By now I'm sure most have heard of Cuban phenom Luis Robert. If not, here's an article with plenty of quotes to bring you up to speed.
How good is Robert? One American League international scouting director described Robert as "the best player on the planet, and that's no exaggeration."Playing for Ciego de Avila in Cuba's Serie Nacional, the island's top league, Robert hit .393 with 12 home runs and 11 stolen bases last season. He was also part of the Cuban team that played against the Canadian-American League last summer. The 19-game tour included stops in Little Falls, N.J., and Pomona, N.Y.
"[Japan's] Shohei Ohtani is the best international player out there and he's a different animal because he would be the ace of a staff and he can hit," one National League international scouting director said. "But Robert is up there. He's a five-tool guy that can be in the big leagues soon. He has to be No. 2 behind Ohtani. He's that good."http://m.mlb.com/news/article/216971...onal-prospect/"Luis is the top prospect I have ever worked with," Mercedes said. "Cespedes was an older player, a more mature player. He was 26. I don't know if there is anyone with Cespedes' power. It's tough to compare the two since Luis is only 19. He might not be as strong as Cespedes was at that age, but he does have very fast hands and that makes up for the strength."
Robert has established residency in Haiti, the first step to becoming a free agent, but he has not been declared a free agent and is not yet eligible to sign with a big league club. When he is cleared to sign matters.
If Robert is cleared to sign by June 15, the A's, Astros, Braves, Cardinals, Nationals, Padres and Reds, who have all exceeded their 2016-17 bonus pools, remain in the mix to sign him. However, when the international-signing period starts on July 2, those teams will join the Cubs, Dodgers and Royals in a group of teams that will not be able to sign international prospects for more than $300,000 because they are in the maximum penalty. The Angels, D-backs, Rays, Red Sox and Yankees will no longer be limited to signing players for $300,000 or less during the next signing period.
After June 15th, the Reds can't sign any international prospects for more than $300,000 until July 2nd, 2019. If Luis Robert is cleared to sign before June 15th, it makes all the sense in the world for the Reds to throw a boatload of cash at him. The question is how much? Yoan Moncada received $31.5M but the tax penalty brought the total to $63M for the Red Sox. For all the hype he received, Lazaro Armenteros only got $3M. However, Robert appears to be closer to big league ready. My best guess in Robert's contract falls somewhere in the middle, around $15M to $20M? Even at the expense of $35M or $40M it makes too much sense not to pursue an elite talent like Robert. The new TV deal kicks in soon; Phillips contract is off the books after this year, and the Reds will save cash during the next two international signing periods.
In a span of a year, the Reds could add Nick Senzel, Taylor Trammell, Chris Okey, T.J. Friedl, Dilson Herrera, Vladimir Gutierrez, Luis Castillo, Luis Robert, and the #2, #32, and #38 picks in the draft. If Dick Williams makes this happen, I will begin sculpting his statue.