International spending

[UCLAngel]

Angels spent the second least in the international market. I know we traded some money away, but it still seems like we should have some left to throw around. Does not having a presence mean that we can't find anyone to sign?

http://www.baseballamerica.com/international/2013-international-spending-by-team/

[Scott34]

embarrasing.

[Angel Oracle]

Not great, but with Delgado and Sanchez, maybe the pendulum is slowly turning.

[Docwaukee]

everything Moreno spends is part of his international budget.  He's from Mexico.  

[wopphil]

It is odd, especially with how bad our farm is.  You would think they would have spent every last dime of it in an effort to get some talent.  It isn't as though these guys are total unknowns.  The major publications do extensive reporting and evaluations on them. 

[nikkachez]

Nah I'm buying it, they picked up Ricard Sanchez, Natanael Delgado, Lianmy Galan this year, and Mario Martinez a couple years ago. I think we're slowly getting back to where we need to be. 

[UCLAngel]

I'm not saying they aren't moving in the right direction. I'm saying they could move in the right direction faster if they spent their entire allotment. It's just frustrating to see them leave money on the table (or literally off the table) when it could be spent on someone, anyone. I think they've kept about 500k, if I remember their pool correctly. That's a significant chunk that could sign a few very solid international prospects or one very good prospect.

[UCLAngel]

I gotta retract that last statement. The angels had about 1.9m to spend and spent 1.83m. So it looks like they spent close to the max, and likely went over when you factor in the money trades. I still think they need to be more aggressive tho.

[Docwaukee]

I think we need to keep in mind that apparently, the Halos and Arte took the high road in the international market and were unwilling to do shady deals and potentially facilitate the exploitation of many of these players.  It has hurt the team in terms of talent, but if this is true, I am glad they chose this route.  

[Inside Pitch]

embarrasing.

 

 

Yes it would be if they had left a lot of money on the table, but did you actually read the links the initial article directed to?

 

First link states the Angels spent 1.83 Mil -- but it also mentions that the amount they could spend was tiered -- the Angels were only allowed to spend $1,993,700 (link:http://www.baseballamerica.com/international/international-bonus-pools-for-2013-14/ ).   On that link there is another link to the penalties for topping the limit (link: http://www.baseballamerica.com/international/penalties-for-exceeding-pools-depend-on-international-draft/ ), 

 

Penalties With No International Draft

• 0-5 percent over pool: 75 percent tax on the pool overage.

• 5-10 percent over pool: 75 percent tax on the pool overage. Team won’t be allowed to sign a player for more than $500,000 during the 2014-15 signing period.

• 10-15 percent over pool: 100 percent tax on the pool overage. Team won’t be allowed to sign a player for more than $500,000 during the 2014-15 signing period.

• 15 percent or more over pool: 100 percent tax on the pool overage. Team won’t be allowed to sign a player for more than $250,000 during the 2014-15 signing period.

 

Don't look now but there are some teams facing some serious penalties come this July... The Angels may have less competition for some of the higher end players than they did last year.

Edited February 5, 2014 by Inside Pitch

[Scott34]

Yes it would be if they had left a lot of money on the table, but did you actually read the links the initial article directed to?

 

First link states the Angels spent 1.83 Mil -- but it also mentions that the amount they could spend was tiered -- the Angels were only allowed to spend $1,993,700 (link:http://www.baseballamerica.com/international/international-bonus-pools-for-2013-14/ ).   On that link there is another link to the penalties for topping the limit (link: http://www.baseballamerica.com/international/penalties-for-exceeding-pools-depend-on-international-draft/ ), 

 

Penalties With No International Draft

• 0-5 percent over pool: 75 percent tax on the pool overage.

• 5-10 percent over pool: 75 percent tax on the pool overage. Team won’t be allowed to sign a player for more than $500,000 during the 2014-15 signing period.

• 10-15 percent over pool: 100 percent tax on the pool overage. Team won’t be allowed to sign a player for more than $500,000 during the 2014-15 signing period.

• 15 percent or more over pool: 100 percent tax on the pool overage. Team won’t be allowed to sign a player for more than $250,000 during the 2014-15 signing period.

 

Don't look now but there are some teams facing some serious penalties come this July...   The Angels may have less competition for some of the higher end players than they did last year.

 

 I understand this.

 

Why are we recklessly sending hundreds of thousands of dollars for nobodies? It's compounding our problems.  But no fear, we have Andres f'n Perez.

 

http://aldengonzalez.mlblogs.com/2013/07/25/game-100-angels-athletics/

 

https://twitter.com/JeffFletcherOCR/status/411141252462428160

[Inside Pitch]

 I understand this.

 

Why are we recklessly sending hundreds of thousands of dollars for nobodies? It's compounding our problems.  But no fear, we have Andres f'n Perez.

 

http://aldengonzalez.mlblogs.com/2013/07/25/game-100-angels-athletics/

 

https://twitter.com/JeffFletcherOCR/status/411141252462428160

 

They also spent slot money to acquire Brian Moran.  I would assume they saw the possibility to add guys while using whatever currency was available to them.  If everyone they felt was worth spending money on was gone, they lost nothing.  They got two guys for free basically.

 

There is no denying the Angels screwed themselves after the Daniels situation and only really started to show signs of life last year.   I'd be surprised if they didn't make better use of their currencies this signing season.

Edited February 5, 2014 by Inside Pitch

[ukyah]

i don't pretend to understand this, but it makes me a little nervous seeing the ranger and cub front offices listed 1 and 2. those guys know what they are doing.

[ettin]

I was going to write an article related to this subject but I'll just put my thoughts here.

The recent glut of Minor League signings of players like Carlos Pena, Yorvit, et. al. not only provide depth at the Major League level but it also presents the Angels with an opportunity to possibly sell one or more of these players off in trade for International Bonus Pool money before the trade deadline.

The 2014 International Draft class is projecting to be pretty strong and I really feel that Dipoto has positioned the team to take slight advantage of that fact. All these Minor League depth moves could prove to have some trade value for Pool Money. For instance if another team loses their primary 1B, the Angels could trade Pena for the International Pool Money if they feel a player like Cron is ready to support the MLB club.

Most teams look at the Pool money as a currency and if they don't have to give up a prospect to fill a hole, this may be an area that Dipoto can exploit as we move deeper into the season.

A player like McDonald for instance strikes me as someone the Angels brought in for depth and to mentor someone like Romine. He could easily be moved for Pool money to a team that needed a stopgap SS to fill an injury hole.

[tdawg87]

i don't pretend to understand this, but it makes me a little nervous seeing the ranger and cub front offices listed 1 and 2. those guys know what they are doing.

 

If I'm reading things correctly, Texas will be hit with a pretty severe penalty next year.

[arch stanton]

Ask Leonys Martin what he thinks of the Rangers' Latin American operations.

[Brent Maguire]

So it looks like the Angels spent what they could without being penalized.

If I'm reading it correctly, it looks like they'll have a better chance to sign higher tiered guys next year because the overspending teams will get penalized.

[sneaky_flute]

Ask Leonys Martin what he thinks of the Rangers' Latin American operations.

Yeah, the Rangers had some criminal organization kidnap Martin.

[sneaky_flute]

If I'm reading things correctly, Texas will be hit with a pretty severe penalty next year.

If I'm not mistaken, a team that exceeds its international allotment can sign more players by going all out rather than waiting for top picks.

[Docwaukee]

Yeah, the Rangers had some criminal organization kidnap Martin.

and I am sure they had no idea this was going on. 

[Angelsjunky]

As I see it, the problem is not how much they spent but their lack of scouting. You can't spend money on prospects if you don't have the scouting to find good prospects. I don't know what happened, but it seems that there was a shift in organizational philosophy. Hopefully that is changing again.

[Inside Pitch]

As I see it, the problem is not how much they spent but their lack of scouting. You can't spend money on prospects if you don't have the scouting to find good prospects. I don't know what happened, but it seems that there was a shift in organizational philosophy. Hopefully that is changing again.

 

The problem wasn't a lack of scouting but rather the total lack of relationships with the handlers in the DR.  After the Clay Daniels mess with the bonus skimming the Angels were in a very ugly position.  They had no choice really but to completely pull out, clean themselves off and try to reorganize.  In the meantime the handlers they worked with and built relationships with over the years had moved on to other organizations and the Angels basically became an afterthought.  A lot of the best players in the DR are taken in by handlers at young ages and basically trained full time from at the handlers expense until age 16.  At that point they can officially sign with any MLB team and the handler typically gets as much as 30-35% of the signing bonus.   While nobody openly admits it, it's always been known that some handlers were on the take by certain MLB teams to try to point players towards their organizations.  

 

I've been openly critical of the way the team completely pulled out of the international scene believing they could have continued to try to get guys from Venezuela and the sort, but I do understand why they worked to get themselves cleared completely by MLB before returning to the DR.  Having to lure scouts to the franchise and recreate connections all over Latin America took some time.

Edited February 5, 2014 by Inside Pitch

[sneaky_flute]

and I am sure they had no idea this was going on. 

To suggest they were somehow complicit in his kidnapping is beyond ridiculous.

[Jeff Fletcher]

I wouldn't count in the Angels trading any of the minor league deal types.

First of all, if anyone wanted them they wouldn't have signed minor league deals. Second, part of the agreement teams make when signing these guys is that if they are in the minors and someone else wants them, they release them.

[Docwaukee]

To suggest they were somehow complicit in his kidnapping is beyond ridiculous.

who is suggesting that? 

 

I am suggesting that they knew of the impropriety of the situation and turned a deaf ear to it so they could sign a talented player.