It's almost January. Time to see if the cheapness creeps into the International Signing Period

 What normally happens starting July 1st has been pushed back to January to give us something to talk about this winter.

I am talking about the annual signing period for 16+ year old international amateurs.   Most of these come from Latin America.   

Indians Prospective has the following as a tacked post to the top of their Twitter page:

I just thought it was a good time to remind Indians fans everywhere that the lifeblood of an organization like the Indians is their prospects. 

The simple reality is damned if you do and damned if you don't spend money on international amateur signings.   While most of these guys never make it to the majors it is still probably the most cost efficient way to bring young players with upside into your farm system.  Generally, except for the top prospects every year, much more signable and affordable than even drafting and signing US high school players.  

You just can't try to save a few dollars here when the cost of your entire 2020-1 free agent class isn't supposed to exceed Cesar Hernandez' 2020 salary.   

So, let's hope the Indians have continued to do their due diligence and, in fact, sign more solid, high priced prospects than they have in the past instead of just trying to out-scout the competition.

A couple of things to think about:

1. You don't have as much room for international signees as you did in previous years as Mahonning Valley is no longer in existence, removing spots for about 35 minor leaguers.   So, for once, sign quality over quantity to get to your bonus pool cap.   

2. My guess is that followup scouting on some of these guys has been spotty, at best, meaning that some of those diamonds in the rough, even at bargain basement prices, may be not as realistic as just going with more established talent that lives more towards the top of the available players list this year.

In either case, however, the message to the Indians' ownership is the same:  Don't skimp on this talent acquisition method.   Spend like it was a normal year or, even better, spend like you were aware of the upcoming rebuild and wanted to get ahead of it by putting more money at the front of your player development pipeline instead of trying to back fill your prospect lists by trading veterans.  It is cheaper and more impactful on your long-term competitiveness.

So, Tribe fans, be watchful on Jan. 15th.   If the list of guys we sign looks the same as the list above then we are at least trying.   If we add top prospects not on this list then we are doing this the right way for a small market, near-to-a-rebuild team.   

BTW, here is a list of the top 30 international prospects in this signing period:

Top Baseball International Prospects | MLB.com

It would be nice to see as many of these guys signed by the Indians up to their almost $6 million limit.