MLB Roundup 12/6: Kevin Maitan finds a new home

Kevin Maitan signs with the Angels

A couple of weeks ago, Major League Baseball finally brought the gauntlet down on the Braves (for something that most teams do, no less) and forced them to lose some of their top internationally signed prospects to free agency. Kevin Maitan is not the unanimous number one among that group anymore, but he’s easily the highest profile one and still likely has the highest ceiling. It was fascinating to see which team was going to sign the young infielder, and that process has ended with the Angels landing the Venezuelan infielder. Maitan had gotten some Miguel Cabrera comps when he was first becoming a free agent, but his stock has fallen some since turning pro. He’s still only 17, though, and will certainly help boost the stock of the Angels’ farm system. The Red Sox did have a chance to sign Maitan as teams were allowed to use next year’s international signing pool money for the former Braves prospects. It’s still possible Boston will be in on some of the other young players available.

Miles Mikolas agrees to terms with the Cardinals

Shohei Ohtani has obviously gotten all of the headlines for pitchers coming over from Japan and he continues to be the biggest star. However, Miles Mikolas was another interesting player coming over. The difference, of course, is that the latters has pitched in the States before. He struggled with the Rangers as a pro and decided to give things a shot in Japan. There, he remade his image and became one of the best pitchers in the NBP over the last few years. With that track record now behind him, he became an intriguing name on the market this winter and the Cardinals snatched him up for two years and $15.5 million guaranteed. There’s a chance for this to be a steal, but the Red Sox don’t really have the room in their rotation to be able to compete for these types of free agents.