Archive - Aug 5, 2019

8/5 UPDATE: 

The Cubs have signed their fourth 2019-20 J-2 IFA: 

Dawel Rodriguez, P
R/R, 6'3 200, Age ????
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 

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7/2 UPDATE: 

The Cubs have officially signed their first three 2019-20 J-2 IFA: 

Brayan Altuve, C 
R/R, 5'11 160, Age 16 
VENEZUELA 
$1M signing bonus (see NOTE below)

Kevin Made, SS 
R/R, 6'1 160, Age 16 
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC  
$1.5M signing bonus (see NOTE below)

Ronnier Quintero, C 
L/R, 6'0 175.Age 16
VENEZUELA 
$2.9M signing bonus (see NOTE below) 

All three were "Signed for Future Service" (signed 2020 contracts), so they will not be making their pro debuts until sometime next year. 

Unless and until the Cubs acquire additional ISBP via trade, they have maxed-out their 2019-20 ISBP and cannot give a signing bonus in excess of $10,000 to any J-2 IFA beyond the three already signed. 

NOTE: The three signing bonuses listed above were reported by mlb.com, but collectively the bonuses exceed the Cubs 2019-20 ISBP limit by $1,700, so they cannot be 100% accurate (one of the three had to get at least $1,700 less than the bonus reported by mlb.com for that player).  

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7/1 ORIGINAL POST: 


The "International Signing Period" (ISP) extends from July 2nd through June 15th of the following year. No international player can be signed during the period of time extending from June 16th through July 1st.

The Cubs are in first place after sweeping the Brewers at home and now prepare for a three-game set against the Athletics. With the Cardinals still hot on their tail, they'll need to keep up the kind of intensity they've shown over the last few days. Although they are 8.5 games back in the AL West, don't expect the A's to go down easy. They are 64-48 and playing for an AL Wild Card spot and are an all around tough opponent. See match-ups below.