The Morning Report 1.20.2016 | Antonio Bastardo's Market Heating Back Up, A Prospect Trade Worth Considering, Marlins Out of Cespedes Sweepstakes

Robert Murray | Baseball Essential- The market for free agent reliever Antonio Bastardo is beginning to heat up, with the Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Dodgers, and New York Mets all interested. Bastardo’s market has been somewhat quiet this offseason, but, he very well could land the three-year deal he seeks. It’s possible it could be for $5-6 million per season. Bastardo, 30, was very solid in his first full season with the Pittsburgh Pirates, going 4-1 with a 2.98 ERA and a 64/26 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

(Chris Soto: $5-6M per season may still be a little too rich for the Mets blood. While Bastardo does not have severe splits, which makes him a good candidate for the set-up role, the club is already paying Addison Reed $5.3M to be their set-up man. In addition, the club already has 3 other lefties projected to be in the bullpen with Josh Edgin, Jerry Blevins, and Sean Gilmartin. In fact, if used correctly, the compination of Blevins vs lefties and Robles vs righties could probably match the statistical performance that Bastardo would bring.)



J.J. Cooper | Baseball America- Prospect-for-prospect, challenge trades rarely happen. More often prospects are traded for big leaguers, but that doesn’t mean we can’t sketch out of some realistic trade. Here [is one] possibilty: Red Sox trade 2B Yoan Moncada to Mets for LHP Steven Matz and SS Luis Carpio. Moncada is one of the best position prospects in baseball. Matz is among the best pitching prospects in the game. And a swap would help fill big needs for both. Moncada could be the Mets long-term answer at second base (where Neil Walker has been acquired as a short-term replacement) but his versatility means he also could become a rangy, explosive center fielder.


(Chris Soto: Ohhh.....man.....that is enticing. At this very moment...I would have to say no to this potential swap. However, if you could guarantee me that Zack Wheeler will be back 100% healthy, I think I may actually be willing to pull the trigger on this one. Moncada is a FREAK athlete capable of becoming a 15 HR/60 SB talent that would wreck HAVOK at the top of anyone's starting line-up. There's also no doubt in my mind that he could add even more power and maybe settle into an Andrew McCutcheon style 20 HR/30 SB guy. He's that good.....)

HOT STOVE REPORT (courtesy of mlbtraderumor.com)

• Marlins President of Baseball Ops told Ken Rosenthal, "we have no interest in signing Cespedes" due to their already "crowded OF." Currently the club has Marcell Ozuna in LF, Christian Yelich in CF, and Giancarlo Stanton in RF.
• In an interview with MLB Network, Rockies’ GM Jeff Bridich, indicated that the team is not pushing to trade one of his 4 MLB starting caliber OF's. "I know it’s popular to expect a trade, but it’s tough to put odds on it right now. The last thing I want to do is apologize for bringing more talent into this organization. Adding another professional, talented young outfielder is overall a good thing. Having too much depth is a good thing.”

SS Yoan Moncada Impresses Many at Pro Day

   

     Highly coveted international Free Agent SS Yoan Moncada hosted a showcase yesterday at a facility in his newly established residence in Guatemala. An estimated 60 to 70 Scouts and executives from every MLB team (sans the Los Angeles Angels) attended the event to feast their eyes on what potentially could be the single largest name to come out of Cuba at his age in MLB history. Even though the 19 year old is subject to MLB international signing rules, it is widely anticipated that Moncada will receive a record breaking bonus from someone once he is cleared by the United States Foreign Assets Control Office.


     Moncada ran the bases, a 60 yd dash, took batting practice, and took infield grounders from his natural position of SS, as well as, 3B and 2B. According to scouts, Moncada showed true "five-tool potential" through-out the day. MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo was on site and talked to a number of scouts and executives to get their opinions on the showcase. A scouting director stated, "He's worth going way over your international spending pool in my opinion. This game is about talent and Moncada is the kind of talent worth the investment."


     It was previously reported that he beat Rusney Castillo in a foot race and the speed gauge was true. He ran his 60 yard dash in 6.6 seconds which resulted in scouts giving him a 70 grade for his speed. Scouts also gave the switch hitting infielder a 60 grade for his hit tool and a 60 grade for his power from both sides of the plate. They were disappointed that he did not face "live pitching," however, they still came away quite giddy about his hitting potential.


     Defensively, Moncada showed plenty of arm strength at all 3 positions netting himself a 60 grade for his arm at SS. While scouts were satisfied with his performance at SS, his arm accuracy looked better from 3B and 2B than it did at SS. Coming out of the showcase, scouts gave him an average 50 grade for his abilities at SS which could play up to 60 grades at 3B and 2B.


     Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports was also on site and talked to 2 General Managers and 2 other executives about what they think Moncada is worth with the international signing rules in mind. The signing bonus values ranged anywhere from $30 million to $40 million. If Moncada were an American citizen coming out of High School, many believe he would be the unanimous #1 draft pick. "(He is) the best amateur player available, better than any draft-eligible high school or college player, better potentially even than Yasmany Tomas."


     Only time will tell if the Mets are going to be interested in committing that kind of money to Moncada. The chips seem to be in perfect alignment though as the Mets do not have a 1st round draft pick in 2015 and could potentially "replace" it by signing Moncada. The team is also very active in the interntional market, having signed 6 IFA's so far this year, and has a history of finding quality IFA's at lower bonus prices such as Vicente Lupo, Marcos Molina, Gabriel Ynoa, and Ali Sanchez. One could say that due to the scouting network the Mets have built, a $300k limitation next year would not hurt them as much as other teams.


     At this point though every team, minus the Chicago Cubs and the Texas Rangers who are limited to only $300k by their overspends last year, seems to be good bets to sign Moncada. For those interested in what those grades equal to in terms of MLB production see below.


60 hit tool  =   .280 avg
60 power   =    23-27 HR
70 speed    =    25-30 SB

Cuban SS Yoan Moncada defects, Mets Could Be in Driver's Seat to Sign.

     It was recently announced that 19 yr old Cuban infielder Yoan Moncada has defected from Cuba and is in the process of declaring free agency. Since he is under 23, this means he is subject to International Bonus Pool Rules.

     Scouts have indicated that Moncada could be as good or even better than Cubs OF Jorge Soler who put up a .903 OPS in his 1st 100 Plate Appearances at the MLB level. Scouts have indicated that his bat skills are equal to Yasiel Puig (60 grade hit tool), he has beaten Rusney Castillo in a foot race before (70 grade speed tool), and has power comparable to Yasmani Tomas (70 grade power tool).

     Currently, I am salivating at the possibility of signing this kid and quite frankly....it's VERY doable. The Mets have been one of the most active teams in the international market with 6 signings over $100k so far this signing period so its apparent that Alderson values the international market. In addition, most of the "BIG Players" will be unable to sign Moncada if he clears customs before June 15th, 2015.

     The Red Sox, Yankees, and Rays have all already blown by their allotted international signing pools by over 15% which means they must pay a 100% tax on each additional dollar they spend AND they will lose the right to sign ANYONE for more than $250k next period. This means that these clubs could STILL sign Moncada until June 15th, but it would cost them twice as much money as other clubs.

     In addition, the Cubs and the Rangers also went over their respective pools by more than 15% during the 2013-14 signing period, so they CANNOT offer Moncada more than $250k until June 15th passes. The Mets meanwhile still have roughly $702k left in their international pool and could shell out as much as $837k without incurring a signing restriction next season.

     Coupling a guy like Moncada with their other big ticket signing, 16 yr old SS Kenny Hernandez, who also has 3 plus potential tools, could give the Mets one of the best international draft classes this season and re-stock the lower level minor league teams with talent that has recently been promoted.