Angel Villalona has received his work visa and will be in big league camp with the Giants for spring training, a team official confirmed today. He will travel to Arizona next week to join the team.
Villalona, a 22-year-old first baseman who signed with the Giants for $2.1 million in 2006, was on the restricted list in 2010 and 2011, then was unable to obtain a visa to enter the United States last year. Villalona had been charged with the September 2009 murder of 25-year-old Mario Felix de Jesus Velete in the Dominican Republic at a bar in La Romana, where Villalona is from. Villalona eventually settled with de Jesus Velete's family, reportedly for around $139,000. A prosecutor was planning to move forward with the case, but the charges were dropped.
Villalona had reportedly sued the Giants for breach of contract for $5 million in a Dominican court, but the two sides reportedly settled. The Giants placed Villalona on their 40-man roster and Major League Baseball removed him from the restricted list, so Villalona spent last season playing in the Dominican Summer League, where he hit .303/.430/.497 with seven home runs in 44 games.
Prior to his legal troubles, Villalona had reached high Class A San Jose in 2009, hitting .267/.306/.397 with nine home runs in 74 games that season in the California League.
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what do the scouts that saw him play last summer have to say about him?
Posted by ScottAZ | February 8, 2013 at 10:49 am | ShortcutI would love some clarification on this issue. Villalona is still on SF 40-man roster, and listed on the restricted list since last April. How does a player on the restricted list play in the minors at the same time without it being a rehab assignment? His status all last summer on the DSL squad was "Active" but his MLB status was "Restricted". I looked through the official rules and the CBA but couldn't find an answer. I wanted to know how this was possible, but also how it affects his service time at both levels.
Posted by MO | February 8, 2013 at 8:55 pm | ShortcutThanks
@ScottAZ,
Posted by MO | February 8, 2013 at 9:07 pm | ShortcutHis DSL stats were good. However, even rusty he is a more experienced player than what he was facing & playing with. He also played 15 games of Dominican winter ball which is a smaller sample size, but the opposition is probably more realistic for his experience. Those stats were not as impressive as his DSL stats.
@Mo
Posted by Trevor Robinson | February 9, 2013 at 5:56 pm | ShortcutHe was off the restricted list in 2012, but just couldn't get a work visa yet to begin playing. Essentially, MLB said he could play, but the US government wouldn't let him into the country yet. Hence, his playing affiliated ball, but just not in the States.
That is actually wrong. He was on the major league restricted list for almost the entire 2012 season. He has never been removed from the restricted list since he was placed on it on 4/7/2012. I checked several times during the season. If you look at the roster and his player page, His current 40-man status is still "Restricted".
I understand the "actual events" that happened. But the rosters & transactions are not saying the same thing. As far as his roster status in concerned these are the events that occured:
11/18/09 He was placed on the minor league restricted list at San Jose.
10/6/11 He was removed from the minor league restricted list and assigned to Fresno.
Posted by MO | February 10, 2013 at 9:09 pm | Shortcut11/18/11 He was added to the 40-man roster.
3/16/12 He was optioned to San Jose
4/2/12 He was placed on the reserve list at San Jose.
4/7/12 He was added back to the restricted list on the 40-man roster
6/14/12 He was assigned to DSL Giants where he played 44 games. He still appears on that roster as a member of the 40-man roster with an "active" minor league status, but on loan to Toros del este in the DWL. At the end of the season he was not recalled to the 40-man during the mandatory recall period as he should have been.
In the MLB Rules section of the MLC it states for rule 15 that no player shall play in a major league game or minor league game while on the restricted list. The only exception is in rule 16 regarding 30 day conditioning assignments before the player's expected reinstatement.
If he was allowed to play in the DSL and not on a rehab assignment, then his roster spot should have counted against the 40-man roster limit, but it didn't. So either he was playing when he shouldn't have been or the Giants had 1 too many players on the 40-man roster for all (minus 3 days) of the season.