BREAKING: The Baltimore Orioles Do Something Right

On the first day of the international signing period, the Baltimore Orioles and GM Mike Elias announced the signing of 27 amateur players.

Mike Elias dubbed today’s class of International Signings “J2” – for July 2nd, the date at which the annual international signing period begins. This year’s pool of money – allocated by MLB – will remain static until the spending period ends next June 15th.

The day after a legitimate tragedy rocked the sport, when contenders are gauging their talent levels as the trade deadline action nears – the 27 prospects the Orioles signed today aren’t likely to make the front page of your local paper. They do not crack the list of “how news items” around the league.

J2 may not register as an Event league-wide, but make no mistake, for the future of the Baltimore Orioles, today makes the shortlist for most important days of the season.

More from Call to the Pen

• Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
• Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
• Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
• Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
• 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals

The largest signing bonus given out by the Baltimore Orioles today goes to Dominican outfielder Luis Gonzalez for $450K. This could signal a lack of star power in Elias’ class. That said, most of these kids are 16-years-old, and development of kids that young is not at all linear.

In the world of international scouting, diversifying assets, making a volume play such as the Orioles did today makes sense. Not to take away from the wisdom of J2, but let’s be clear: this isn’t an example of Elias executing team building strategy – this is Elias doing the very best he can with the hand he was dealt.

Building relationships between international amateurs and teams begins well before “J2.” Traditionally, today is about scouting. But Elias inherited an international scouting department that was woefully behind in terms of their reach and relationships abroad.

He’s playing catch-up even with this collection of youngsters. They may not have the infrastructure in place (yet) to lure the top names in the international market, but they did what they could to inject a serious degree of talent into the organization – and they succeeded.  Even Gonzalez costs less than a league-minimum veteran, with a considerably higher ceiling.

No, they didn’t sign any of the top names. They also didn’t overreach on any single asset.

These are kids, and there’s no denying they are volatile development projects. By signing such a large class, the Orioles are betting on their development program – another aspect of team building in which the Duquette-led Orioles underwhelmed in recent years.

But they’ve also put the International market on watch: the Orioles are going to be players overseas. Markets are expanding, and there’s no telling where in the world a team might find the next advantage.

It wasn’t long ago that most (to all) players from Spanish-speaking countries came from the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Cuba. But the game continues is growing, and the Orioles are wisely growing with it.

On Tuesday, the Orioles signed 16 players from the DR, 8 from Venezuela, as well as one player each from the Bahamas, Aruba, and Columbia. The Mariners recently drafted and signed Isaiah Campbell who – if he makes it to the majors – will be the first player from Portugal to do so since 1875.

Also on Tuesday: Major League Baseball formally announced the opening of an International Office in India – the 6th such global office. From the press release, the office “will be tasked with growing the game in India through fan engagement and baseball development.”

There are opportunities to add talent abroad, and under Mike Elias, the Orioles appear ready to find it. But they better move fast. There’s already talk about instituting an international amateur draft, at which point the relationship-building that’s so central to these negotiations loses import. The benefit of a strong international scouting department, arguably, could grow.

Ultimately, Elias said it best: “This is a small but important step…” J2 isn’t likely to light your socks on fire, but it’s a good day for the Baltimore organization. Until those become more frequent for the Baltimore Orioles, this is news. And for once, the news is good.