IFA's

To those who are new to Morgan, this is a review of the last four seasons of International Free Agent signings in Morgan world. Their posted one division at a time (still two to go), but if you look back on the blog you can see how your franchise's previous owwner did in that department. Without further ado...

NL South

Louisville Wild Turkeys- ($22.5m/year) t2bott has made really only one big signing, and a handful of minor pickups in the IFA market. But that one bigger signing was Jumbo, that is, Jumbo Soriano, who lacks the stamina to be a regular starter, but should make for a great long reliever. Included in those minor signings are Jose Romero, who has great velocity, and Pedro Cueto, who may make the ML team as a speed guy off the bench. Currently Miguel Santos is the only IFA on the big league squad, and a grade here of C-.

Atlanta Braves- ($27m/year) Since season 1 joemac55 has been the best in Morgan in the IFA market, with an astounding nine players on the current ML team signed internationally. In each of the past four seasons Atlanta has signed a player with a bonus over $9 million. Season 5 brought Ivan Gonzalez, a stellar fielder with some speed. Season 6, Alex Rivas a solid defensive shortstop with pop. Season 7 saw the signing of Ivan Johnson, a nice corner outfielder. Then Season 8 brought Ramiro Suarez, an offensively minded second baseman. Thus, an A grade for Atlanta.

Monterrey Habaneros- ($26.25m/year) The franchise thedutchman took over in season 5 needed rebuilding, of which signing internationals has been a big part. Here, I see four names worth mentioning. First is Tomas Guerrero, who’ll be the starting SS in years to come. Next is Frank Sasaki, who ought to be the future closer for this team. Then there are pitchers Kevin Chen and Victor Ramirez, who both have flaws, but whose strengths are good enough to break through at the ML level. Overall a B+ grade for a team that has 2 IFAs on the current roster.

Austin Wranglers- ($26m/year) Each of the last six seasons chrispy has steadily been increasing the amount of money allotted to signing prospects. While there has been a high volume of prospects signed, none receive a bonus larger than $7 million dollars. That includes Vinny Hukata, who will start for this team if he can stay healthy, Jose Flores who has a lot of pop in his bat, and Benji Perez who should find a spot in the bullpen as a lefty specialist. This team has 5 intl’s on the big league club, and a grade here of C-.