Twins Void $3 Million Deal With Jelfrey Marte

[Rosterman]

 

You have to wonder what they found wrong with the eyes of a 16 year-old. Most things can be fixed simply. Is there any kind of legal risk for cutting him if the medical report is insignificant?

At this point, not worth it to gamble the money, I assume. Probably see what happens to him in the short or longterm. 16-year-old signings can be a gamble. Plus, right now, that position is a strength for the Wins system compared to the need for monies to spend (although there should never be a need for monies to spend if you spend it well and win).

 

[Mike Sixel]

You have to wonder what they found wrong with the eyes of a 16 year-old. Most things can be fixed simply. Is there any kind of legal risk for cutting him if the medical report is insignificant?

Ya, to me, that's the real question here. If it is just vision, must be a serious problem..... This child just lost life changing money, it better be for a very good reason

[diehardtwinsfan]

wow... so much doesn't make sense here.

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

Ya, to me, that's the real question here. If it is just vision, must be a serious problem..... This child just lost life changing money, it better be for a very good reason

 

I'm guessing it is. There are also ways to "settle" so to speak that don't affect the bonus money. I find it odd though that we are finding out about this now. I would assume this was something they were dealing with back when he signed.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

Ya, to me, that's the real question here. If it is just vision, must be a serious problem..... This child just lost life changing money, it better be for a very good reason

if he didn’t disclose a vision issue, what else didn’t he disclose? If the FO knew about the vision issue, might they have taken a different approach in negotiations?

 

It may not be about the vision issue, it might be about the terms of the contract.

 

I do feel sorry for the kid and hope he’s ok, and hope that he can finagle another mlb contract. I wish him well, but I get why the contract was voided.

[ShouldaCouldaWoulda]

Its plausible that the Twins have changed their minds on him as a prospect as well. Maybe they saw some flaw they thought might hold back his projections. Finding something like a vision issue as an out is a simple fix to get out. 

[amjgt]

To answer a question from earlier....

 

St Louis voided a $3.1M signing bonus a few years back, also for vision issues.

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/more-on-cardinals-voiding-mateo-deal/#dhg8mDgvL5ojvO74.97

 

 

[Mike Sixel]

Its plausible that the Twins have changed their minds on him as a prospect as well. Maybe they saw some flaw they thought might hold back his projections. Finding something like a vision issue as an out is a simple fix to get out.

I hope I am not rooting for a team that would go back on a life changing contract because they got the evaluation of talent wrong....

[Mike Sixel]

if he didn’t disclose a vision issue, what else didn’t he disclose? If the FO knew about the vision issue, might they have taken a different approach in negotiations?

 

It may not be about the vision issue, it might be about the terms of the contract.

 

I do feel sorry for the kid and hope he’s ok, and hope that he can finagle another mlb contract. I wish him well, but I get why the contract was voided.

You've never read the contract, you have no idea why it was voided, but you get why?

[tvagle]

 

It's an unwritten rule, no math on Twins Daily!! 

Obviously...everyone knows that 2 + 2 = 5   

[Guest]

You have to wonder what they found wrong with the eyes of a 16 year-old. Most things can be fixed simply. Is there any kind of legal risk for cutting him if the medical report is insignificant?

Thinking about it a little more. Vision in baseball is way more important than in almost anything else. Even small corrections, which would be meaningless in nearly anything else, can be critical when you’re batting against Andrew Miller.

[ashbury]

Obviously...everyone knows that 2 + 2 = 5  

... for sufficiently large values of 2.

[Winston Smith]

 

Obviously...everyone knows that 2 + 2 = 5   

Read 1984 sometime.

[amjgt]

 

I hope I am not rooting for a team that would go back on a life changing contract because they got the evaluation of talent wrong....

 

Yeah... and I would think that there would be long-term ramifications for something like that. Doesn't seem like a move a brand new front office would make

[ashbury]

Its plausible that the Twins have changed their minds on him as a prospect as well. 

In addition to agreeing with Mike Sixel's hope that "my" team wouldn't do such a thing, I will observe that this is why they make you sign a contract in ink.

[tvagle]

 

It seems odd that no one here has implicitly stated the obvious conspiracy theory involving the Twins and international bonus money. 

 

Just so we're clear, we have silently decided as a group not to not speak out loud the name of everyone's most hopeful holiday wish baseball player?    

I promise to never again mention:

Some Helpful Outsider, Happily Ending Inefficient Outings Hurled by Twins Arms Noticeably Infrequent

 

or

 

Do Anything Realistic Via Incremental Salary Hikes!

[tvagle]

 

Read 1984 sometime.

My head still hurts from living through 1984 and having to read "Waiting for Godot"

 

I'll take your word on it Winston (and yes that was a "1984" reference inside a "1984" reference) 

[darin617]

This is a no brainer. Trade the international money that we can to the highest bidder. Shohei Otani will not come to MN. Trade the money to the Yankees for some MLB ready prospects. I am not going to try to place names but I do recall that the Yankees will be in a tough spot with so much you talent they need to protect for Rule 5 draft.

[T_J]

I posted a little while back with a rundown of all the Twins trades since last February and just about all if them involved cash. I have assumed that the cash was international cash and that's why the math is what it is. I figured that the Twins accrued about 1.5 million in extra pool money via trades.

[snap4birds]

 

Thinking about it a little more. Vision in baseball is way more important than in almost anything else. Even small corrections, which would be meaningless in nearly anything else, can be critical when you’re batting against Andrew Miller.

Could be keratoconus....Tommy Pham of the Cardinals has it.  He has to check his eyesight multiple times during a game, and change contacts frequently.  This is a longshot...but supposedly 1 in 2000 people have the condition.  So it's not exactly uncommon.  And it makes it much more difficult for Pham to play baseball.

[snap4birds]

 

To answer a question from earlier....

 

St Louis voided a $3.1M signing bonus a few years back, also for vision issues.

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/more-on-cardinals-voiding-mateo-deal/#dhg8mDgvL5ojvO74.97

And Mateo washed out of baseball after 5 years of bouncing around the rookie leagues.  

[wsnydes]

 

... for sufficiently large values of 2.

Yes, but 2 does not equal 3, even for large values of 2.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

You've never read the contract, you have no idea why it was voided, but you get why?

i am not a contract lawyer, but if I were a GM with a $3mil contract with a player, terms will be followed strictly for both parties involved. Articles states that the contract was voided due to undisclosed medical condition.

 

There were questions about Sano’s actual age which is how the Twins got him under market. Teams were scared off by the risk.

 

I would not fault an organization for strict contract adherence.

[nicksaviking]

 

I hope I am not rooting for a team that would go back on a life changing contract because they got the evaluation of talent wrong....

 

I agree, however if the Twins new-found concerns are justified, they also wouldn't be doing him any favors by publicly going into grand detail about them. Hopefully the young man can still get a contract with another club.

 

Perhaps whatever issues that were found can be remedied and he can re-enter the bidding process again next summer where a full slate of teams have their entire pools to dole out.

[amjgt]

I'd let the Yankees have him for $1M

[Doomtints]

Shop smart ... shop Jelfrey Marte.

[Thrylos]

 

I'm sure it has. I can't think of an example. 

 

The Cardinals did the same thing a few years ago.  Cannot remember the kid's name, but he did not live to his original billing.  Vision, too.

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

My head still hurts from living through 1984 and having to read "Waiting for Godot"

 

 

 

when did this become a thread about Wonder Woman?

[sftwinsfan]

 

To answer a question from earlier....

 

St Louis voided a $3.1M signing bonus a few years back, also for vision issues.

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/more-on-cardinals-voiding-mateo-deal/#dhg8mDgvL5ojvO74.97

I remember that!  I was just searching and found it, sounds like a very similar situation.  I could have just read further in the comments and wouldn't have had to google it.  Ended up costing Mateo around $2.5M when he later signed with the Diamondbacks.  Turned out to be a good move by the Cardinals.  If Ohtani isn't interested in coming to Minnesota hopefully the Twins at least play their cards right and could possibly get a pretty decent return for trading that bonus money.  

[NapoleonComplex]

Another angle: Braves may lose Maitan, the #1 int'l SS prospect during the same signing period as Marte, for breaking int'l signing rules. I'm not sure how it will work, but if Maitan immediately becomes available to the highest bidder, and the Twins lose out on Ohtani, do we try to scoop up Maitan?

 

From MLB.com: "The Venezuelan teenager has been compared to Miguel Sano and his ceiling has been put side-by-side with the likes of Miguel Cabrera and Chipper Jones. He has pop from both sides, with perhaps a touch more from the right side, and has shown an advanced approach at the plate, especially for his age. While he's not a runner, he is agile and athletic in the field. That, along with a tremendous arm and excellent instincts, make some think he can stay at short long-term. Others think he'll eventually have to move to third, though he can be a plus defender there."

 

Thoughts?