2015 International Spending By Team

See Also: 2015 International Reviews Index

Baseball America has gathered estimates of how much money every team spent on international signings in 2015. The spending estimates are for the entire 2015 calendar year, overlapping the second half of the 2014-15 signing period and the 2015-16 signing period, which opened last year on July 2 and accounts for when most teams spent the majority of their money in 2015.

Most teams’ spending numbers will be accurate down to the final dollar. Since comprehensive data isn’t easily available for players signed out of the Mexican League, we are calling these spending estimates, although we have the top Mexican players accounted for and there were only a small number of Mexican League signings, so that will have a negligible impact on the data.

In the past, we haven’t included spending on Cuban players in our spending data, since they don’t fall under the traditional umbrella of international signings and could wildly swing a team’s spending numbers with one signing. However, due to the proliferation of Cuban signings, we have broken the data into two charts, with the first one including Cuban players who were subject to the bonus pools. So Yadier Alvarez is included in the Dodgers’ spending numbers, but Hector Olivera is not.

An asterisk (*) denotes a team that went over its 2015-16 bonus pool. A plus sign (+) indicates a team went over its 2014-15 bonus pool, which means it wasn’t able to spend more than $300,000 on a single player beginning last year on July 2.

INTERNATIONAL SPENDING, INCLUDING CUBAN SIGNINGS
Team	Estimated spending
1. Dodgers*	$45.38 million
2. Red Sox+	$36.17 million
3. Cubs*	$18.53 million
4. Diamondbacks+	$11.13 million
5. Giants*	$8.07 million
6. Royals*	$5.64 million
7. Rangers	$5.60 million
8. Astros	$5.38 million
9. Phillies	$4.91 million
10. Rockies	$4.74 million
11. Twins	$4.57 million
12. Braves	$4.37 million
13. Blue Jays*	$4.29 million
14. Padres	$4.27 million
15. Reds	$3.46 million
16. Yankees+	$3.42 million
17. White Sox	$3.17 million
18. Mets	$3.15 million
19. Rays+	$3.00 million
20. Indians	$2.80 million
21. Pirates	$2.60 million
22. Marlins	$2.59 million
23. Nationals	$2.52 million
24. Cardinals	$2.39 million
25. Mariners	$2.08 million
26. Brewers	$1.90 million
27. Tigers	$1.78 million
28. Athletics	$1.18 million
29. Orioles	$1.15 million
30. Angels+	$660,000

The data crosses two signing periods, but only $105,000 of the Dodgers’ spending last year came before July 2. The Dodgers traded away all of their international slot values for the current 2015-16 signing period, leaving them with a $700,000 bonus pool. So with spending of $45 million and counting this signing period along with the 100 percent overage tax, the Dodgers are looking at a $90 million total expenditure for international amateur signings in 2015-16. That doesn’t even count Cuban righthander Yaisel Sierra, who is exempt from the bonus pools. The Dodgers spent $37.5 million of that $45 million on three Cuban players: Alvarez ($16 million), outfielder Yusniel Diaz ($15.5 million) and second baseman Omar Estevez ($6 million).

The Red Sox take the No. 2 spot overall because of the $31.5 million bonus they spent on Cuban second baseman Yoan Moncada during the 2014-15 signing period, although they were still extremely aggressive for more traditional July 2 signings last year, particularly in Venezuela. The Diamondbacks are also near the top of the list because of a Cuban signing from 2014-15, righthander Yoan Lopez for $8.26 million.

Here’s how much money each team spent internationally excluding Cuban players.

INTERNATIONAL SPENDING, EXCLUDING CUBAN SIGNINGS
Team	Estimated spending
1. Cubs*	$15.53 million
2. Giants*	$8.06 million
3. Dodgers*	$7.88 million
4. Royals*	$5.64 million
5. Phillies	$4.91 million
6. Rockies	$4.74 million
7. Red Sox+	$4.67 million
8. Twins	$4.57 million
9. Braves	$4.37 million
10. Blue Jays*	$4.29 million
11. Padres	$4.27 million
12. Rangers	$4.00 million
13. Astros	$3.84 million
14. Reds	$3.46 million
15. Yankees+	$3.42 million
16. White Sox	$3.17 million
17. Mets	$3.15 million
18. Rays+	$3.00 million
19. Indians	$2.80 million
20. Diamondbacks+	$2.71 million
21. Pirates	$2.60 million
22. Marlins	$2.59 million
23. Nationals	$2.52 million
24. Cardinals	$2.39 million
25. Mariners	$2.08 million
26. Brewers	$1.90 million
27. Tigers	$1.78 million
28. Athletics	$1.18 million
29. Orioles	$1.05 million
30. Angels+	$660,000

Take away Cuban players and the Cubs spent more money on international players than anyone last year. The Cubs did spend $3 million on Cuban outfielder Eddy Julio Martinez, but the majority of their focus was on players from the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Mexico. After the Cubs went beyond their pool in 2013-14 and had to sit in the penalty box for 2014-15, they got an early jump bearing down on the 2015-16 signing class and shattered their pool last year.