A few international notes late on this Tuesday:
- Kevin Maitan, along with 12 other Braves prospects, will become free agents as part of Atlanta’s penalty for circumventing international signing rules between 2015 and ’17. Maitan, regarded as one of the best Latin American prospects in a decade, is a 17-year-old shortstop who hit .241/.290/.340 over two levels last year after being signed by the Braves in 2016.
Todd Zolecki wrote that the Phillies could be in on Maitan, considering they hold some extra international spending money thanks to midseason trades. He added the Phils may also be players for a number of Braves farmhands who are also about to enter international free agency. The auctioning begins Dec. 5.
- A new posting rules agreement between Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball means that soon after Dec. 1, Shohei Ohtani will be posted, and teams will bid for his services. Ohtani, 23, is a two-way threat, putting up 1.86 ERA with over a strikeout an inning in 2016, while also hitting .322/.416/.588 with 22 home runs.
Will the Phillies be players for Ohtani? Sure, everyone should be. But serious players? Yet to be seen.
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