The changes in the IFA market have come for a number of reasons. First, everyone is aware of all the age issues that have come to the forefront regarding Latin American players. The case of Washington Nationals’ prospect Esmailyn Gonzalez brought that issue into the national consciousness. Teams have put much more effort into background investigations of players and Major League Baseball has decided to become proactive and do official investigations of players. While this is ultimately a good step, it delays the process.
Second, another issue that many more baseball fans are now aware of is the influence of the buscon in Latin American, along with other bonus skimming scams. Buscones are “street agents” who find players in Latin countries and represent them to the Major League teams. They are certainly not all shady but there is a shady element to many of the buscones. Some of them simply take a large portion of a signing bonus given to a kid they represent and some have worked in concert with team officials to have players signed for larger bonuses than they deserve so that the buscon can have a big payday. This is another factor that has led to teams doing more background work, again slowing down the process.
Lastly, there are simply more teams involved in IFA than there have been in the past. Big market teams like the Yankees and Red Sox have been heavily ensconced in IFA for years now, along with random small market teams that have also had success. Over the past two years, however, more and more teams have sought to get involved. A perfect example of this is the Oakland Athletics signing Michael Ynoa two years ago. The A’s are not a team that is normally involved in IFA and their amateurism was on display when they offered Ynoa the largest non-Cuban IFA signing bonus ever, far exceeding what any other team was willing to pay. This topic, and others discussed briefly here, are ones that we will explore in much greater depth in the future, but there are two simple reasons why this influx of teams is slowing down IFA. The first one is that teams used to be able to find players, stash them, and then sign them for below-market bonuses because no one else had seen them. That is harder to do with the large amount of teams being involved. The second reason is that, much like the A’s with Ynoa, these teams’ efforts are often crude and have driven up the players’ prices. Veteran IFA teams have decided to sit back and wait for the prices to come back to earth.
For all these reasons and more, the 2010 IFA Signing Period is likely going to be a drawn out process. We will be on top of it and providing you with all the information and analysis you need. In Part One of this multi-part series, we will look at some of the guys who have already signed. We’ll finish up the players who have already signed in Part Two and then you’ll get an update on the players who have not signed and what is going on with their respective situations.
Adonis Cardona, RHP, Venezuela – Cardona is universally considered to be one of the top players in this weak IFA class. Cardona signed with the Blue Jays in a signing that was much more reminiscent of the old days of IFA. The deal was widely known for months prior to July 2 and was consummated on that day. Cardona signed for $2.8 million but all indications are that no other team liked him at anywhere near that number. He is projectable at 6’4” and 190 lbs. with a low 90’s fastball and a curve that has a chance to be a plus pitch. Some scouts, though, see that arsenal as limiting him to a relief role. Still, a number of talent evaluators named Cardona the top 2010 IFA talent in Venezuela and he is a good addition for the Blue Jays, even if they may have overpaid. However, this is an example of a team without a strong presence over the years in Latin America paying more than other teams would for certain talent. That automatically throws up a red flag, fairly or not. Until Toronto establishes themselves as a force in IFA, signings such as this one will bring questions.
Renato Nunez, 3B, Venezuela – Another of the top Venezuelan talents in this class, Renato Nunez signed with the Oakland Athletics for $2.2 million. Nunez is a 3B for now, but it’s not clear that he’ll be able to stick there. He should hit for average and has displayed the tools to develop plus power. However, this is another situation like the Jays and Cardona. The consenus among the scouting community is that there are no players like Gary Sanchez or Jesus Montero in this class. So when teams like Oakland and Toronto pay out big bucks for less-than-elite talent, they are in effect hamstringing themselves. The way this system works is that the buscones have an awesome amount of influence. Now that the buscones know they can get big paychecks out of certain teams, they will continue to try to peddle this level of talent to those teams at these inflated amounts. This exact situation is what is causing teams like New York and Boston to stay on the sidelines, waiting for the prices to come down.
Ariel Ovando, OF, Dominican Republic – Ariel Ovando is the kind of July 2 prospect I love to follow. His swing mechanics are a little bit of a mess but at a long 6’4” and 180 lbs., he has, as the phrase Michael Lewis made famous in Moneyball goes, a body you can dream on. Flaws aside, the Houston Astros inked Ovando for a bonus reported to be somewhere between $2.6 and $2.8 million. Ovando has a very odd setup where he bends his front leg and pulls it in close to his body. This causes his swing to get long at times, creating a hole on the inside part of the plate. When he makes contact however, Ovando shows plus-plus power. More than one scout has compared Ovando to Darryl Strawberry and he has gotten other comps such as Fred McGriff and Cliff Floyd. When announcing Ovando’s signing, Astros GM Ed Wade commented that Ariel had excellent defensive skills and profiles as a right fielder but I haven’t heard a single scout say that. Ovando likely doesn’t field or throw well enough to play right field. He profiles as a left fielder or first baseman with a big bat.
Yorman Garcia, CF, Venezuela – If Ariel Ovando has a body you can dream on, Yorman Garcia has a body and current skill set upon which all you can do is dream. Garcia is extremely athletic, sometimes called one of the best athletes in Latin America. He is a plus-plus runner but there are a lot of questions about his bat. The Diamondbacks liked what they saw and signed Yorman for what is reportedly a lower six-figure bonus. Garcia will most likely be able to stick in CF so all will hinge on his ability to start to hit. He is slight at 6’2” and 175 lbs but has plenty of time to grow at only 16. If the tools come together, he could be a good one.
Gabriel Cenas, 3B, Venezuela - As with Adonis Cardona, the Blue Jays had Gabriel Cenas locked up well before July 2 for $700,000. Cenas is 6’1” and 175 lbs. He projects to have the arm and the power to stick at 3B. Cenas already has a good feel for hitting and should hit for average as well. The most interesting note on Cenas has been that he is associated with Carlos Rios, the former international scouting director for the New York Yankees, who was a casualty of a bonus-skimming scandal.
The next part in this series will focus on the remaining International Free Agents who have already made pacts with teams before we move on to the numerous players who have yet to sign.
