The Twins have reportedly signed top Dominican prospect Miguel Angel Sano, a player the Pirates aggressively pursued. This is disappointing news, as the $3.15 million bonus is not outrageous. I would have been delighted if the Pirates signed him for that much. Apparently, the relationship between Neal Huntington and Sano’s agent Rob Plummer deteriorated over the past few months.
UPDATE (7:30 PM): Jorge Arangure, Latin America expert from ESPN The Magazine, sheds some more light on the situation on his Twitter feed:
@jorgearangure: Basically, the Pirates didn’t sign Sano because of the fractured relationship between the Pirates and Sano’s agent
@jorgearangure: @battlekow Yes the Pirates would have offered more.
@jorgearangure: My read of the situation is that the agent did not like the close relationship the Pirates had with Sano’s family
@jorgearangure: The Pirates were absolutely stunned by Sano’s signing today. They had no clue this was coming.
@jorgearangure: From my understanding, the Orioles were given a chance to match. The Pirates were not given that chance.
It sounds like Plummer really screwed the Pirates, and possibly even his own client.
