Originally posted at raisethejollyroger.com
[Crap]. Minnesota got him for a $3.15 millon dollar bonus. This is really unfortunate news.
Sano is a 16-year old shortstop, widely regarded as the top prospect in the Dominican Republic. The Bucs were rumored to have a good shot at signing him because of some personal connections, with the Orioles and Twins as major contenders. Still, with the advantage in hand and having spent a lot more money and energy on young talent lately, many (including me) were really thinking the Pirates would land Sano–especially after they saved money by drafting Tony Sanchez instead of a more expensive pitcher.
It appears the communication between Neal Huntington and Sano’s agent, Robbie Plummer was the downfall for the Pirates, though. The Pirates conducted serious testing on Sano before MLB required it to ensure that he was indeed 16 years old. Huntington was then very quick to make an offer (around $2M) and was rejected, having been told that other teams were bidding higher. Neal either didn’t believe that, or didn’t want to pony up the cash. No matter which way it happened, I’m disappointed.
Again, the main reason I’m holding out hope that this was mainly a communication issue rather than a monetary one (from the PG post, linked above):
Huntington and Plummer had agreed last month that the Pirates would get a chance to negotiate, but both sides acknowledged yesterday that Plummer never called them back.
Not cool, but if Plummer had reason to believe that Huntington would offer more, of course he would have called him back. I have a hard time believing that Sano isn’t a good buy at $3.15 million. The Pirates spent $4 million this winter for two years of Ramon Vazquez. Now, I don’t think Sano could step in this and next year and hit .234 while playing reasonably good defense at multiple positions, but such a deal would give the Bucs control of Sano at that price for a lot of years…and if he pans out like some say he will…it’s a steal.
To put it in perspective, some experts said that had Sano been eligible in this year’s draft, he’d have gone 3rd overall, right behind Strasburg and Ackley. Ackley got $6M, and Strasburg obviously got way more. With the advantage of personal ties (Sano wanted to be a Pirate) and a new willingness (and ability) to pay up for young talent, I’m both suprised and disappointed in Neal Huntington’s failure to make Miguel Angel Sano a Pittsburgh Pirate.
UPDATE, 8:43 PM: Some of the early fallout is making things look more and more like the Pirates were simply jobbed. Maybe this isn’t really a case of the Bucs being cheap after all. ESPN’s Jorge Arangure, who’s been tweeting about Sano ever since he became a coveted prospect, had the following to say after the signing was announced this evening:
From my understanding, the Orioles were given a chance to match. The Pirates were not given that chance
Why not? Because Plummer didn’t like the Pirates. He wasn’t happy that Sano preferred the Bucs over any other club, and might have taken a discount because of it. Yeah, it sounds like a conspiracy, but the evidence Arangure and other writers have provided make it pretty clear. Plummer gave preference to teams that dealt with him in a way he liked–even if they didn’t offer as much money. It is hard to believe Neal wouldn’t be willing to top Minnesota’s offer. In fact, Arangure says that they would have, and that “ it’s hard to blame the Pirates when they weren’t give a chance.”
There’s also this, from the PG article (which has updated since the original post, still linked above):
Plummer said earlier today that, even if the Pirates had come back with more money, he would not have signed with them because he appreciated how the Twins dealt with him.
Seriously? So he’s essentially turning money for his client down because he liked the way Minnesota did business better? That’s really not fulfilling the job description of an agent.
I feel like I always defend Neal Huntington, and I’m doing it again right now, but it seems like the Pirates might not be at fault here after all.
