Red Sox sign 18 international prospects
The Red Sox spent their international pool money on 18 prospects, the team confirmed Tuesday. The group of players is made up of prospects from Brazil, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.
The headliner for this year’s class for Boston is right-handed-hitting outfielder Juan Chacon of Venezuela, according to sources.
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Chacon, who is expected to sign for just under $1 million, is a physical center fielder with lots of projection and tons of upside. He’s raw, but he has a chance to be a five-tool player.
Additionally, the Red Sox are expected to sign Allan Castro, Kelvin Diaz and Lyonell James of the Dominican Republic. James is expected to receive a bonus of $440,000.
The club did not confirm the specific deals or prospects involved.
“We are excited about the potential of the 18 signees today," said Boston's executive vice president and assistant general manager Eddie Romero. "It’s a big step toward continuing to add international talent to our organization."
Romero noted the class of players "consists mostly of players we feel can stay in the middle of [the] field defensively due to their athleticism and instincts."
He went on to outline the next steps for the 18 signees and thanked the members of the Red Sox organization who worked on scouting and signing them.
"Our scouting staff also did a great job of finding a few high-upside pitchers who demonstrated the kind of competitiveness we like to see. These players will report to the Red Sox Dominican Academy in the next few days to begin their pro careers and contribute to our organization.
"I’d like to thank our international staff -- scouts, cross-checkers and administrators -- for their tireless efforts to put this exciting class together.”
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 spending on international prospects, while clubs that receive a Competitive Balance Pick in Round A of the Rule 4 Draft receive $5,939,800.
The Red Sox have bonus pools of $5,398,300.
Teams are allowed to trade as much of their international pool money as they would like, but a club 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.