26 Comments

Extremely thorough calendar Ethan. As far as I can tell the only dates missing are the ones where us Pirates fans become agitated when a good FA, who would fill a whole on roster, is signed to a multi-year deal by a competitor who isn’t afraid to sign veterans for longer than one year.

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Great stuff Ethan! I've seen a couple reports that the Pirates signed Bralyn Brazoban with the international money aquired from the Hedges trade. His birthday is September 1st which makes me question it (I'm not sure if 8/31 or 9/1 is the cutoff date). Wondering if you have heard anything?

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Rumbunter says the Pirates signed Brazoban. Can’t vouch for it.

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Hector Gomez seems to be the source used by rumbunter. Brazoban's birthday is right at the cutoff one way or the other I'm not sure. Just hoping they could use the extra international money on a highly rated prospect.

Thanks

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Oct 18, 2023·edited Oct 18, 2023Author

From Jesse Sanchez's 2023 Int. Signing article (https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-international-prospects-signing-day-2023):

An international player is eligible to sign with a Major League team between Jan. 15 and Dec. 15. He must turn 16 before he signs and be 17 before Sept. 1 the following year -- in practical terms, that means players born between Sept. 1, 2005, and Aug. 31, 2006, will be eligible to sign in the upcoming signing period. Players have to be registered with Major League Baseball in advance in order to be eligible to sign.

From his 2024 Signing Article (https://www.mlb.com/news/the-top-mlb-international-prospects-for-2023-24)

There are guidelines for signing prospects. An international player is eligible to sign with a Major League team between Jan. 15 and Dec. 15. He must turn 16 before he signs and be 17 before Sept. 1 the following year -- in practical terms, that means players born between Sept. 1, 2006, and Aug. 31, 2007, will be eligible to sign in the upcoming signing period. Players have to be registered with Major League Baseball in advance in order to be eligible to sign)

With a birthday of 9/1, Brazoban would literally be on the line, but eligible for 2024 and not 2023.

I know for a fact that based on his birthday Sosa is 2024 eligible and not 2023, despite what Gomez reported.

So, both are 2024 signings, but don't trust Rumbunter.

The following that they for some reason have gained mystifies me.

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It’s possible that some sources aren’t bothering any more to make the distinction between “reached an understanding” and “signed.” Irresponsible reporting.

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That's my understanding with Sosa. We'll see in January, but I'm confident he's J15, not 2023.

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If he’d actually signed, he should be listed at MiLB.com, and he’s not. Same with the other guy.

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Thanks again, I read it the same way you did but wasn't sure.

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He's listed on MLB's list for 2024, so that would have nothing to do with Hedges

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Thanks

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Great content here, thanks so much!

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Great summary

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And Larry Doughty is a name that I haven’t heard in a while!!!

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Thanks Ethan and Wilbur!

Much appreciated!!!⚾️

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In case you’re thinking, I’ll never remember all this, I’m putting links to this sort of piece on the “resource” at the top of the front page. It’ll always be readily accessible.

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You are a savior WTM!

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I've been wanting to make this sort of resource info available to fans for a long time, years actually. Credit to Anthony for providing a place to make it so. To say nothing of Ethan for putting all these details together.

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Larry Doughty is freaking out.

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Who dat?

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He was a Pirates’ GM for a couple years around 1990. He once accidentally put a couple decent prospects on irrevocable instead of revocable waivers. The Phillies claimed them, and out of sympathy agreed to give up Carmelo Martinez, who they didn’t want anyway. One prospect, Wes Chamberlain, went on to have a couple decent ML seasons.

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If Ethan had been around back then, this wouldn't have happened.

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I'd have had to write him a letter, or track things on carbon paper, so who knows...

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Great stuff Ethan! Looking forward to the other items mentioned in the article

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