Notes on Epstein to MLB, international signings and more

By Steve Melewski

Orioles

January 14, 2021, 1:08pm

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Now that he has helped the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs win a combined three World Series, Theo Epstein will try to help baseball improve its game. Maybe get more action in the game and work on rules that fans will embrace.

Major League Baseball yesterday named Epstein a consultant regarding on-field matters. Under the supervision of the commissioner and the competition committee, Epstein will work with baseball analytics experts from the commissioner's office and the clubs to determine the likely effects of various contemplated rule changes.

In November, Epstein stepped down after nine years as the Cubs' president of baseball operations. He won World Series titles with the Red Sox in 2004 and 2007 and the Cubs in 2016.

When Epstein stepped down from the Cubs, he expressed a few concerns for baseball with its fan base.

"It is the greatest game in the world, but there are some threats to it because of the way the game is evolving," he said then. "I take some responsibility for that, right? Because executives like me who have spent a lot of time using analytics and other measures to try and optimize individual and team performance have unwittingly had a negative impact on the aesthetics value of the game and the entertainment value, in some respects.

"Clearly the strikeout rate is a little bit out of control. And we need to find a way to get more action in the game, get the ball in play more often, allow the players to show their athleticism some more. Give the fans more of what they want."

We have discussed getting more action in the game here a few times this winter. The sport likely needs fewer of the so-called three true outcomes of strikeouts, walks and homers. They provide less action and almost no action for the defense.

In Babe Ruth's day, a plate appearance ended in one of the three true outcomes 17 percent of the time. When the Orioles won the 1983 World Series, that was up to 23 percent. In 2010, it was 29.5 percent and that is now up to 36 percent.

So, yes, baseball needs more action on the field. And Epstein, in my opinion, was a great hire to help baseball make some positive changes.

International signing day arrives: There were entire years in the past where the Orioles didn't sign a group of international amateur players for total combined bonuses of $300,000 or more. Today the club will announce the signings of a class expected to feature 20 international amateur players. There will be eight players signing for $300,000 or more and two for seven-figure deals - a first in club history.

Due to the pandemic, the usual July 2 start of the signing period was pushed to Jan. 15, 2021 and it runs through Dec. 15, 2021. The Orioles signed 44 players in their first international class under executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias and senior director of international scouting Koby Perez.

Today's class is headed up by 16-year-old catcher Samuel Basallo from the Dominican Republic and 17-year-old shortstop Maikol Hernandez from Venezuela. Industry sources say Basallo will get a $1.3 million bonus and Hernandez will get $1.2 million. In Baseball America's projections for the new class, Basallo was projected to have the No. 29 highest bonus and Hernandez was at No. 33.

The Orioles have a group of six other players expected to get bonuses between $300,000 and $400,000.

This group includes corner outfielder Wilmer Feliciano from the Dominican. He is a 6-foot-2 lefty batter with power and is expected to get the club's third-highest bonus in this class. It includes lefty-hitting center fielder Teudis Cortorreal of the Dominican, a player with power potential, and Dominican-born shortstop Victor Celedonio, a switch-hitter. There are also Dominican shortstops Eruviel Castillo and Anderson De Lo Santos and Venezuelan lefty-hitting catcher Yasmil Bucce, a solid hitting prospect.

Click here for the story published here on Jan. 6 that listed the 13 players in this class that will sign for at least $100,000.

Camden Yards draft: The "MASN All Access Podcast" recently did an All-Camden Yards Draft. They selected three teams of the best Orioles players to have played at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

Check out this tweet and the video to see how the draft played out. And where players like Nick Markakis, Brian Roberts, Cal Ripken Jr., Brady Anderson, J.J. Hardy, Adam Jones and Darren O'Day, to name just a few, ended up.