Cardinals Prepared To Exceed International Bonus Pool

The latest team that could break its international bonus pool when the 2016-17 signing period opens on July 2 might be the most intriguing one yet.

Several international sources believe the Cardinals are preparing to exceed their upcoming international bonus pool, joining the Padres, Braves and Nationals as teams going over on July 2.

What distinguishes the Cardinals from those teams is that Major League Baseball has yet to issue a decision on whether it will penalize the organization as a result of former scouting director Chris Correa pleading guilty to hacking into the Astros’ information systems. Correa’s responsibility as scouting director was to oversee the team’s draft, not the international department, so much of the focus in the industry has been on whether the Cardinals will lose draft picks as a result of the scandal.

Yet the commissioner’s office could still conceivably penalize the Cardinals for all amateur signings, both domestic and international. If MLB were to take away international bonus slots from the Cardinals, they could still go over their pool—they just would have to pay more money in overage taxes. A harsher penalty, such as a restriction on individual bonus amounts or simply banning the team from spending more than its pool allotment, would place a more severe handcuff on the organization.

Given the possibility that the Cardinals could lose draft picks, it’s a sensible idea for them to try to make up for it on the international side by exceeding their bonus pool. It also makes sense for a team to go over when it has the lowest bonus pool in baseball, which the Cardinals do this year after finishing with MLB’s best record in 2015. Teams don’t have their exact bonus pools yet, but the bonus pool for that spot last year (2015-16) was $1.97 million, so the Cardinals should have just around $2 million in their upcoming pool.

The Cardinals have been connected to multiple players they are likely to sign, including 16-year-old Victor Garcia, who could be the top-paid Venezuelan outfielder this year. They are also the team that sources say is most likely to sign 17-year-old Jonatan Machado, a speedy 5-foot-9 center fielder from Cuba with good bat control from the left side, by convincing him to wait until July 2 to sign.

The Cardinals have built a strong Latin American program in recent years under the watch of international director Moises Rodriguez. Righthander Carlos Martinez has pitched well in the majors, while righthander Alex Reyes is one of the game’s premier pitching prospects. The team has an impressive collection of talent in the lower levels with potential breakout candidates in righthanders Junior Fernandez and Sandy Alcantara, shortstop Edmundo Sosa and outfielder Magneuris Sierra.

While at least three other teams will be going over their bonus pools on July 2, the competition will be reduced with 10 teams already in the penalty box unable to sign pool-eligible players for more than $300,000 as a consequence for exceeding their pools in previous years, including the Cubs, Dodgers, Red Sox and Yankees.