According to Baseball America the A’s have signed 16-year-old, 6-foot-7, 210-pound Michel Inoa of the Dominican Republic. The price tag? Well, lets just say it’s more than what a lot of teams spend internationally on several players — $4.25 million.
What’s all the more shocking is that it’s the A’s, a team that hasn’t done much internationally for several years. On top of that, one of the patented Moneyball strategies is to draft, mostly developed college pitchers. Signing a 16-year-old kid? Well, that would be at the other end of concept. Maybe Billy Beane is serious about wanting to become the GM of a soccer team. Maybe he knows he won’t be around to see if Inoa actually becomes worth the coin.
The Yankees initially were the leader for Inoa, reportedly agreeing to terms with Inoa’s Dominican buscon on a deal with a $2.7 million bonus. However, multiple sources have indicated that Katz was then brought into the deal and raised the signing bar to a minimum of $3.5 million. The Yankees reportedly dropped out at that point in principle over having had a deal struck and then taken away.
That left the Reds, suddenly a major player in Latin America after the signing of Juan Duran this spring for $2 million, and the Rangers, who have built a resume as a force in the region in the last three years, along with Oakland, which had fallen back of the pack in recent years internationally. The Athletics have scouted Inoa heavily, with Beane, player personnel director Billy Owens and scouting director Eric Kubota among those who have seen him pitch.
As people who are dealing with finding and signing international talent I think Jackson and I both have some insights into this. The Dominican is a completely different market than Taiwan or Korea, but this signing just obliterates system in a way. As the BA article mentions, this is the single largest payout to an amateur outside of Cuba. But players from Cuba are usually already developed. They certainly aren’t barely old enough to drive.
This drastically changes the signing situation in the Dominican. There won’t be another signing like this for several years, but there will be some that approach it. Suddenly deals like the Reds signing of 16-year-old Juan Duran this past spring for $2 million don’t look so wild.
I doubt this will have a big effect on what transpires here in Asia, although it’ll definitely send some parent’s tongues wagging.
6 responses so far ↓
1 John Brooks // Jul 1, 2008 at 2:53 am
Maybe he knows he won’t be around to see if Inoa actually becomes worth the coin.
I know it’s been rumored that Beane like to take his “Moneyball” to MLS, but I doubt that mean he would disappear from the decision making process.
First, Beane is signed through 2012. And even if he does put more effort into MLS, he still a part owner of the A’s. So I think he still be around to be a part of the front office process.
Also, I think right now Beane departing to become a MLS GM is being blown out of proportion. All I read is that he has helped team management to build a cost efficent squad, seeing as how MLS has a restrictive salary cap.
As for the deal, I like it. I find it refreshing that Oakland is taking such big risk/high reward contract. If it works out, Beane will look like a genius. Plus, it’s refreshing to see other teams beside Boston/NY Yankees gobble up big international talent.
2 John Brooks // Jul 1, 2008 at 3:24 am
I doubt this will have a big effect on what transpires here in Asia
Unless top Japanese amateur talent wants to spend time in the MLB minors instead of going to NPB, I don’t see much change to the status quo. Though, to tell you the truth I love to see how a Yuki Saitoh would do if he jumped to MLB instead of signing with a NPB team.
Though the only way this will happen is if a MLB team throws out a outlandish amount of cash as NPB teams throw out outlandish amounts of cash blowing MLB teams away. Also, many won’t depart because they be in a culture shock in the U.S. minors far away from home, their friends, familiar foods, etc.
Though, that arguement really doesn’t mean much to me, since the U.S. minors is littered with tons of Taiwanese players who have to be in a culture shock at first. So, I think it goes back to either one of two things: Is someone brave enough to jump to MLB instead of NPB or can a MLB team be brave enough to outbid a NPB team, which I suppose wouldn’t get much support from the MLB Commissioner’s Office.
Also, I suppose if this were to happen, I’m sure Yomiuri’s Watanabe throw a tissy fit.
3 Simon Currie // Jul 1, 2008 at 11:11 am
And the MLB team will have to outbid the NPB team under the table. There was a big bruhaha with Seibu paying money to draft picks under the table that came to light a couple of years ago, but it has been regular practice in Japanese baseball for decades, and I won’t be surprised if this is still continuing with some (or all again) teams. Valentine mentioned this in his documentary too, I think.
4 Shinsano // Jul 1, 2008 at 11:32 am
Actually Japanese high school players can’t be signed unless they go undrafted by the NPB. That’s the biggest reason you hardly ever see Japanese kids being signed out of high school. Otherwise teams would have tons of guys scouting Japanese high schools.
Korea and Taiwan are different in that sense. I actually think that’s a pretty screwed up rule — and I wonder if it has more to do with Japanese law than the NPB.
But I’m curious what the story is you’re talking about Simon. Why were they paying money under the table to players?
5 John Brooks // Jul 1, 2008 at 2:30 pm
I’m not sure if this is what Simon was talking about, but there was a big ruckus last year, when it was revealed that Seibu made under the table payments to two amateur players for years. This topic has basically all there is to know about it.
Then there was the draft scandal regarding BayStars pitcher Takumi Nasano. [source]
Like Simon said above, I have no reason to believe that there isn’t still no under the table payments going on. Negoro, the last commisioner was a laughing stock with no power. Until the higher ups in NPB come down hard on teams that cheat the system this will continue.
Actually Japanese high school players can’t be signed unless they go undrafted by the NPB.
Yeah, I’m aware of the agreement that MLB and NPB have regarding amateur players.
Though what I like to know is how would that rule apply if the said player didn’t register themselves for the draft? Do you have to declare themselves eligible for the NPB draft? Is there a big name player out there that’s brave enough to test the rules?
With that said, yes I agree the rules in place regarding amateur Japanese talent are some of the stupidest laws I’ve ever heard. I think it has more to do with the protectionist stance of NPB, than Japanese law(though that could be another reason). When Nomo retired, it really shook NPB out of nowhere.
6 John Brooks // Jul 1, 2008 at 2:31 pm
Sorry, here’s the link about the Seibu scandal.
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