Dodgers sign Mexican RHP Bernardo Reyes, 17, plus some Yasiel Puig news

The L.A. Daily News' J.P. Hoornstra reported today the Dodgers signed yet another international youngster: Bernardo Reyes, a 17-year-old from Sonora, Mexico.

Roberto Baly had this to say about the signing:

"The Dodgers signed 17-year-old RHP Bernardo Reyes out of San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora, Mexico. He's close to (turning) 18 years (old) and is the first player to be sold from the David Gonzalez academy of Tijuana. David is the father of Dodgers first (baseman) Adrian Gonzalez.

By signing directly to a MLB club, Reyes might never play in Mexico. You see, Mexican teams (Liga Mexicana de Beisbol) prefer to sign players and put them in a academy and then sell them to MLB teams. Mexican teams usually keep most of the profit. By doing what Reyes did, he will most likely be put in a black list among Mexican owners."

Baly would add Reyes was scouted by Mike Brito, the man responsible for signing Fernando Valenzuela and, more recently, the first Dodger scout to see Yasiel Puig in action.

They also signed four players last week: catcher Dashenko Ricardo, who caught for the Netherlands World Baseball Classic squad, shortstop Dennis Santana and left-handed pitcher Cesar Romero. They also officially signed shortstop Carlos Aquino, which was first brought up in late January.

Earlier this winter, Eric Stephen approximated the Dodgers had likely spent a little more than $2 million of their allotted $2.9 million international signing pool.

Speaking of Puig...

Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports wrote an interesting article on Puig, stating the Cuban slugger should begin the season with the Dodgers.

A few interesting excerpts from the piece.

"The scout, who has seen Puig twice, bases his opinion more on look than results. He recognizes the absurdity of Puig's numbers, though he doesn't quite understand those trying to argue it's coming against inferior competition. His contention is correct. In 26 at-bats against pitchers expected to start the season in the minor leagues, Puig is hitting .461/.444/.731. In 22 at-bats against major league pitchers, he is .591/.565/1.000."

... and 

"'I take nothing from spring training,' Dodgers utilityman Jerry Hairston Jr. said. 'It really means nothing. For a young guy, it's good to make an impression. But I've seen too many guys with monster springs you never hear from again.

'"Thing is, that's not going to happen with him.'"

... and (re: trading Andre Ethier to make room for Puig)

"'Send me Ethier and $85 million,' said one GM, referring to the amount owed on the right fielder's five-year contract, 'and I'll give you whoever you want.'"

... and finally

"And considering it's so early in the Puig annals, maybe some piece of The Legend will turn out to be true. Maybe, just maybe, Puig can do anything.

'Hey, Puig,' reliever Peter Moylan said. 'Can you play shortstop?'

'Shortstop?' Puig said. 'That's easy, papi.'"

It's the question that just won't go away. We'll see what happens.

Photo credit: Dustin Nosler, Feelin' Kinda Blue

Podcast: 'Dugout Blues' episode 21 - Dodgers, RSN, signings, prospects

On this episode of "Dugout Blues," Jared Massey (L.A. Dugout) and I discuss -- once again -- the television and regional sports network deal the Dodgers have agreed to with Time Warner Cable. The deal is reportedly for $7 billion over 25 years. Or, if you believe what I said in the podcast (twice), $25 billion for seven years.

This seems like a repeat, but the Dodgers keep signing international prospects. As such, we continue to talk about said signings. This time, it's Michael Medina and Carlos Aquino.

We also analyze Baseball America's Top 10 prospect list, as well as Baseball Prospectus' Top 10.

Finally, we close with listener questions, at which point I shit the bed again (it was a long day). Is Yasiel Puig's character a concern? Why don't the Dodgers give Alex Castellanos a shot at the fourth outfielder job? And my favorite question: Is there any chance of Ross Porter returning to the broadcast booth?

Be sure to tune in next week (episode 22) when we'll have another special guest. Jared asked me to keep this one quiet, but we'll announce it soon.

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Look for new episodes of "Dugout Blues" every Wednesday. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast and review us on iTunes. We want to make this the best podcast we can so we're always looking for suggestions and ways to improve.

If you have questions you'd like us to answer or certain topics/players you want to hear more about, feel free to email us (ladugout@gmail.com or feelinkindablue@gmail.com) or send us messages on Twitter (@LADugout or @FeelinKindaBlue). You can also "Like" the podcast on Facebook. We always welcome audience participation.

Image credit: Joe Martin

Dodgers sign Dominican SS Carlos Aquino, continue int'l signing spree

The Dodgers' international signing barrage continued over the weekend, as they signed Dominican shortstop Carlos Aquino to a $75,000 deal.

His age is unknown, but it's probably safe to assume he's a teenager.

From the Dominican Prospect League website:

Aquino was eligible in 2012 but lacked the strength and ability he is presently showing. He has smooth fielding actions with solid average arm strength and runs average (6.9 60 yard dash). Aquino is a switch hitting line drive gap hitter with more pop from the left side."

There is also video on the assumed youngster.


Aquino's swing needs a lot of work. His stance is open and his swing looks long in the video. He has a modified toe-tap that I'm sure the Dodger minor-league hitting instructors try to eliminate.

It's hard to scout off one video, but Aquino's swing appears to be really raw and needs lots of refinement.

Aquino appears to be bigger than recent signee Ravel Hernandez, also a shortstop. A move to third base (or another position) could be in his future -- but that's a ways off.

Eric Stephen of True Blue LA did us the courtesy of trying to figure out how much of the allotted $2.9 million to sign international prospects the Dodgers have remaining. His best guess is the team has a less than $1 million rio sign international prospects before the next period begins in July.

Keep the signings coming. This is nothing but good for the farm system.