The Los Angeles California Angels of Anaheim in Orange County near Pasadena have officially signed 20-year-old Cuban defector Roberto Baldoquin to an $8M bonus — a figure that far exceeds the club’s $2.4M international bonus pool for 2014, leaving the team subject to a 100% tax on the overage. That means Baldoquin will actually cost the Angels about $14M when it’s all said and done. Further, it means that the Angels will not be allowed to sign any international players for more than $300K during the next two “signing periods.” But, that doesn’t mean they can’t sign more players during this signing period, which ends in June — leading to speculation that the Angels could be a contender for another prized prospect from Cuba, Yoan Moncada.

This deal for Baldoquin was originally reported back in early autumn, and is now official thanks to Baldoquin arriving in the U.S. and passing his physical.

Baldoquin will report to big-league camp in February, and is expected to begin the season in either AA or high-A ball. The 5’11”, 195-pounder can play shortstop, second base, and third base with equal skill, according to scouts.

Per Angels GM Jerry DiPoto:

“Roberto is a very well-rounded player. He can play all three infield positions, he’s a gifted defender with soft hands and the arm strength to play any infield position.

He has a very advanced feel in the batter’s box for what’s a ball, what’s a strike, and for using the middle of the field with a level line-drive stroke. He has power to lift the ball. The only tool that grades out as average is running speed.

He’s not a raw, let’s-wait-and-see-how-this-turns-out projection. He looks like a major league player now. He needs a little time in the minor leagues to adjust to a new country, but he’s a pretty mature kid. He has a skill set that is very well-balanced.”

Very little was known about Baldoquin here in the USA prior to the Angels’ publicized interest. We do know he played three years in the Series Nacionales, and his stats don’t look terribly impressive, though, it’s a small sample size (86 games). Based on scouting reports, some think there’s a slight possibility Baldoquin could step into the Angels’ lineup as soon as 2015; to me, that seems far-fetched, though we’ll see.

As far as I know, the Mets were never “in” on Baldoquin (hey! that rhymed!), but then again, I don’t know of any other teams that were, either.

Stephen Drew has agreed to play baseball in New York in 2015 — with the Yankees. Continue reading →

Cliff Floyd was not elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday.

Floyd earned 0 votes, therefore 0.0 percent of the votes. To get in the Hall of Fame, a candidate must appear on 75 percent of the 571 ballots from the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA).

He fell 429 votes shy.

Tony Clark‘s percentage was also equal to John Blutarsky’s grade point average.

Other former Mets to fall short included Carlos Delgado, Gary Sheffield, Jeff Kent, and Mike Piazza. Hard to believe that Delgado, whose career slugging percentage of .546 was fourth-highest among all players on the ballot, received only 21 votes, and therefore — along with Floyd and Clark — removed from future ballots. I didn’t think Delgado would be voted a “Hall of Famer,” but I did think he’d get enough votes to qualify for next year’s ballot. Oh well. Piazza, Kent, and Sheffield are all still eligible to appear on the next ballot.

Meanwhile, former Met Pedro Martinez DID get elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Apparently those “Vote for Pedro” T-shirts were a good idea. Or maybe it was this dance supporting his candidacy that sealed it:

Here we go again … the Hall of Fame inductees will be announced today, therefore, it’s time to talk about Mike Piazza‘s PEDs use. Continue reading →

Big news for the New Year! The Mets have signed reliever Buddy Carlyle to a minor-league contract and invited him to spring training.

With that, the Mets’ offseason to-do list appears to be done!

In other news, the Phillies have signed Aaron Harang to a one-year, $5M contract. The Braves claim they offered Harang a similar deal. Why would the veteran right-hander — who is a “fly ball” pitcher — opt for a team destined to finish last that plays in a homer-friendly park? Either the Braves’ definition of “similar” was a few million less, or, maybe Harang felt there was a better opportunity to pitch every fifth day for the Phillies.

Also, the White Sox have signed Emilio Bonifacio to a one year, $4M contract that includes an option for a second year. The speedy utility man is a nice addition to a championship team’s bench. As much as I love Bonifacio, and as much as I think he’d be a great fit in a large park like The Field At Shea Bridge, the Mets likely were not a good fit. Based on their management of one-time Gold Glove candidate Eric Young, Jr., my guess is that Bonifacio would have been overused / over-exposed. To me, Bonifacio can be successful when used similarly to the way Tony LaRussa managed Super Joe McEwing, or how Bobby Valentine put Desi Relaford in situations to succeed.

Finally, the Kansas City Royals signed Ryan Madson to a minor-league deal that includes an invite to spring training. This one I don’t understand from either point of view. Madson hasn’t pitched since 2011 due to elbow issues, but his success prior makes him coveted — I get that. What I don’t get is the already-bullpen-rich Royals auditioning yet another reliever, and, Madson auditioning for a team that likely has no room for him at the big-league level. I’m surprised someone in need of relief help, such as the Dodgers, didn’t take a flyer on Madson. But then again, we don’t know what considerations go into these deals, on both sides. Maybe it had something to do with the personal connections; according to Jerry Crasnick, “…Jim Fregosi Jr., now a special assistant to Royals general manager Dayton Moore, was the scout who signed Madson out of the 1998 first-year player draft with the Phillies. Mike Arbuckle, currently a senior advisor in Kansas City, was Philadelphia’s scouting director in 1998 when the Phillies selected Madson in the ninth round of the draft.”

The Braves have traded right-handed reliever David Carpenter and minor league left-handed reliever Chasen Shreve to the Yankees for minor league RHP Manny Banuelos. Continue reading →

The Phillies have traded Marlon Byrd to the Cincinnati Reds for RHP Ben Lively. Continue reading →

This is old news — about a week old, in fact — but in case you hadn’t heard, Mets minor league prospect L.J. Mazzilli has been suspended 50 games for a second positive test for a drug of abuse. Continue reading →