A new IFA signing period begins Sunday. The Astros, however, are barred from signing anyone for over $300,000 for the next two seasons thanks to their spending spree in the 2016-17 IFA period. The Astros appear to be the favorites to sign the #50 guy on the above list, Brazilian RHP Heitor Tokar.
According to Ben Badler, the Astros are linked to the following players: - RHP Heitor Tokar (Brazil) - RHP Jairo Lopez (Venezuela) - RHP Jose Betances (DR; was eligible to sign last year) - Venezuelan OFs Abrahan Castillo, Yimmi Cortabarria, Yefri Carrillo
The Astros have $4.75 million to spend, but again, they can't sign anyone for over $300,000 for the next two IFA signing periods. Here are the new rules regarding IFA signings.
Can Houston trade their pool money? If so that might make sense if they can use it all only spending $300k at a time.
Bingo. Swap some for the tradeable comp picks in the draft. Teams can also trade pool space once the signing period opens on July 2. They can acquire up to 75 percent of their original pool allocation in 2017-18 and 2018-19, then after that they can trade for up to 60 percent of their original pool. Teams are allowed to trade away as much of their pool as they want. Read more at http://www.baseballamerica.com/inte...ernational-signing-rules/#f4SYb3cw7SetXDld.99
Astros have agreements with the following players: - RHP Heitor Tokar (Brazil) - RHP Jairo Lopez (Venezuela) - RHP Jose Betances (DR) - OF Wilyer Abreu (Venezuela) - OF Yimmy Cortabarria (Venezuela) - OF Yefri Carrillo (Venezuela) - OF Victor Coutinho (Brazil) - OF Abraham Castillo (Venezuela) - C Ricardo Toro (Venezuela) - C Carlos Hurtado (Venezuela) - LHP Ricardo León (Venezuela) Jesse Sanchez is also reporting that the Astros have also signed SS Rolando Espinosa (Cuba) for $300,000.
Carlos Duarte, a sportswriter in Venezuela, tweeted out that LHP Ricardo Leon, a 6'6" LHP, has signed with the Astros. Post #10 updated
According to this article (in Spanish only), Venezuelan LHP Ricardo León has a fastball touching 90, a mid-70s breaking ball, and a low-80s changeup. He considers Johan Santana to be his inspiration.
Luis Garcia, another Venezuelan, has signed with the Astros. Looks like he trained at Melvin Mora's academy.
The article on Astros.com has been updated with bonus details for the 26 guys they announced. They total up to ~$3.1M, which means Houston should have another ~$1.6M to spend or trade.
Here's what they got: Wilyer Abreu, OF, Venezuela, $300,000 Ricardo Leon, LHP, Venezuela, $300,000 Yefri Carrillo, OF, Venezuela, $300,000 Yimmi Cortabarria, OF, Venezuela, $300,000 Franklin Pinto, OF, Venezuela, $300,000 Heitor Tokar, RHP, Brazil, $300,000 Jose Betances, RHP, Dominican Republic, $285,000 Abraham Castillo, OF, Venezuela, $150,000 Victor Mascai, OF, Brazil, $100,000 Ernesto Jaquez, RHP, Dominican Republic, $95,000 Ricardo Toro, C, Venezuela, $95,000 Enmanuel Morillo, SS, Dominican Republic, $90,000 Carlos Hurtado, C, Venezuela, $80,000 Junior Marte, SS, Dominican Republic, $70,000 Alfredi Jimenez, RHP, Dominican Republic, $50,000 Manny Ramirez, RHP, Dominican Republic, $50,000 Cristofer Mezquita, LHP, Dominican Republic, $30,000 Luis Garcia, RHP, Venezuela, $20,000 Flaer Gonzalez, RHP, Dominican Republic, $20,000 Valente Bellozo, RHP, Mexico, $20,000 Oliver Van Der Wijst, 3B, The Netherlands, $17,500 Alex Blanco, RHP, Dominican Republic, $10,000 Javier Bermudez, SS, Venezuela, $10,000 Hecduar Barcenas, RHP, Venezuela, $10,000 Victor Coutinho, INF/OF, Brazil Diosmerky Taveras, RHP, Dominican Republic, $55,000
I wonder what Coutinho got? And the Cuban SS Espinosa probably isn't official yet but that's another $300,000. That most likely still leaves over $1M to spend or trade. I absolutely love that they explore and greatly value all avenues that allow them to attain amateur talent. Luhnow and co. won't let this farm ever hit rock bottom in all likelihood.
Yep. Sure, getting a few of the most highly rated guys is great, but given the restrictions, signing 7 guys that are worth the $300k and spreading the money around may even be a better strategy.