In recent years, the Boston Red Sox have been recognized across baseball for loading up on international talent. This year, however, the Sox might not be able to add to their stellar list of international prospects.
Baseball America’s Ben Badler has reported Major League Baseball could possibly penalize Boston for the upcoming 2016-2017 international signing period with a complete ban. The issues derive from last year when the Red Sox went over their 2015 international signing pool.
The penalties could include signing restrictions for the 2016-2017 international signing period and making a couple of their top 2015 international signees free agents who can then sign with any team as soon as this weekend.
The potential restrictions for the upcoming signing period could also be a complete ban. If that’s the case, it could be a huge blow to Boston. Baseball America previously reported the Sox were expected to sign multiple top prospects from Venezuela. That included 16-year-old outfielder Roimer Bolivar, who Baseball America ranked as the No. 31 international prospect overall.
Several 16-year-old kids in Venezuela were expecting to sign with the Red Sox tomorrow. MLB just crushed that from happening. That's brutal.
— Ben Badler (@BenBadler) July 1, 2016
To recap last year’s signing period, part of the issue stems from the Red Sox signing several Venezuelan prospects from the same training programs in “package deals,” which is common for Latin American prospects. Boston signed four players all from the same training program for exactly $300,000 each and that’s where the issues began.
Badler reported back in May that several of his sources told him MLB officials asked the players involved if they signed a package deal that allowed them to share bonuses. When the players admitted to doing so, the ball really began to roll in the wrong direction for Boston.
Most of the players involved are 16 or 17-years-old and didn’t have parents or any representatives with them when the deals were signed. As a result, the MLB pressed harder and requested access to the players’ bank accounts to see how the bonuses were transferred and broken down.
“They put a lot of pressure on them, like they were criminals,” one of Baseball America’s sources said. “They’re trying to put pressure on the kids to talk to them.”
What makes this interesting is package deals like the one at the center of the investigation aren’t against MLB rules. Many players are signed every year in package deals. Such signings have existed for years before the bonus pools began in 2012 and still continue today. The commissioner’s office has stated no team has been penalized for a package deal before.
So then the question becomes, why are the Red Sox being investigated? The answer could revolve around Boston’s star Cuban prospect Yoan Moncada. The Red Sox signed the Cuban to a deal right before last year’s signing period and gave him a bonus of $31.5 million dollars. When they signed Moncada, Boston had already exceeded its bonus pool for the 2014-2015 signing period and had to pay a 100% tax on his deal, meaning the bonus really cost them $63 million. The Sox knew they wouldn’t be able to sign any more international prospect during the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 international signing periods for more than $300K.
That’s the key there. Because the Red Sox wouldn’t be able to sign a player for more than $300K, signing a large group for $300K each raised suspicions. This is how teams are believed to get around the bonus pools when they sign a Cuban player.
If the penalties Badler has reported are true, the Red Sox will lose two of their biggest signings from their 2015-2016 class, Venezuelan outfielders Albert Guairmaro and Simon Muzziotti. The duo signed for $300K each and were ranked 15th and 24th respectively in Baseball America‘s 2015 top 30 International Prospects ranking at the time. Going back to the $300K limit and bank account investigations, if Major League Baseball deems that bonuses were shared, that means Guairmaro and Muzziotti theoretically could have gotten more than $300K in bonuses, therefore resulting in a violation.
While losing those five prospects is big, a one-year ban on minor league international free agents could be even bigger. Boston could still sign major league international free agents, but the minor-league prospect side is where the Red Sox have thrived.
Other than Moncada, Boston recently signed two of their best prospects, Rafael Devers and Anderson Espinoza, during international prospect periods. The Sox also signed Manuel Margot and shortstop Javier Guerra in recent years and they were the big pieces Boston shipped to San Diego for Craig Kimbrel.
In December, Baseball America ranked Moncada the Red Sox top prospect. Meanwhile, Devers was ranked second and Espinoza was fourth.
Overall, the issue is a complicated one but Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports did a good job of breaking it down on Twitter.
Boston was limited to a $300,000 per-player max because it had exceeded spending limits. It still wanted to sign top prospects, though.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 1, 2016
So, in the case of Albert Guaimaro, Boston paid $300K … and also paid $300K and $200K for two lesser prospected repped by the same agent.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 1, 2016
The agent then redistributed the money, with most of it going to Guaimaro and the other players getting an opportunity with the Red Sox.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 1, 2016
Additionally, all of this is coming down just a day before the international signing period is set to begin.
Penalties could affect current Red Sox prospects and future signings. It would also shake up the international market days before July 2.
— Ben Badler (@BenBadler) July 1, 2016
Neither MLB or the Red Sox responded to Baseball America‘s request for comment this week.
[Baseball America/Yahoo Sports]
