LA Makes Kid Rich

[NetShrine]

6-4, 195 at 16?!?!

Monday, July 2
Dodgers to give 16-year-old $2.25M signing bonus
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Dodgers signed 12 prospects from the Dominican Republic on Monday, including highly regarded 16-year-old shortstop Irvin Joel Guzman.

Terms were not announced, but Guzman will reportedly receive a $2.25 million signing bonus, establishing a new mark for a player aged 16, the minimum signing age, the Los Angeles Times said.

The bonus will surpass the previous record of $1.8 million, given by the Florida Marlins in 1999 to shortstop Miguel Cabrera of Venezuela.

"He has every tool you can think of," assistant general manager Ed Creech said on a conference call from the Dominican Republic. "There aren't a lot of five-tool players around."

Creech said the fact that the Dodgers didn't have a first-round pick in last month's free-agent draft had a lot to do with their having enough money to sign Guzman.

The Dodgers reportedly outbid Anaheim, Atlanta, Florida, the New York Yankees and Seattle for the rights to the 6-foot-4, 195-pound high school player.

"But even if we had a first-round pick, this guy would be a great supplement to that," Creech said. "This guy's an athlete."

Guzman, who turns 17 in November, will not play in the Dodgers' organization until next year because of age restrictions.

The players signed by the Dodgers are all between 16 and 18 years old. The others are shortstops Robinson Cano and Junior Tavarez; outfielders Alejandro De Aza, Jose Mercedes and Carlos Pena; right-handed pitchers Jose R. Diaz, Alfredo Encarnacion, Manuel Perello and Carlos Santana; left-handed pitcher Inocencio Garcia, and first baseman Miguel A. Hernandez.

[BuzzBuzzard]

You have to wonder how much of the total dollars spent of signing these kids will have a positive ROI.

[NetShrine]

Do they get a write-off if the kids bomb?