Lazaro Armenteros

[Vanimal46]

What are the odds that the Twins could get involved to sign this 16 year old kid from Cuba?

 

He'll be showing off his talents on Jan. 8th at the Padres complex in Cristobal, DR. The MLB will make a decision by the end of January whether to let him sign or make him wait until the next signing period in July.

 

He's already 6-2 205, projected to be a corner OF, and drawing comparisons to Willie Mays and Bo Jackson with his combination of size and speed.

[Seth Stohs]

I'm certain that Fred Guerrero will likely be there, and the Twins will have a presence. 

[Ronald Zimmerman]

Kid is supposed to have #1 stuff.

[Vanimal46]

I'm certain that Fred Guerrero will likely be there, and the Twins will have a presence.

That's good to hear. Do you have any insight or gut feel on what he would get for a contract? Anywhere in the ballpark of Yasmany Tomas (6-68) or Yasiel Puig (7-42)?

[Thrylos]

 

He's already 6-2 205, projected to be a corner OF, and drawing comparisons to Willie Mays and Bo Jackson with his combination of size and speed.

 

The Willie Mays comparison is just not there.   Willie Mays was 5'10" and 170 lbs, with cleats and fully dressed

 

Pretty sure the reference is from here, but it is a lot of hype.   Nightengale is a very good writer and at the end he gave a decent comparable (Harper.)   Not sure that the kid is close to that, but it will be interesting.

 

And because of the age, all someone needs to give is a signing bonus, because he will be signed as an International Free Agent.  That will cut in the signing bonus pool.  As Nightengale said in that article a few teams have spent all of their bonus $ so they cannot sign him:

 

The only teams uninterested in Armenteros are the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Angels and Tampa Bay Rays. It's only because they can't have him. They're ineligible after already exceeding their international bonus pool.

 

So, yes, the Twins are interested, but cannot scout them officially, until he is deemed eligible...   Interesting to see if it is all hype.  Not to mention that he was forbidden to play baseball and has not played until 2014.  We shall see.

 

 

[Thrylos]

 

 

That's good to hear. Do you have any insight or gut feel on what he would get for a contract? Anywhere in the ballpark of Yasmany Tomas (6-68) or Yasiel Puig (7-42)?

 

Much much much less.  It will probably take a team to go over all their international signing bonus $, but it will not exceed what the Twins gave to KBO to get Park's rights.  This is a situation like Sano, Kepler, etc.  All you need is a bonus and you have him under control for a long time, up to 11 years.

[Vanimal46]

Much much much less. It will probably take a team to go over all their international signing bonus $, but it will not exceed what the Twins gave to KBO to get Park's rights. This is a situation like Sano, Kepler, etc. All you need is a bonus and you have him under control for a long time, up to 11 years.

Ah gotcha, thanks for the clarification. Wasn't sure since he's a Cuban defect if he forgoes being an international signing, thus getting more money like Puig and Tomas.

[Vanimal46]

The Willie Mays comparison is just not there. Willie Mays was 5'10" and 170 lbs, with cleats and fully dressed

 

Pretty sure the reference is from here, but it is a lot of hype. Nightengale is a very good writer and at the end he gave a decent comparable (Harper.) Not sure that the kid is close to that, but it will be interesting.

 

And because of the age, all someone needs to give is a signing bonus, because he will be signed as an International Free Agent. That will cut in the signing bonus pool. As Nightengale said in that article a few teams have spent all of their bonus $ so they cannot sign him:

 

The only teams uninterested in Armenteros are the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Angels and Tampa Bay Rays. It's only because they can't have him. They're ineligible after already exceeding their international bonus pool.

 

So, yes, the Twins are interested, but cannot scout them officially, until he is deemed eligible... Interesting to see if it is all hype. Not to mention that he was forbidden to play baseball and has not played until 2014. We shall see.

You're correct I read that article in the USA Today this morning, so I figured I'd throw it out there on this site to gauge other people's interest in him.

[dougd]

See also this:

 http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2015/12/lazaro-armenteros-mlb-showcase-cuban-prospect.html

[Molitor4]

I think the Twins should certainly be interested.  And they should make a significant play for him.  Good to hear that some of the usual heavyweights (Yankees, Red Sox, Angels) CAN'T bid on him.

[nytwinsfan]

This entirely depends on whether the Twins go (way) over their allotted bonus this year.  If they are every going to do it, this is the year to do it with two or three of the biggest international young prospects available in years. This International year is supposed to be the equivalent of the 2010 amateur draft. Plus a lot of big teams (Yankees, R Sox, Cubs, Dodgers, Angels) are out of the running for the big names, and it is the first year in years that the Twins don't have a lot of money, so more marginal benefit to going over, AND it is right before the new CBA, so teams that go over this year MIGHT (only might) get away with only 1 years of penalties, although still likely they will get two years of penalties, whether as currently, or if MLB goes to an international draft, then two years of first round draft picks.

 

In addition to Armenteros, you have Venezuelan SS Kevin Maitan and Venezuelan C Abraham Gutierrez.  http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/july-2nd-plans-are-coming-into-focus/

[beckmt]

Hope the Twins take the risk and go over.  Players like these only come a few times and if a great number of teams are on the penalty, it may be the CBA will give all teams a fresh start with the international draft.  Still the kid is supposed to have #1 talent, so it is worth the shot.

[h2oface]

I am so excited to see if..... 7 to eight years down the road.... if he can contribute to some team. I just can't wait. One of the most exciting parts of baseball, especially if you get lucky enough to get picked by the Twins. I guess the good news would be they would actually have him playing outfield for all those years, instead of having him play something else until he is actually in the show. That would be something different..... train a guy to play what he will actually play. What a revolutionary plan.

[Oldgoat_MN]

He's being compared to Willie Mays and Bo Jackson, and being projected as a CORNER outfielder?

 

Who wrote that scouting report? His agent?

 

Something smells fishy here.

 

[nytwinsfan]

Here is more on why 2016 is the Year to Break Your International Bonus Pool:  http://www.baseballamerica.com/international/2016-year-break-international-bonus-pool/

 

I'd like to see the Twins just go nuts and drop $50-$60 million (counting the taxes/penalties) on one of the big three (Armenteros, Maitan, Gutierrez) plus another big signing or two and a bunch of smaller name guys. Sure, that's a lot, but the upside could be huge, and this is the year to do it.

[HitInAPinch]

These are the types of players the Twins should be taking a chance on.  Go over the signing bonus and take a chance on Armenteros, Maitan AND Gutierrez.

[beckmt]

Twins need the extra picks and this could be the last year to sign free agents as the new CBA could well include an international draft.  Twins rate to be near the top for the next few years, so we need to make our move to keep the talent influx at this time.  If the players work out, who is going to miss a few draft picks over the next few years, especially low first round draft types. 

It is all risk against gain. 

[cmoss84]

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/161622456/lazaro-armenteros-eligible-for-free-agency

 

Is this guy worth throwing some money at? He sounds like an intriguing prospect, and with a handful of other MLB teams out of the bidding war, maybe we would have a chance? Or is this the kind of guy that ends up in a large market no matter what?

[Loosey]

How much would it take and how much can the Twins spend?  You can never have too many toolsy Outfield prospects in my opinion.

[Vanimal46]

Can someone help clear up my confusion? I just read that the Dodgers signed a 24 year old Cuban defect SP Yasiel Sierra to a 6 year contract in the 30-33 million range. How can Sierra be able to cash in, but Lazaro isn't able to? Does it have something to do with their age difference? 

[Mike Sixel]

 

Can someone help clear up my confusion? I just read that the Dodgers signed a 24 year old Cuban defect SP Yasiel Sierra to a 6 year contract in the 30-33 million range. How can Sierra be able to cash in, but Lazaro isn't able to? Does it have something to do with their age difference? 

 

Yes, different kinds of "FAs". 

 

Clearly they should go over this year....it might be one of the last years to do it. But I am not holding my breath.

[James]

 

Can someone help clear up my confusion? I just read that the Dodgers signed a 24 year old Cuban defect SP Yasiel Sierra to a 6 year contract in the 30-33 million range. How can Sierra be able to cash in, but Lazaro isn't able to? Does it have something to do with their age difference? 

It's not just age difference.  But that is one of the requirements.  A player must be 23 or older and have played in a foreign professional league for a certain amount of time to not count against a team's international bonus pool.  

 

Armenteros doesn't meet either of these requirements.  

[nicksaviking]

 

I am so excited to see if..... 7 to eight years down the road.... if he can contribute to some team. I just can't wait.

 

I'll bet there have been quite a few people who joined or perused this site through the years simply because they were looking for updates and were excited to see how Miguel Sano was doing.

 

I love following the prospects.

[Wyorev]

 

He's being compared to Willie Mays and Bo Jackson, and being projected as a CORNER outfielder?

 

Who wrote that scouting report? His agent?

 

Something smells fishy here.

Indeed Old Goat. Glad computers don't have scratch-n-sniff. . . 

A lot of players have been compared to Willie Mays.

Remember Eric Davis? He was pretty good, but he was no Willie Mays.

I bet he wished he had never been compared to Willie.

Willie Mays was, like Michael Jordan, a transformative player who changed the game by the way he played. 

Its a bit over the top to compare a guy to the very top echelon of historic players. There should be a moratorium on doing that! 

[diehardtwinsfan]

I seem to remember reading on Sickle's site that the Twins were rumored to blow their international FA money in next year's pool. If this kid was available this year, it would make for an interesting dilemma as signing him (which I'm not against) would mean no chance on some of the kids they are really excited about next season. In a way, I hope MLB makes him wait till 2016, as in so doing, the Twins would have a shot at a few top notch talents if they were planning on going all in as rumored. 

 

I think it would be wise for MN to do this since they are going to be a pretty decent team for the next decade and likely picking low once the international draft gets implemented.

[nytwinsfan]

 

Can someone help clear up my confusion? I just read that the Dodgers signed a 24 year old Cuban defect SP Yasiel Sierra to a 6 year contract in the 30-33 million range. How can Sierra be able to cash in, but Lazaro isn't able to? Does it have something to do with their age difference? 

Yup, 24 and older are exempt from bonus limits.  http://www.blessyouboys.com/2015/6/2/8649317/2015-mlb-draft-eligibility-international-players

[Mike Sixel]

 

I seem to remember reading on Sickle's site that the Twins were rumored to blow their international FA money in next year's pool. If this kid was available this year, it would make for an interesting dilemma as signing him (which I'm not against) would mean no chance on some of the kids they are really excited about next season. In a way, I hope MLB makes him wait till 2016, as in so doing, the Twins would have a shot at a few top notch talents if they were planning on going all in as rumored. 

 

I think it would be wise for MN to do this since they are going to be a pretty decent team for the next decade and likely picking low once the international draft gets implemented.

 

So, NEXT YEAR, they will spend money. I think I read that every year.....NEXT year is the year.

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

So, NEXT YEAR, they will spend money. I think I read that every year.....NEXT year is the year.

 

No, that's not really what I was getting at. They've spent their allotment each year when it came to international.  There's been rumors (which haven't existed prior) that the Twins are pretty excited about the class coming up next year and was going to do something similar to the Cubs/Yankees.  Those rumors haven't been rampant until recently. 

 

Now you're right, it could just be rumors, but this is not something I've been accustomed to hearing in the international market, and it's being repeated by guys like Sickles who are connected to the org, but not apologists by any means. 

[DaveW]

 

Can someone help clear up my confusion? I just read that the Dodgers signed a 24 year old Cuban defect SP Yasiel Sierra to a 6 year contract in the 30-33 million range. How can Sierra be able to cash in, but Lazaro isn't able to? Does it have something to do with their age difference? 

I'm guessing yes.

[nicksaviking]

Tony O was at the Fargo Winter Caravan yesterday, I was planning to go and I was going to ask him if he was aware of this player and if so, can he pretty please push Ryan into doing what it takes to get him.

 

Unfortunately the repairman who came to fix the dryer took way too long and I missed the event.

 

So sorry everyone, I'll take full responsibility if we don't get this guy signed.

 

Wait, I mean the dryer repairman will need to take responsibility if we don't get him.