The international signing period begins today, and now we get to find out how serious the O's were about their interest in Dominican infielder Miguel Angel Sano. The teams rumored to be at the front of the line for Sano continue to be Pittsburgh, Minnesota, and Baltimore, with the Pirates reportedly already making their first offer. Sano is expected to command something in the neighborhood of $3MM, which may work in the Orioles' favor as the Pirates and Twins are notoriously stingy clubs. If Pittsburgh balks at Sano's initial demands, the O's may have an opportunity to snag him. Now that the signing period has officially begun, it will be interesting to see the O's actual level of interest after publicly admitting being impressed by the prospect.
Update 7/7/09: The picture continues to get clearer on where Sano will land. MLBTR relays reports from ESPN's Jorge Arangure that the Twins have all but fallen out of contention, leaving the Pirates and Orioles as the most likely suitors. The Orioles, however, see Sano as a "late-first-round talent", making them unlikely to offer the Dominican his rumored $4MM asking price. Arangure also speculates that the defection of Cuban prospect Aroldis Chapman, who is likely to command a signing bonus over $30MM, makes any last minute offers for Sano unlikely. The thinking here is that the Pirates remain in the lead to sign him. You can bet nothing significant will happen until the investigation into Sano's age by MLB is resolved.
Update II 7/8/09: The O's are reportedly close to making an official offer to Sano. Interestingly, the offer is rumored to be for a larger bonus than they gave first round pick Matt Hobgood. If this is true, an offer more than Matt Hobgood's $2.42MM would likely challenge that of Pittsburgh, who's international signing bonus budget is just $2MM.
Wrote here about a week ago that the O's were considering Dominican phenom Miguel Angel Sano. The Pirates, Indians, and Twins are also known to be interested, with Pittsburgh rumored to be the frontrunner to land the 16-year-old infielder. The Pirates are apparently preparing an offer as high as $4 million.
I took the O's interest in Sano as a sign that MacPhail is serious about upgrading the team's presence in the area, but only if they are going to make him a serious offer. What may be considered a serious offer may have just gotten more complicated, as MLBTR reports via ESPN's Jorge Arangure that the Yankees are now interested in Sano. Arangure claimed via Twitter however that the Yankees are not willing to go as high as $4 million if that is indeed the price. Excuse me if I reserve judgment on what the Bombers are willing to spend on a prospect as highly regarded as Sano. If the Pirates end up out-spending NYY to land him, that chill you'll feel will be hell freezing over.
There is word from the Baltimore Sun's Jeff Zrebiec that the Orioles worked out 16-year-old shortstop Miguel Angel Sano at their baseball academy in the Dominican Republic. Sano is reportedly garnering interest from a number of other clubs, with the Pittsburgh Pirates as the most enthusiastic suitor.
This is yet another subtle indication that the Andy MacPhail era is a marked change from the modus operandi of the various regimes that have overseen more than a decade of losing baseball in Baltimore. MacPhail has made it a priority to improve the O's dreadful international scouting department, both in Asia and Latin America. We have already begun to see the fruits of the former, as Japanese native Koji Uehara has been one of the club's most reliable starters on a staff filled with kids and upstarts. Sano could be the O's first major step forward in Latin America.
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