On January 15th, the 2024 International Free Agency (IFA) period opened and international amateurs were allowed to officially sign with their respective teams.
April 20, 2021
Toronto Blue Jays General Manager Ross Atkins was the featured guest on episode 918 of FanGraphs Audio, which aired Friday. Here is a transcript of the conversation, lightly edited for clarity.
David Laurila: Ross, thanks for coming on FanGraphs Audio.
Ross Atkins: “Thank you for having me on. It’s good to be here with you.”
Laurila: We haven’t seen each other for a few years, but in this crazy pandemic world, I guess that’s maybe not much of a surprise.
Atkins: “I’m surprised we haven’t been on a Zoom call together. It is an interesting existence that we have, seemingly with some light at the end of the tunnel.”
Blue Jays memories hit for Angels GM Perry Minasian ahead of Dunedin opener
The refurbished TD Ballpark in Dunedin, Fla., will make its debut as the Blue Jays 2021 regular-season home on Thursday. (Gene J. Puskar/AP) | April 8, 2021, 9:11 AM
April 8, 2021, 9:11 AM
TORONTO – Two teams came to mind for Perry Minasian as he considered the situation of the Los Angeles Angels and scrolled through his mental Rolodex in search of comparable clubs. First up were the 1995 Texas Rangers, a talented group wanting in spots yet still somewhat less than what should have been the collective sum of their parts. Next came the 2014 Toronto Blue Jays, who also very much fit that same description.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. are the high-profile examples currently swinging it in the middle of the big-league lineup, but the real rewards of the internal focus could be on the horizon.
Orelvis Martinez, a 19-year-old infielder with some of the most exciting bat speed and exit velocities in the system, heads up that wave.
He may not be the first to arrive, but Martinez’s potential upside is star level if everything clicks.
Handed the second-largest international amateur bonus in club history behind the $3.9 million given to Vladdy Jr. in 2015, the $3.5 million used to get Martinez inked during the 2018 July 2 signing period he got the biggest signing bonus in the entire class is already looking like a pretty good investment at this early stage of his development.