Atlanta Braves Int’l Spending Intentions Being Confirmed by BaseballAmerica

Atlanta Braves Singled Out as Possibly Top-Spending Team Internationally This Summer

We have been talking about this subject for weeks and months – that the Braves appeared to be positioning themselves for a huge spending spree when the next International players signing period opens on July 2nd, most recently in this post from 6 weeks ago.

It used to be that we’d have multiple industry sources beating the bushes for us to incrementally learn more about the market and how it was shaping up, but as you likely know, one of those sources is now an Assistant Director in the Braves’ Front Office.

Today, Ben Badler of BaseballAmerica went there and then went the extra mile.  He’s not only confirming everything we’ve been believing/hoping/expecting, but he’s adding names to the process:  players that the Braves are expected to land in the coming months:

• Kevin Maitan.  Referred to as the “crown jewel”, scouted as the best 16-year-old prospect since Miguel Sano.  According to Badler, the Braves are preparing to offer the Venezuelan teenager a country-record bonus of over $4 million (we’ve heard $4.25 million).  The interesting part is that there isn’t a definite position that Maitan is expected to play – yet.  Reports indicate that his offensive abilities are enormous, but that he’s also an athlete who might be able to play just about anywhere.
• Abraham Gutierrez.  Another Venezuelan, this kid is a standout as a catcher, and has already played internationally on his country’s 15-and-under World Cup team (that event is contested every other year and it appears he will miss the 2016 event).  How good is he?  Badler suggests that the Braves are ready to give him something exceeding $3 million this Summer… second highest for Venezuela.
• Yunior Severino.  A Dominican shortstop who switch-hits, Severino is listed as a ‘target’ for the Braves, which seems to suggest that he doesn’t seem to be as certain about the connection here.

Badler mentions that the Yankees bought up Latin America 2 years ago, spending $17 million (before penalties) to land most of the top players available that year (ten of BA.com’s top 30).  TomahawkTake.com previously suggested that the Braves seems to be clearing $20-30 million for that purpose this Summer.  MLB penalties would amount to 100% of the over-pool spending (around $4 million), so a $30 million total expenditure would amount to roughly the same as the Yankees spent:  $17 million in player bonuses.

The Bad News?

BA.com lists two other clubs expected to be in the thick of the player hunt in July:  San Diego, and… the Washington Nationals. 

While the Nats have not been a big player internationally before this, it seems that they have decided to dive into the pool head first and see what happens.  They already have a hot-shot Dominican CF named Victor Robles in their system; now they are looking to add a countryman shortstop named Yasel Antuna, saying that he could command the highest bonus in the DR this season.  Whether that happens or not, they’ve also been involved in Venezuela, and are looking at another shortstop (Jose Sanchez).

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Time Frame

Every player is different, but if you’d like some kind of indication about when you might see Kevin Maitan or Abraham Gutierrez in Atlanta, then maybe Miguel Sano might be a decent yardstick.  The Twins signed him in 2009… and he got to Minneapolis in 2015.

The 2022 Atlanta Braves… that season can’t come soon enough.  But hopefully it’s a “reload” year, with all “rebuilding” thoughts being a distant memory.