Baseball America | Blog | Baseball America Prospects Blog | A’s Add Two From Venezuela, Including Top Catcher Raga

A’s Add Two From Venezuela, Including Top Catcher Raga

Posted Jul. 22, 2010 1:57 pm by Ben Badler
Filed under: International, News

The Athletics have added one of the top catchers in Venezuela, agreeing to terms with Argy Raga today on his 16th birthday.

Raga, a righthanded hitter out of Caracas, is a former shortstop who has shown good athleticism and receiving skills since moving behind the plate. At around 6-foot, 180 pounds, Raga has also shown solid raw power for his age.

The A's have also signed another Venezuelan, 16-year-old Jesus Rivas, who has played third base and outfield. Rivas, who is 6-foot-1, 180 pounds, has stood out for his raw power from the right side.

Raga and Rivas are the latest top Venezuelan signings for the A's in the recent weeks. Oakland also signed Venezuelan third baseman Renato Nunez for $2.2 million when the international signing period opened on July 2, giving the 16-year-old a bonus tied for the third-highest of any international amateur player in 2010.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 22, 2010 at 1:57 pm by Ben Badler and is filed under International, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Comments

Comments will be monitored prior to being added to the site. Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be rejected. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed.

We have chosen to open up commenting to everyone, so comment away! We want to hear from each and every one of you! Leave a comment.

9 Comments

Ben,
Any idea what caused Raga to go to the A's and not the Braves, where he was rumored to be headed? Thanks

Posted by Joe | July 22, 2010 at 2:23 pm | Shortcut

Stuff like that is always hard to tell in Latin America, but I had heard the A's were showing interest in Raga prior to July 2. So it wasn't a huge surprise that Oakland signed him, although it wasn't what I was expecting.

Posted by Ben Badler | July 22, 2010 at 2:34 pm | Shortcut

Ben – Anything on Rougned Odor or Anderson Gonzalez yet? Hoping the Phillies are involved with one or both

Posted by Steve | July 22, 2010 at 3:11 pm | Shortcut

Neither of them have signed. I don't expect the Phillies to pay the kind of money Odor is likely to get.

Posted by Ben Badler | July 22, 2010 at 3:13 pm | Shortcut

Do teams have a separate int'l FA budget vs draft budget? As an A's fan, i'm worried giving these contracts to 16 yr olds is more risky, especially when they havent even signed their top draft picks like michael choice, yordy cabrera, etc. BTW, wouldnt it be better to use this money towards late round tough signability HS picks?

Posted by OakJake | July 22, 2010 at 3:31 pm | Shortcut

Hi Ben. The Nationals reportedly signed cuban defector Yuneski Maya. Can you confirm this? Can you give me a scoutiing report?

Posted by nick | July 22, 2010 at 3:59 pm | Shortcut

Oakjake: It depends on the team. Some teams have separate budgets for international and the draft, others have one pool of amateur bonus money. I would be surprised if these signings affected their ability to sign their top draft picks.

Nick: Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes is reporting that Maya signed, but it sounds like the Nationals are waiting for him to pass his physical. Because of the way Latin American prospects are showcased, I don't like to just throw information out there based on conversations with only a few scouts, but when I talk to more scouts about Maya we'll have more on him here at BA.

Posted by Ben Badler | July 22, 2010 at 10:22 pm | Shortcut

as an A's fan sholdnt we wait to see what happens with michael ynoa the guy we paid a record 4m signing bonus to see if our system actually works

Posted by cesar esparza | July 23, 2010 at 1:00 am | Shortcut

Anderson Gonzalez was eligible to sign at the end of JUly, any word on him yet Ben??

Posted by orlando | August 2, 2010 at 9:58 am | Shortcut

What Are Your Thoughts?

• Line and paragraph breaks are automatic
• Your e-mail address will never be displayed

About This Blog

The Prospects Blog is a source of frequent updates about prospects and action around the minor leagues. If you have questions or comments you can e-mail them to prospectsblog@baseballamerica.com.