Enrique Rojas/ESPN ?@Enrique_Rojas1
July2 Venezuelan LH pitcher Jose Castillo sign with #Bluejays $800K

Where is all this money coming from?!

FROM ROGERS!!

HALLELUJAH!!

$2.9million cap. number 1, 9 and 13 confirmed on Baseball America. Does not seem to make sense?? Can't get under that cap number

#1 Franklin Barreto, ss/cf, Venezuela
#6 Jose Castillo, lhp, Venezuela
#9 Luis Castro, ss, Venezuela
#13 Richard Urena, ss, Dominican Republic

What are penalties for exceeding cap???

This shows an awesome committment to acquiring talent. love it!!!!

The penalty I believe is that you pay a tax (big deal) and if you go ridiculously over the limit, you can't sign guys the following season for more than 250K.

So basically, what we do one year is buy everyone and pay the stupid tax. Then the next get as many cheaper guys as possible, then the following year buy everyone and pay the stupid tax, rinse repeat.

The cap on international players is stupid. Don't most people credit the decline of Puerto Rican ball to players being forced to enter the draft (hurting their earning potential). Less money out there less motivation for these kids. This new system should hurt the quantity of talent coming out of DR, Venezuela etc, no?

It would be quite the interesting strategy if that is the case.

Caribbean baseball will be destroyed in the next decade, not much doubt about that.

Yet the posting system in Japan remains?

This is all just plain stupid

Jays may just go all in this year. Sign no high end guys in 2013

the penalities are as follows -

International signings will have a similar pool - Going over by 0-5 percent kicks in the 75 percent tax; 5-10 percent includes the same tax and a loss of the right to sign more than one player for a bonus of more than $500,000. Go over by 10-15 percent and a team incurs the 100 percent tax and can't sign any player for more than $500,000. Going over by more than 15 percent draws the 100 percent tax and prohibition to sign any player for more than $250,000.

Seems like a much lesser penalty than going over the draft pool

Totally right Grant. Baseball going to be dead in the Caribian within the next 10 years now tha kids can't sign million dollar contracts. I mean really though why sign for 200k when you can live in a shack and pick bananas.

once the international draft is in place (and the age limit's are increased) there will be a huge number of prep schools and colleges recruiting Caribbean players, while going to school in the states probably isn't going to increase the number of players it will eventually give them their bargaining power back.

Yeah I definitely don't agree with that either. With the CBA limiting the small market teams from rebuilding through the draft, type a, and international draft ... this just helps the larger markets.

Also wonder why baseball won't allow teams to trade draft picks.

angrerioter is right.......

how can the blue jays sign #1, 9 and 13? Word out today is that they have also signed #6 LHP Jose Castillo. It looks like they are going over the cap this year, will pay the penalty and deal with next year's restriction on bonus
Posted by Mike | July 4, 2012 at 2:05 pm | Shortcut

I would bet the Blue Jays got a good price on Franklin Barreto. Jose Castillo has not signed yet.
Posted by Ben Badler | July 4, 2012 at 2:08 pm | Shortcut

Enrique Rojas/ESPN ?@Enrique_Rojas1
July2 Venezuelan LH pitcher Jose Castillo sign with #Bluejays $800K
Posted by Mike | July 4, 2012 at 2:26 pm | Shortcut

I'm told he has not signed with the Blue Jays.
Posted by Ben Badler | July 4, 2012 at 2:31 pm | Shortcut

Yes it would sound like we'd go over if we were to sign 4 of the top 20.

Yet from things I've heard here and there, the Jays' scouts are thought highly of by trainers/coaches especially because of past transactions. Not only that but it sounds like the scouts really talk with the players and family ... classy.

Maybe if they know some of their fellow teammates are signing, maybe they will sign for a discount. Not to mention the fact that they are aware of how impressive the Jays farm system has become.

Either way , whether its 3 or 4 that are officially signed that is still very impressive especially considering Barreto was the consensus #1.