Yankees Sign Nicaraguan Lefties Corby McCoy, Luis Garcia



The Yankees have signed two Nicaraguan lefthanders, including Corby McCoy, one of the top pitchers from the country for this year's July 2 class.

McCoy, a 16-year-old who signed for $150,000, is 6-foot-3, 170 pounds with an athletic, projectable body. His velocity has been inconsistent, ranging from 85-88 mph for some teams, but more recently he has touched as high as 91. McCoy also throws a breaking ball that's in its nascent stages.

The Yankees also signed 16-year-old Luis Garcia, whose bonus is under $50,000 and will likely be used as one of the exemptions every team gets under its $2.9 million international bonus pool for six players of $50,000 or less. Garcia is a raw, projectable lefty with a 6-foot-4, 185-pounds frame and an 85-88 mph fastball.

McCoy and Garcia both trained with Hubert Silva.

The Yankees have already signed Venezuelan catcher Luis Torrens ($1.3 million), Venezuelan outfielder Alexander Palma ($800,000) and Dominican shortstop Yancarlos Baez ($650,000), so the McCoy signing puts them at exactly $2.9 million between those four players. Unless the Yankees decide to dramatically exceed their bonus pool and pay a heavy penalty, the McCoy signing may be the last significant international amateur deal for the Yankees until July 2, 2013.



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5 Comments

So if these guys can't play DSL this year, where are they playing?

Great question. I actually have a story on that topic coming up later this week because it varies by team. For most clubs, the players report to either the organization's Dominican or Venezuelan academy to work out, although they can't play in any official games until 2013.

Most teams don't want to waste an entire year of minor league clock to get a few weeks of games out of these young prospects.  So these guys are one year older when they have to be added to the 40 man roster when they sign a contract starting next season.

Corby McCoy doesn't sound like a typical latino name. Is he from the same English speaking islands that Cheslor Cuthbert and Davern Hansack was from? Corn Islands I think

@ Phil Case

Actually, the Rule 5 clock begins ticking right away for any player who signs during the minor league season, whether he plays a game in 2012 or not. So in the cases of McCoy and Garcia, they will be Rule 5 eligible following the 2016 season if they’re not on a 40-man roster.

However, players who sign *after* the minor league season, around Sept. 1, will not have their Rule 5 clocks begin ticking until next season.


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