well, it is what it is.

I agree with Tony...until something happens, why should we believe it will? And it needs to happen more than once.

[Mackus]

I'm fine if they've made the decision that with few exceptions, the high contract signings in the DR and elsewhere aren't worth the investment. If they've done analysis that supports that, and they said they have, I certainly don't have the expertise to question it.

But, if they are eschewing the high priced guys and instead going after many, many more of the lower bonus guys and spreading out the money in hopes of hitting a homerun, I'd like to see a list of names and bonuses they do give out.

If some teams are spending $3-5M a year down there mostly on a small handful of high bonus guys, I'd like to see the thirty or forty guys that the Orioles sign for $50-150k.

[hoosiers]

I agree & its beside me the number of posters here that are still willing to give AM & the O's the benefit of the doubt.

AM is a cheap skate.... He operates a team like its his money he's spending. Uhh a tight business owner.

If you do not want to give AM the benefit of the doubt that he knows how to build an appropriate international organization, that's fine. He was part of a team with advanced international efforts in Minn and helped or built the international presence in Chicago.

When hired, AM said he needed a year to study the international market to see how to properly invest. The second year showed progress in terms of scouting time, prospects signed and signing $ spent. If you want to criticize the progress in the third year before the results are in, go ahead. If you know something more about this topic than the rest of us, it would be nice if you share your knowledge. If you are generalizing because you believe you've figured out AM, then I am not sure how the $1M spent on Coffey and Ohlman last year figure into your perspective of our GM as a cheap skate.

The incremental progress of building an international presence for the Os basically from scratch may be too slow for some and I understand that. There are many pitfalls internationally. I am hoping for a tangible increase in the international spend this year with some signings in the $250k-$750k. IMO, there's little value in the $1M+ range internationally, but it would be nice to be a player here too.

[Lucky Jim]

I'm fine if they've made the decision that with few exceptions, the high contract signings in the DR and elsewhere aren't worth the investment. If they've done analysis that supports that, and they said they have, I certainly don't have the expertise to question it.

But, if they are eschewing the high priced guys and instead going after many, many more of the lower bonus guys and spreading out the money in hopes of hitting a homerun, I'd like to see a list of names and bonuses they do give out.

If some teams are spending $3-5M a year down there mostly on a small handful of high bonus guys, I'd like to see the thirty or forty guys that the Orioles sign for $50-150k.

This is how I feel, as well. They spent $1.5m last year. They need to be up around $2.5-3m or so, whether it's on big-ticket guys or not.

I will note that no one that I've seen has really done any market analysis. The DR was clearly a valuable resource when it was underdeveloped and undervalued, and a few teams had such a strong presence that they could scoop up great talent w/ little competition. But the fact remains that it's a small island, and now every team is an entrenched presence, and there's not going to be some alchemical process where MLB-quality players keep developing to satisfy the entire league. Not just that, but increased competition has the secondary effect of driving up prices which means that - all else aside - the DR can't be the value it once was.

Doesn't mean that it's not a place we need to invest. But there's a Heisenbergean effect at work, which means that the very presence of all of the teams has changed the environment.

[Roll Tide]

I'm fine if they've made the decision that with few exceptions, the high contract signings in the DR and elsewhere aren't worth the investment. If they've done analysis that supports that, and they said they have, I certainly don't have the expertise to question it.

But, if they are eschewing the high priced guys and instead going after many, many more of the lower bonus guys and spreading out the money in hopes of hitting a homerun, I'd like to see a list of names and bonuses they do give out.

If some teams are spending $3-5M a year down there mostly on a small handful of high bonus guys, I'd like to see the thirty or forty guys that the Orioles sign for $50-150k.

Hobgood was drafted by us because of his signability. Not as the BPA...Thats a big problem...Filling multiple holes with stopgap aging veterans Thats a Big problem.. Also knowing that the team is severely short on high end postional talent ...especially at AA & AAA, Thats a Big Problem.

If they arent going to sign the Mark Texeira's of the world the least they could do is invest money into high end international players. Whats a few million for the next Tejada like player coming out of the DR. You cant get that guy without paying a top bonus.... Sign 30-50 lesser guys is like slinging crap on a wall & hoping some actually sticks. Lower risk I suppose..But also lower reward. The Orioles dont have the luxury of the later.

If your AM .... You'd be a fool to think Snyder & Bell are on the doorstep. Many here were planning on those two by June 1st. We wont see either by June 1st & will be lucky to see either before September.

[Lucky Jim]

Hobgood was drafted by us because of his signability. Not as the BPA...Thats a big problem...Filling multiple holes with stopgap aging veterans Thats a Big problem.. Also knowing that the team is severely short on high end postional talent ...especially at AA & AAA, Thats a Big Problem.

If they arent going to sign the Mark Texeira's of the world the least they could do is invest money into high end international players. Whats a few million for the next Tejada like player coming out of the DR. You cant get that guy without paying a top bonus.... Sign 30-50 lesser guys is like slinging crap on a wall & hoping some actually sticks. Lower risk I suppose..But also lower reward. The Orioles dont have the luxury of the later.

If your AM .... You'd be a fool to think Snyder & Bell are on the doorstep. Many here were planning on those two by June 1st. We wont see either by June 1st & will be lucky to see either before September.

Re: Tejada:

The A's purchased his services for $2,000, the common market value for Dominican players.

http://www.aliciapatterson.org/APF1803/Breton_Villegas/Breton_Villegas.html

Starlin Castro signed for $60,000.

You're simply wrong about this.

[Roll Tide]

Re: Tejada:

http://www.aliciapatterson.org/APF1803/Breton_Villegas/Breton_Villegas.html

Starlin Castro signed for $60,000.

You're simply wrong about this.

What is the going rate for Dominican players in 2010?

I agree Tejada was a bad example. But I think you stand to fare better by drafting higher rated guys. Not always the case no matter if they are US Players or Dominican Players... My base point is the O's are being cheap.