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River Ave. Blues » Omar Luis

Lefty Omar Luis arrested for DUI in Tampa

January 24, 2014 by Mike 33 Comments

Left-handed pitching prospect Omar Luis was arrested for driving under the influence in Tampa early Friday morning, reports the Tampa Tribune. It took two police cars to pull him over after he drove the wrong way down not one, but two one-way streets. He registered a 0.102 blood-alcohol level compared to the 0.08 legal limit. Luis was released after posting bail.

The Yankees signed the 21-year-old southpaw in July 2012 for $2.5M, their final big money international signing before the new spending restrictions were implemented. He originally agreed to a $4M bonus, but it was reduced after something popped up in his physical. Luis defected from Cuba two years ago and made his pro debut in the Rookie Level Gulf Coast League last summer. DUI is very bad and hopefully he is punished accordingly.

Filed Under: Asides Tagged With: Drunken Yankees, Omar Luis

Contract snafu leaves lefty Omar Luis exposed in Rule 5 Draft

November 27, 2013 by Mike 24 Comments

Last year, the Yankees signed 21-year-old Cuban left-hander Omar Luis to a $4M signing bonus, their last big money international pickup before the new spending restrictions were implemented. A visa issue kept him in Haiti for several months, but the southpaw made it to the United States this summer and pitched for one of the team’s two Rookie Gulf Coast League affiliates. He is one of their better pitching prospects at the moment.

According to Ben Badler, a contract snafu leaves Luis exposed in next month’s Rule 5 Draft even though he signed his first contract just last year. Players typically are not eligible for the Rule 5 Draft until they’ve played at least four and usually five years professionally. It’s complicated, so I’ll let Badler explain:

The Yankees signed Cuban lefthander Omar Luis last year for a $4 million bonus, with an official contract date of July 1, 2012, the day before the inaugural $2.9 million international bonus pools went into effect.

However, Luis and several other Cuban players also represented by Praver Shapiro Sports Management who were claiming permanent residency in Haiti ran into visa issues and were unable to get into the United States. When Luis arrived in the U.S. this year after spending eight months in Haiti, an unknown issue popped up in his physical, which led the Yankees to void the contract.

Luis signed a new contract with the Yankees for a reduced bonus—$2.5 million—on April 9, 2013. Since Luis signed his second contract with his original team and the Yankees did not place him on their 40-man roster, he is available in the Rule 5 draft, which is Dec. 12.

…

The timing of Luis’ two contracts also forced MLB to make a decision regarding whether his contract would be subject to the international bonus pools. While his April 2013 contract falls within the 2012-13 signing window where every team had a $2.9 million bonus pool, because his initial agreement came just before the new system kicked in, MLB determined that Luis’ new contract was exempt from the bonus pools.

Badler notes this is not unprecedented. The Brewers, Reds, and Mariners have had players go through similar situations in recent years.

The immediate impact is negligible. Luis had a 5.68 ERA and 43/29 K/BB in 31.2 innings at lowest level of the minors this past season, so even if a team loves his stuff grabs him in the Rule 5 Draft, it’s extremely unlikely he’ll stick in the big leagues for all of next season. Jumping from the rookie ball to the big leagues almost certainly will not happen, at least not successfully.

This is a problem long-term, however. Luis will be Rule 5 Draft eligible every offseason from here on out, so even though he won’t be able to stick in MLB right now, that might not be the case next year. The Yankees will likely have to add him to the 40-man roster and start burning through his minor league options sooner than expected. That means they might have to try to develop him pretty quickly.

Furthermore, if Luis is selected in the Rule 5 Draft and returned to the Yankees at any point, he will have been outrighted off the 40-man roster. The first time that happens is no big deal, but the second time will allow him to elect free agency over returning to New York. He could leverage that into a new contract, which two-time Rule 5 Draft guys have done before (though none were as good a prospect as Luis). That too could force the club to add Luis to the 40-man sooner than they would like.

This sounds like a really unique and unfortunate set of circumstances. I suppose the Yankees could have kept him on the original $4M deal rather than negotiate a lower bonus, but if there’s something in the physical they didn’t like, then they should protect themselves. We’re talking about a ton of money here. It sounds like their options were either deal with the contract/40-man headache or not get the player. Seems like an obvious choice to me.

Filed Under: Minors Tagged With: Omar Luis, Rule 5 Draft

Minors Notes: Hensley, Katoh, Montgomery

September 30, 2013 by Mike 6 Comments

Montgomery. (Presswire)
Montgomery. (Presswire)

The Arizona Fall League season begins next Tuesday while the various Caribbean winter leagues start a few weeks later. Until then, here are some minor league notes:

  • Chad Jennings reports RHP Dellin Betances has asked the Yankees for permission to pitch in winter ball in the Dominican Republic. He wants to stay sharp and continue throwing following a very successful transition to the bullpen. Betances will be out of minor league options next season and is a super-early favorite for the Opening Day bullpen, so his workload is worth monitoring. You don’t want the kid pitching ten months out of the year.
  • RHP Ty Hensley is done with physical therapy, according to his Twitter feed. He started a throwing program last month but probably hasn’t progressed to the point of throwing off a mound yet. I imagine the Yankees are taking it slow with last summer’s first rounder. Hensley missed the entire season after having surgery to correct an impingement in his right hip.
  • According to Sanspo (translate article), 2B Gosuke Katoh recently tore a finger ligament during Instructional League in Tampa. He saw a specialist in New York and the recovery time is four weeks, but he can continue taking batting practice with his finger taped. The article says Katoh may head to Instructional League at the Dominican Republic complex later this month if the finger is healed.
  • RHP Mark Montgomery has recently started throwing off a mound, according to his Twitter feed. His season ended in mid-August due to continued shoulder problems. The team’s top relief prospect coming into the season had a 3.38 ERA (4.00 FIP) with a lot of strikeouts (11.03 K/9 and 28.0 K%) and a lot of walks (5.63 BB/9 and 14.3 BB%) in 40 innings for Triple-A Scranton this summer. I wonder if Montgomery will play winter ball.
  • Ben Badler (subs. req’d) named Cuban LHP Omar Luis one of ten sleepers from the Rookie Level Gulf Coast League. “Luis didn’t pick up a baseball for eight months in Haiti [because of visa problems], which led to considerable rust … He showed swing-and-miss stuff with his 89-95 mph fastball, slider and changeup,” wrote Badler of the $4M southpaw. Luis had a 5.68 ERA (~3.08 FIP) with a good strikeout rate (12.22 K/9 and 26.2 K%) and an awful lot of walks (8.24 BB/9 and 17.7 BB%) in 31.2 innings.

Filed Under: Minors Tagged With: Dellin Betances, Gosuke Katoh, Mark Montgomery, Omar Luis, Ty Hensley

Stuck in Haiti: Omar Luis Rodriguez still waiting on visa

December 20, 2012 by Mike 9 Comments

Via Ben Balder: Cuban left-hander Omar Luis Rodriguez is stuck in Haiti and has not yet been able to acquire a visa. The Yankees agreed to sign the 20-year-old for $4M this summer, their final big money international signing before the new spending restrictions took effect. The contract is pending a visa, as usual.

Balder notes that the delay is not surprising. He says Haitian documents are notoriously unreliable, and it’s also well-known that Rodriguez was living and working out in the Dominican Republic for several months. Players must submit either an unblocking license from the U.S. Office of Foreign Asset Control or two permanent residency documents to sign with a big league team. Hopefully this doesn’t drag out and Rodriguez isn’t stuck waiting 16 months like Rafael DePaula.

Filed Under: Asides, International Free Agents Tagged With: Omar Luis

Update: Yanks to sign Cuban left-hander Omar Luis Rodriguez for $4M

June 20, 2012 by Mike 37 Comments

8:03pm: Via Ben Badler, it’s a $4M bonus and Rodriguez needs to secure a visa before the deal can become official. Make sure you click the link, Badler provides plenty of background and scouting info.

2:31pm: Via Jesse Sanchez, the Yankees will sign 18-year-old Cuban left-hander Omar Luis Rodriguez for a bonus in the $4-5M range. It is a minor league contract. He became a free agent earlier this month and would have been subject to the spending restrictions implemented by the Collective Bargaining Agreement had he not signed by July 2nd.

Rodriguez first garnered serious attention at the World Junior Championships back in 2010, when he threw a complete game shutout against Team USA in the title game. He did get hit around while pitching in one of Cuba’s professional leagues as a 16-year-old a few years ago, but that’s not terribly surprising. Rodriguez is a projection guy with an 88-92 mph fastball to go with a curveball and changeup that still need development, and he’s drawn raves for his poise in the past. Pretty much exactly what the Yankees look for.

Filed Under: Asides, International Free Agents Tagged With: Omar Luis

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