The Padres are in the process of finalizing the signing of two top foreign players from the Dominican Republic, lefty. Carlos Alvarez and shortstop John De La Cruzaccording to reports from Will Samson of The Athletic and Franchys Romero of BeisbolFR.com. Alvarez will receive a signing bonus worth around $1MM, per Romero. De La Cruz’s bonus is currently unknown, but Romero previously suggested he and the Padres had an agreement in the $2MM range. Baseball America’s Ben Badler previously pegged De La Cruz at between $1MM and $1.5MM. The biggest takeaway here, however, is Romero tweeting that multiple sources have indicated that the Padres believe they are out of the running for the star Japanese right-hander. Roki Sasaki.
Sammon adds that Alvarez was originally committed to the Padres but has since been exploring other opportunities after their appearance as Sasaki’s finalist. Now he will actually sign in San Diego, supporting the idea that a Sasaki signing is no longer in the cards for the Padres.
San Diego was one of Sasaki’s winners, along with the Dodgers and Blue Jays. There is no indication that Sasaki has made a final decision yet. The Dodgers are said to be exploring a trade to add more cap space to their MLB-low $5.146MM international bonus. The Jays and Padres have a bigger pool, both up to $6.262MM, though San Diego is reportedly looking at a trade to bolster their cap hit.
Agent Joel Wolfe has previously suggested, however, that Sasaki’s decision won’t simply come down to who offers the biggest bonus. After all, if maximizing his salary was Sasaki’s priority, he could wait two more years until he’s 25 and thus become a “pro” rather than a “rookie” under MLB’s international free agent structure. That’s the way Yoshinobu Yamamoto he chose, and it led to a $325MM contract with the Dodgers for the 25-year-old pitcher.
Until Sasaki officially signs with another team, there is still hope for Friars fans, but today’s reports are not rosy about their chances with Sasaki. De La Cruz and Alvarez, however, will still be additions of note in the lower levels of San Diego’s lineup. MLB.com ranks them 21st and No. 39 in this year’s class. Badler writes that De La Cruz doesn’t have one standout tool but has average or better tools across the board, with gap strength and the physical frame (5’11”, 170 pounds) and defensive tools needed to stick at shortstop long-term. .
Alvarez turned 17 in November but is already 6’5″ tall and already hitting 93 mph with his heater, per Badler. MLB.com’s report on him notes that he is a former player, meaning his arm is younger than most young prospects. That he’s already flashing better-than-average command and secondary pitches despite being new to the mound is an encouraging sign as well.
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