Brewers to sign No. 13 int’l prospect Medina
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The Brewers are taking an aggressive approach to the international market and adding one of the top outfielders in this year’s class to their system.
According to industry sources, the Brewers have agreed to a deal worth an estimated $1.3 million with outfielder Luis Medina, No. 13 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 International Prospects list.
• Top international prospects signings
The Brewers have also agreed to a deal with shortstop Albert Ciprian for $500,000.
The club has not confirmed the deals.
Medina, who is 6-foot-2, has an easy, majestic swing with well-above-average power and the ability to hit to all fields. Defensively, he has a chance to play center field, but he could outgrow that position and move to a corner-outfield spot. If that’s the case, he still projects to be an average defender with an above-average arm. Medina could lose a bit of his speed as he grows and fills out, but his instincts will help compensate in the field.
• Top 30 International Prospects
Ciprian is a gap-to-gap hitter with power potential. On defense, he shows good hands and an emerging arm. He could move to third base.
According to the rules established by the Collective Bargaining Agreement, clubs that receive a Competitive Balance Pick in Round B of the Rule 4 Draft receive a pool of $6,481,200 for international prospects, while clubs that receive a Competitive Balance Pick in Round A of the Rule 4 Draft -- like the Brewers -- get $5,939,800 for spending on international prospects.
Teams are allowed to trade as much of their international pool money as they would like, but can only acquire 60 percent of a team's initial pool amount. Additionally, signing bonuses of $10,000 or less do not count toward a club's bonus pool, and foreign professional players who are at least 25 years of age and have played in a foreign league for at least six seasons are also exempt.
Under the previous system, teams were penalized for exceeding their bonus pools with consequences that ranged from taxes on their spending to the maximum penalty, which was being prohibited from signing any prospect for more than $300,000 during the next two signing periods. That’s no longer the case and there are no longer penalties. Teams can only spend their allotted bonus pools and the monies acquired via trade.
The Brewers have also, according to sources, agrees to deal with Hedbert Perez (Venezuela, $700,000), Jheremy Vargas (Venezuela, $650,000), Alexander Perez (Venezuela, $600,000) and Beyker Pastran (Venezuela, $300,000).