Atlanta Braves Said to Be In Pursuit of Cuban Teen Lazarito

I know: he’s not Lazarito… he’s not even a baseball player. Whatever. But he’s Cuban, has a flag, and he won a medal. Jose Cobas wins taekwondo 80 kg gold medal at 2015 Pan Am Games. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports /

Braves to Hold Private Workout for Flashy Teen Prospect from Cuba

In what could be an announcement of ‘due diligence’… but likely portends a bit more than that… Jesse Sanchez of ESPN Esportes is reporting that the Atlanta Braves have invited 16-year-old Lazaro Robersy Armenteros Arango – better known as ‘Lazarito’ – to a private workout session in the Dominican Republic on Saturday.

We had previously reported introduced you to the teen, and mentioned that Lazarito might soon be available on the free agent market, though noting that the Braves were likely hoping that he slipped into next year’s “signing season”, which begins on July 2nd. We subsequently followed up with the report that MLB has cleared him to sign now, which would seem to eliminate the Braves from any thoughts of picking him up, given that they certainly would not wish to incur immediate penalties that would scuttle their big plans for big International signings this Summer (since Armenteros falls under the MLB rules for young free agent International players).

Well… maybe not.

Restrictions

It’s is difficult to known the total picture about what the market is for Lazarito. Sanchez reports that he has been working out for teams (plural) over the past couple of weeks, which includes his initial debutant-like presentation to the world for something close to 140 scouts in early January.

The odds would seems to be stacked against Atlanta in this pursuit, but for some reason, they’ve decided to make a play in this game anyway. It would be a guess, but I would have to imagine that (a) they like Armenteros better than most teams; and (b) they perceive that the developing market for him might present an opportunity to try something different.

Atlanta is not – repeat: not – going to sign Lazarito before July 2nd. They simply have too much at stake to risk throwing it all away on a single player. The only way this happens is if Lazarito and his advisors agree to wait for 5 months to ink a deal with Atlanta.

That’s probably the biggest hurdle that the Braves face in this stare-down with the 29 other teams in baseball. But there are others:

These free agent deals that Cubans have been signing typically have quite a bit of front-loaded money attached to them. Frankly, I believe that a lot of that ends up in the hands of those who helped smuggle the player out of Cuba, and there seems to be anecdotal evidence supporting that. Regardless, Atlanta doesn’t seem to be a club that normally has a lot of loose cash laying around for this kind of purpose.
There are 4 clubs with incentive to bid on Lazarito now: the teams most recently being added to the MLB penalty box for spending too much Internationally during this signing period. Their penalties don’t get any worse for them if they bid (other than 100% of the final contract payable to MLB).
These clubs include the Dodgers and Giants – teams that do have some cash available. The other pair are the Cubs and Royals, who likely do not have the funds. So I would expect the two California teams to duke it out for the rights to bring Laz to the West Coast… and who knows? Tinsel Town would probably appeal to a teenager who already has his future “branding” figured out.

What we don’t know is the level of interest that either the Dodgers or Giants have in the teenager. Over the past couple of weeks, all we’ve seen has been speculation, but no rumors of actual pursuit. That itself could be a signal that the Braves might have an opportunity.

As far as other clubs go, they will have a choice to make: bidding and winning now means no more International activity of significance for 2 more years… starting this July.

What Has to Happen and When We Will Know

More from Tomahawk Take

We outlined how this could work for the Braves in mid-January, but here’s the process.

MLB cleared Armenteros to sign as of February 10. We will likely know who gets him between then and Feb 20.
He and his advisors would have to agree to terms now with Atlanta… terms that would include “we sign the contract on July 2nd”.
Whatever payment is agreed upon, that number would likely have to beat all other clubs by at least another $1-2 million as compensation for doing nothing for the next 5 months.
Atlanta’s cash set aside for International spending? Either that pot would have to be increased significantly or they would have to lower their sights on some of the players they intend to sign in July, for the expectation is that Lazarito will command at least $15 million, which would require an actual expenditure $30 million thanks to the signing penalty (though some of this could be deferred).
By means of comparison, we have been estimating the entire International budget to be approximately $30 million for this Summer. Does this mean spending $60 million total? Perhaps – which would be a staggering sum. I could see Atlanta cutting back a bit on other Internationals this summer, but frankly, the ones truly worth getting will command most of the monies already set to be spent.

Could other teams do the same? Yes, though Atlanta has planned on going “all in” with spending this Summer… and accepting the consequences. Washington and San Diego seem to be the only teams expected to join them (the Padres having more of an interest in Cuban talent than the Nationals). In fact, San Diego might be inclined to try to pull the same stunt Atlanta seems to be attempting.

So in truth, if the Dodgers and Giants have opted to sit this one out, then perhaps Atlanta does have a chance. We should know in a couple of weeks.

Next: Remember When... that 4 Homer Game?

If this were to happen – somehow – then you might see a very big push to jettison the contracts of Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn this Spring. Even a bad salary dump deal would recoup some cash.

Color me surprised to see this news, but it is indeed interesting. And Jesse Sanchez used the term “strong push.”

One more thing: the Braves held a private work out session with Hector Olivera once upon a time. Just Sayin’.

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