When President Barack Obama announced his intent to restore relations with Cuba after several decades of an embargo, one of the most pressing questions our circles pondered was, "What happens to baseball?" That might sound trivial, but thanks to the embargo, the recent string of Cuban ballplayers over the last eight years or so represents one of the few tangible ties Americans have to the island.
Baseball America's Ben Badler, who is the preeminent source on Cuban baseball in the States, delivered some thorough analysis on the present and near future of Cuban baseball, and the complications Major League Baseball faces as teams angle to rush in.
He writes that Cuba might seek a posting similar that's a cross between the Mexican League and the Asian professional leagues, due to the disparity of talent on hand. While the Mexican League has a deal with the association of minor league teams, and NPB and KBO teams export older, MLB-ready ballplayers, Cuba has to cover the entire spectrum of talent.
One potential hangup is the international posting system, which was not designed to handle this kind of volume:
The younger players, though, are subject to the pools, which were designed with a focus on mostly Latin American amateur signings of players age 16-18. Some teams have already spent well beyond their 2014-15 bonus pools, which results in a tax on 100 percent of their pool overage and no signings for more than $300,000 the next two signing periods, without signing any Cuban players. That’s starting to change though, with the Angels breaking their pool to sign shortstop Roberto Baldoquin, while infielders Yoan Moncada and Andy Ibanez are certain to cause teams to exceed their pools to land them.
A sudden splash of pool-eligible players such as outfielder Victor Mesa, shortstop Lourdes Gourriel, righthander Vladimir Gutierrez and outfielder Jorge Ona would just create a larger mess. It would also take money away from the 16-year-old kids from the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and other countries, the ones for whom the pools were originally designated. Even without an end to the embargo, MLB’s international bonus pool system needs an overhaul, so the pools are an area the commissioner’s office will have to work through after the current Collective Bargaining Agreement expires on Dec. 1, 2016.
Badler also goes into great detail about Serie Nacional and the international tournaments the country prioritizes, which could result in year-round baseball for MLB players who want to get back to their homeland.
Reading the article, you get the idea of just how overwhelming the combination of cultures will be for the baseball world. And if there's that much to anticipate -- whether out of excitement or apprehension -- in baseball, imagine how it'll be on a national and world politics scale.
Terrerobytes
- Royals sign pitcher Kris Medlen to two-year deal - Royals Review
- The Royals Celebration Tour - Joe Posnanski
The Royals are picking up the pace with four signings -- Kendrys Morales, Alex Rios, Edinson Volquez, and now Kris Medlen. Medlen represents the best upside play of the bunch, but coming off a second Tommy John surgery, there's a reason why he didn't sign for much guaranteed money.
At any rate, David Glass is spending more money than most anticipated, but Joe Posnanski wonders why it's being spread out among such mediocre players. J.J. Cooper had a pretty good answer to that:
Anyone arguing "Royals spending $X million on FA, why didn't they sign Shields/Scherzer instead" is forgetting how long-term deals work
— JJ Cooper (@jjcoop36) December 18, 2014
Royals know their core will become more expensive over the next 3-4 years. Every deal they are doing is a short-term deal.
— JJ Cooper (@jjcoop36) December 18, 2014
- The 4 surprisingly quiet teams of the MLB offseason - SBNation.com
- Some Orioles musings (Lavarnway, Rasmus, Viciedo, ARod) - Baltimore Sun
The Royals might've been on Grant Brisbee's list of inactive teams had he published that post a week earlier. Instead, he focuses on the Orioles, Nationals, Giants and Rangers. The White Sox have a role in Baltimore's dormant state -- with Adam LaRoche and Melky Cabrera, Rick Hahn punched Dan Duquette right before he could take a bite.
That would make a potential Dayan Viciedo trade a potential insult to injury.
- St. Petersburg City Council rejects Rays stadium search deal - Tampa Bay Times
- Romano: City Council says no to Rays deal with potential development windfall - Tampa Bay Times
Just when it looked like baseball in Tampa Bay had a way toward healthier ground, the St. Peterburg City Council cast doubt on the situation all over again. It rejected the agreement negotiated by St. Pete's mayor that would've allowed the Rays to explore stadiums elsewhere in the Tampa area, and it seems like it was in the best interests of St. Pete residents to do so.
It's too early in the negotiations process to say Tampa Bay baseball is truly threatened, but if the problem with a St. Petersburg stadium is that it's hard for Tampa residents to access, then I'm guessing the reverse also applies. So as far as St. Pete is concerned, it should drive as hard a bargain as possible, because the Rays become far less relevant to their interests whether they move to Tampa or Montreal. What's best for Tampa Bay isn't what's best for St. Petersburg, and that doesn't seem to be St. Petersburg's fault.
- Los Angeles Dodgers' trade of Matt Kemp to San Diego Padres clears hurdles - ESPN Los Angeles
- A’s trade Norris for 2 pitchers - San Francisco Chronicl
The Padres are a lot like the White Sox, in that national writers seem inclined to point out how little they pay attention to the Padres in every introduction to an article about them.
New GM A.J. Preller seems hellbent on making San Diego baseball worth following, and he's succeeding in the short term, giving everybody plenty to think about with three trades over the past week. The most controversial deal, the trade for Matt Kemp, went through, even though Bob Nightengale reported that Kemp's physical revealed arthritis in both hips.
As the physical delayed the deal, I thought the trade started to make more sense from the Padres' perspective. If the physical indicated that Kemp's leg woes were behind him, maybe they stand to benefit from the Dodgers chipping in $32 million, reducing Kemp's salary to five years and $77 million. If they didn't like it, they could undo it. Instead, they went through with the original deal after suboptimal findings. The Dodgers didn't even have to sweeten the pot.
Preller did replace the catcher he traded away (Yasmani Grandal), acquiring Derek Norris from the A's for Jesse Hahn and R.J. Alvarez. With Norris out of the picture, Josh Phegley has a chance to win Oakland's backup job and take the catcher's at-bats against lefties.