By Dejan Kovacevic | 6:32 p.m. Tuesday
CHICAGO - Miguel Angel Sano, the top prospect in the Dominican Republic, will sign with the Minnesota Twins for a $3.15 million bonus, agent Rob Plummer just told the Post-Gazette in a phone conversation.
Sano, a shortstop expected to convert to the outfield, had been intensely pursued by the Pirates.
"You know, I feel like I was in touch with the Pittsburgh fans on this, from reading the blogs and message boards, and I feel bad for them," Plummer said. "Sano could have been a Pirate. And when the fans see the figure Miguel signs for, they'll know that."
Plummer made clear that his relationship with the Pirates, particularly general manager Neal Huntington and Latin American scouting director Rene Gayo, became frayed during the process.
The Pirates were the only team to make an offer -- $2 million -- when the July 2 international signing period began, opening with $2 million. They raised that to $2.6 million a month ago, the latter payment to be split in three parts.
But talks were minimal in the past three weeks. Plummer had asked all teams for more time because he wanted to sort through Sano's visa and age issues -- a Major League Baseball investigation called his age "undetermined" despite Sano's claim of being 16 -- but the Pirates remained aggressive, including regular contact with Sano and his family.
Gayo desperately wanted to sign Sano, a player he described as the best prospect he has seen in a lifetime of scouting. By all accounts, he succeeded in getting close to Sano and his mother, but Sano's baseball coach remained deeply loyal to Plummer, as did the family, ultimately.
Through it all, each side expressed strong distrust in the other.
"I think contracts are made entirely of relationships, that people should have a comfort level," Plummer said. "Things fell apart because Pittsburgh never believed I had other teams interested in Miguel. I gave Neal every opportunity to sign Miguel for a reasonable amount, but he was afraid he was bidding against himself. When he sees the signing, he'll see that."
Plummer said earlier today that, even if the Pirates had come back with more money, he would not have signed with them because he appreciated how the Twins dealt with him.
Huntington and Plummer had agreed last month that the Pirates would get a call once he reached agreement with any team, but both sides acknowledged today that Plummer never called them back.
Huntington declined comment on the matter until Minnesota announces the signing. Twins general manager Bill Smith declined comment.
Sano, in a conference call, predicted a rapid ascent.
"I'm very thankful to get this chance to sign with the Twins," Sano said. "I'm going to work very hard to try to get to the majors in two years."
UPDATE 10:44 p.m.: Huntington, on Sano: "We were aggressive in our attempts to sign Miguel Sano," Huntington said last night at Wrigley Field. "We made an aggressive offer on July 2 but were told by the agent that they were not prepared to negotiate at that time. Per our standard practice, we remained in contact with the player and the agent throughout the summer. In an effort to expedite the process, we made a second offer of significantly higher dollars. We were again told by the agent that he was not prepared to commence negotiations, but we left those conversations with a clear understanding that the agent would contact the Pirates when he was prepared to begin negotiations. Miguel Sano has apparently agreed to terms with another organization without his agent engaging the Pirates in legitimate negotiations. While we are disappointed in the process and outcome, we wish Miguel nothing but success in his future."
Posted
Sep 29 2009, 06:32 PM
by
Dejan Kovacevic