The Minnesota Twins have a significant chunk of international money to spend. Where should they direct those funds?
The Minnesota Twins have one of the largest amounts of international pool money available to sign young international players, ranking 3rd behind just the New York Yankees and the Texas Rangers. So how could the Twins spend that money?
First, let’s get a bit of a grip on where that budget comes from….
IFA money rules
Under the new rules in the international market from the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Minnesota Twins will open their international free agent periods with $5.25 million to spend.
Under the new rules, a team can acquire up to 75% of it’s original pool in additional funds. For the Twins, that’s $3,937,500. Since the funds are only able to be traded in increments of $250,000, the team is assumed to have $3.9 million of extra room to add.
The Twins acquired %500K in international money from the Washington Nationals in the Brandon Kintzler, and thus far, that is all they have required, so if the team wanted to, they could trade for another $3.4 million in signing bonus money if they found a trading partner.
Currently, the Twins have $3.245 million available, which is behind the New York Yankees ($4 million) and Texas Rangers ($3.535 million) for the most available funds in the entire market. After trades this past Monday, only two other teams have over $1 million available.
Now, let’s look at the ways the Twins could spend that money…
Age on Opening Day: 23 Info: Ohtani is the premier free agent on the market this winter now that Major League Baseball came to an agreement with the Japanese league Ohtani was playing in up through this season.
Ohtani is likely going to be an innovator in the game, taking the discussion we were having in the game last June during the amateur draft about players possibly “going both ways” by hitting and pitching to a whole other level. When that discussion was centered around an elite high school player in both facets or even an elite college player in both areas, that’s one thing. Ohtani has been doing it as a professional in Japan for a half-decade.
He’s also been doing it at a masterful level. As a hitter, Ohtani has 1,170 plate appearances to his credit in Japan, hitting .286/.358/.500 with 48 home runs. His powerful approach has continued to improve, and over the last two seasons, Ohtani has tallied 613 plate appearances with a .326/.411/.570 line, 30 home runs, and 7 stolen bases. The one concern some have raised about Ohtani at the plate is that he does strike out at a high rate, with a 26.2% strikeout rate over the last two seasons.
On the mound, however, his dominance is truly unquestioned. Ohtani has set an NPL record with his fastball reaching the equivalent of 101 miles per hour. An injury this season limited Ohtani to just 5 games on the mound, but in his previous three seasons (when he was 19, 20, and 21), Ohtani threw 456 innings, with a 2.25 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 8.2% walk rate, and 30.5% strikeout rate.
The Twins could uniquely position themselves in negotiating with Ohtani by allowing him to DH a few days per week along with pitching, which would give them a leg up on competition, at least possibly.
However, with so many teams vying for his services, the Twins may consider other possibilities…
Age on Opening Day: 21 Info: While Ohtani would likely spend the majority of 2018 in the major leagues, the rest of this list will be spending 2018 in the minor leagues most likely.
Martinez has been playing in Cuba’s top league since he was 16 years old, catching eyes at every international tournament that he’s participated in for his exceptional defense and an intriguing power/speed combination on offense.
Martinez gained plenty of notoriety in 2014 when he played on the Cuban 18U national team that also featured Luis Robert, Jorge Ona, and Yusniel Diaz, who have each moved on to a MLB club, and Victor Mesa, who will now be the top prospect left in Cuba. His elite defense made splitting time between he and Mesa difficult.
Martinez hit .333/.469/.498 in the 2016/2017 Serie Nacional season over 264 plate appearances, with 11 doubles, 2 triples, 6 home runs, and 24 stolen bases. He also walked more than he struck out.
Martinez will likely need a year or more of time in the minor leagues to acquaint himself with MLB ball, and he very feasibly will not be cleared until March, so the Twins would have to hold onto money for a good chunk of time in order to sign him, but he could be the first hitter available this offseason to reach the majors in an impactful way.
While Martinez may be the first to the majors, the best prospects on the market beyond Ohtani were just added recently…
Huge group of prospects
You may have heard about the massive amount of prospects that were just released due to improprieties done by the Atlanta Braves. First off, before getting too crazy about lambasting the Braves, know that many teams around the league are still being investigated, and while this RIGHT NOW is the only punishment with players being released as part of it, when MLB started their initial investigation, 3/4 of the players released on Tuesday (essentially anyone signed before this season) were not a target of their probe but instead came up later as part of the investigation.
The biggest name known is former top signee Kevin Maitan, who was signed for $4.25M just a summer ago. He was considered the top talent in the international market, and his bonus set a record for a Venezuelan signee. Some reports on him adding weight and struggling last season were true, but he also had a significant hamstring injury that hampered his movement. He has recently been shown working out at the Braves facility and is visibly trimmer.
Beyond Maitan, the top guy in my eyes to pursue would be Yunior Severino, who has an incredible offensive upside as a middle infielder. He has been compared favorably to Robinson Cano at the plate. Livan Soto would probably be the third option as an elite defender at shortstop with a very good feel for the strike zone at the plate and some potential for low double-digit production in home runs and steals.
The Braves signed Asian import Ji-Hwan Bae, a tremendously quick infielder that probably profiled more as a center fielder or left fielder defensively with elite contact and speed skills offensively, this season in the IFA market. His deal was negated in the punishment, and he could be a focus to review as many teams did not know of his availability, or he may have been paid more.
You can view the other players who were removed from the Braves on Baseball America’s coverage of the punishment. Many of the Braves top prospects were profiled in a recent top 100 prospects list from our own Benjamin Chase over at Call To The Pen if you’re looking for more information. You can find their ranking on the list page and then click the page for the in-depth report.
If the Braves guys are not the taste, or don’t use up all the funds, there are still some guys from this year’s class available…
Jelfry Marte, SS
Info: Even before he signed with the Twins, there were concerns about Marte’s ability to provide offensive impact. The Twins found out about a vision problem when they did his contract physical and negated his initial $3M+ contract, making him once again a free agent. That does not eliminate the option of them signing him again, however. Marte is an excellent defender at short, and if he can take care of his vision issues, some believe there’s gap power and adequate speed to be an average MLB hitter.
Mauro Bonifacio, OF
Info: Another guy the Twins were once involved with, the team backed away after Bonifacio turned 16 on August 31st and a number of teams stepped forward into the mix on him. He has a unique blend of size (6’5″, 205 pounds at 15), raw power, and elite speed.
Raimfer Salinas, OF
Info: One of the elite prospects in the entire class, Salinas has been known for a number of years as he played on international teams for Venezuela. Salinas showed very well in international competitions and not as well at times in other games. Compared frequently to Braves prospect Ronald Acuna, Salinas could be an excellent target to zone in on.
Info: Cabello profiles awkwardly for a catcher, with an elite speed tool and good defense, and he’s a rare breed in that he could end up moving to center field if he doesn’t work at catcher. His profile is very intriguing on the market just due to how unique it is, but it’s also hard to price as well.
Osleivis Basabe, SS/OF
Info: Basabe has elite speed and a plus arm that has struggled to find its home defensively, working between center field and shortstop. He was rumored to the Yankees, but they seem to have not closed the deal with Basabe as they wait to hopefully sign Ohtani, and the Twins could sweep in if he’s left on the market.
Info: Candelario is one of the most intriguing prospects to my eyes in the entire market. He has plus-plus raw power and a plus arm, but he is very raw in the outfield, and his swing can get too power-focused and long at times. At his best, he profiles as an ideal right field candidate, but he could also swing and miss too much to ever make an impact.
