2015-2016 International Signing Period

Alfredo Rodriguez, the 2014-15 Serie Nacional rookie of the year and gold glove winner at shortstop, has left Cuba to pursue a contract with a major league team, Baseball America has learned.

Rodriguez, 21, has a long way to go as a hitter but was arguably the best defensive shortstop in Cuba.

..

The good news for Rodriguez is that he’s old enough that MLB’s registration policy does not apply to him, which means that unlike lefthander Cionel Perez, he should be eligible to sign during the upcoming 2015-16 signing period, which begins on July 2.

Rodriguez winning the rookie of the year award was the subject of controversy. Industriales outfielder Yusnier Diaz was expected to easily win the award after he batted .348/.447/.440 in 65 games. Soon after the season ended in March, Diaz left the country, so the award went to Rodriguez instead.

The Red Sox do now have two Dominican Summer League teams to fill out though, and are expected to be aggressive and creative in their 2015 class, especially in Venezuela, so they might not trade away any slot values either.

Want a bargain? Head to Venezuela. The differences in projected price tags between the top players in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela is startling, and it’s not simply a reflection of talent. There are a lot of reasons for the disparity, but one thing that’s made 2015 different than previous years is that the economic and political situation in Venezuela is making it more challenging than ever for players to be seen. Top decision-makers from the United States prefer going to the Dominican Republic, where they have their academies, feel safer and have an easier time getting into the country, since Venezuela now requires visas from Americans to enter.

Daniel Montano, an outfielder who trains with Carlos Guillen and has been tied to the Rockies, will be fine, with expectations that his bonus will be around $2 million. Shortstop Andres Gimenez should sign for north of $1 million, but he might be the best Venezuelan player in the class and could end up a bargain. For many of the other top players in the class, like righthander Alvaro Seijas and outfielders Albert Guaimaro and Miguel Aparicio, it looks like they are going to have to take a haircut on their signings. I’ll get into the unique circumstances surrounding the Venezuelan market in a longer story soon, but it’s a different animal than scouting in the Dominican Republic.

.....

Then there are the teams facing the signing restriction penalties for exceeding their pools that have the greatest incentive to do package deals. Since these teams can’t sign a player for more than $300,000, they can sweeten the pot by signing several players from the same trainer. A self-interested trainer could make more money by signing his main prospect and three other low-level players with one team for $300,000 each to get $1.2 million in bonuses rather than sign his main prospect for $800,000 with another team. It’s not always easy to detect when it’s happening, since there are often multiple trainers with a commission in a player, and the deals don’t necessarily have to be signed on the same day. A package deal can also be done by signing multiple members of a player’s family.