International Signings

BA is doing their International Signings review for 2012 and they posted the Twins today. It's for subscibers only, but I'll list for you the guys they talk about:

Amaurys Minier, SS, $1.4m, Dominican Republic
Lewis Thorpe, LP, $500,000, Austraila
Chih-Wei Hu, P, $220,000, Taiwan
Rainis Silva, C, $175,000, Venezuela
Johan Quezada, P, $150,000, Dominican Republic
Antonio Tovar, OF, $100,000, Venezuela
Jorge Parra, LF, $45,000, Venezuela

There are others who signed that got smaller bonuses and aren't featured. Terry Ryan said earlier this week they spent the whole alotment, but later said $3.2m (cap was $3.9m). Regardless they were active.

Pesonally, I'm happy they appeared to be more active in Venezuela, where they have had some recent success with both Ramos and Arcia.

Lewis Thorpe, and possibly Minier, may make it stateside this year. Hu potentially too. The rest will more than likely spend their summers in the DSL.

I thought the cap was 2.9 million?

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Originally Posted by righty8383

I thought the cap was 2.9 million?

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You are correct. So either TR misspoke about what they spent, or they will face a penalty.

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Originally Posted by Jeremy Nygaard

You are correct. So either TR misspoke about what they spent, or they will face a penalty.

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each team can go over 5% with out a penalty, what is the penalty for going 10% over?

The Rays spent 3.7M. They have to pay 100% of the overage and cannot spend more than 250k on any individual inernational player this year. I hope that doesn't go for the Twins.

Edit: According to the BA article, you only get those harsh penalties listed above if you go over by 15%.

BaseballAmerica.com: Prospects: International Affairs: International Reviews: Tampa Bay Rays

Isn't there some part of the rule that says that either those that sign for $50,000 or less (or something like that) aren't counted, or you get a certain amount that can take you over the minimum?

one of their signing was an 18 y.o. out of the dominican so i believe his bonus would be counted toward the 2011 amount, the year he was eligible to sign. the twins might have gone over the $2.9 million number but not actually hit the cap as i believe that number only applies to guys eligilble in 2012.

btw, the write up on thorpe was spectacular. he's grown nine inches in a couple of years including two since signing and he's been pitching against much older competition. i don't think it's unreasonable at all that he shows up in the gcl this year. sounds like someone worth watching.

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Originally Posted by Seth Stohs

Isn't there some part of the rule that says that either those that sign for $50,000 or less (or something like that) aren't counted, or you get a certain amount that can take you over the minimum?

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Yes, according to the BA article posted above. Regardless if the guys signed for under $50k were included in the Twins figure or not, if that 3.2 million is an accurate figure, they are safely within the 15%. Perhaps there are some monetary penalties but at least there isn't a cap on individual players.

I'm kind of hoping since Diaz doesn't count in this area that the Twins go hard after him with their savings... I don't know if he will stick at SS, but given the org depth there, they should do it.

They paid a lot for Minier -- does anyone know much about him?

Also, is Antonio Tovar related to past Twins great Cesar Tovar?

I hope they spend their full allotment again in 2013. My understanding is that our cap will be higher this year due to the W-L record in 2012. Some fans have been very disappointed in the lack of major league FA signings, but to me the international area is the key. For relatively little money, they could really help themselves long term.

How old are these guys?

Here's is a write up by Steve Adams on 4 of these guys from last July.
International Prospects: Thorpe, Minier, Tovar, Silva - Twinkie Town

Minier looks really promising, If Thorpe adds a couple MPH on his fast ball he could be a steal.

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Originally Posted by Seth Stohs

Isn't there some part of the rule that says that either those that sign for $50,000 or less (or something like that) aren't counted, or you get a certain amount that can take you over the minimum?

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You are correct Seth. So signing another x number of players is where the extra +$300,000 came from.

TRs quote was something like, "we spent our whole allotment... three point two million, I suspect."

The way he worded it was interesting.

I think three or four of those guys were included in the prospect handbook.

Pools will vary next year and the Twins will have the fourth largest pool. Portions of the pool are tradable as well.

Lewis Thorpe made 1 start for Melbourne in the Aussie league this summer ( your winter) - gave up 1 run on 3 hits in 5+ innings. Pretty impressive for a 17 year old. I didn't see the game though, so can't comment on how he looked.

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Originally Posted by SydneyTwinsFan

Lewis Thorpe made 1 start for Melbourne in the Aussie league this summer ( your winter) - gave up 1 run on 3 hits in 5+ innings. Pretty impressive for a 17 year old. I didn't see the game though, so can't comment on how he looked.

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BA does mention that is his little write-up. Said he carried a one-hitter into the 6th inning and calls him "one of the best prospect to come from Austraila in years". Sounds promising.

Ths years signing period will be much more exciting as we will have more money to work with. Any idea the amount we will get or how it varies from the astros to say...the nationals?

I believe it's $4.7m to $1.7m, so the Twins should have around $4.4m.