Today, MLB organizations may make officially official the deals they’ve wink-wink had in place, in some cases, for years. International amateurs are eligible to sign for a chunk of each club’s allotted bonus pool, officially becoming professional baseball players. Although this period runs through December 15, most of the top prospects will sign today. Moreover, the Chicago Cubs’ bonus pool ($6,261,600) – assuming they don’t trade for me – is expected to mostly be used up by the close of business. So it’s a big day no matter what.
Today may have some extra drama, what with the Roki Sasaki pursuit. That starts with the three finalists for Sasaki – Dodgers, Padres, and Blue Jays – who probably aren’t going to be able to finalize any of their big money deals. They may be looking to trade for additional IFA pool space – today’s the first day you can do that – and may let their committed prospects walk. That will tentacle out into other organizations, either because they are trading pool space or trying to poach prospects. Will that further bump other prospects or IFA pool funds around? Will the Cubs be able to pick up an extra high-quality prospect or two? We shall see.
I’ll track the Cubs’ reported signings, as well as any other major news, below as the day goes on …
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Baseball America will be one of the best sources for signing information today, and they list the Cubs’ expected class (of above-$10,000 signings – the ones that count against the pool) so far as:
Wilfry De La Cruz, SS, Dominican Republic
Juan Cabada, SS, Dominican Republic
Juan Tomas, SS, Dominican Republic
Tadeo Gamez, RHP, Mexico
Elerick Gomez, SS, Venezuela
Julio Acosta, OF, Dominican Republic
Luis Santos, SS, Dominican Republic
More details, bonus information, and scouting reports coming soon.
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