TORONTO -- For the Blue Jays, Tuesday's signings of Venezuelan prospects Adonis Cardona and Gabriel Cenas served as a statement to the rest of the baseball. Toronto is becoming a force in the international marketplace.
"It's a great time to be a Toronto Blue Jay," said Marco Paddy, the club's director of Latin America operations. "We're going to be everywhere and we're going see whoever we've got to see and we're going to evaluate the players and try to sign every one that we think is going to help us win a championship.
"We're covering every inch of the world to try to get the best players."
Paddy spoke via conference call from the Netherlands, where he is currently monitoring a tournament that includes teams from the United States, Europe and Cuba, among other places. Next on his itinerary are trips to Aruba, Canada and possibly a third stop in Japan to see more players.
Since Alex Anthopoulos took over as the Blue Jays general manager at the end of last season, the organization has taken a more aggressive approach to scouting and player development. Budgets were increased, a surplus of scouts were hired and every highly-touted prospect suddenly became a realistic target.
"We're certainly energized since he's been here and we're very aggressive," Paddy said. "We're not going to get in a race that we're not willing to win."
That includes players such as Cardona (a right-handed pitcher) and Cenas (a third baseman) -- both 16 years old who became eligible for signing on July 2. Anthopoulos confirmed that Cardona received a $2.8 million signing bonus -- the largest given to a Latin American amateur player in club history -- while Cenas garnered $700,000.
"It's a great time to be a Toronto Blue Jay," said Marco Paddy, the club's director of Latin America operations. "We're going to be everywhere and we're going see whoever we've got to see and we're going to evaluate the players and try to sign every one that we think is going to help us win a championship.
"We're covering every inch of the world to try to get the best players."
Paddy spoke via conference call from the Netherlands, where he is currently monitoring a tournament that includes teams from the United States, Europe and Cuba, among other places. Next on his itinerary are trips to Aruba, Canada and possibly a third stop in Japan to see more players.
Since Alex Anthopoulos took over as the Blue Jays general manager at the end of last season, the organization has taken a more aggressive approach to scouting and player development. Budgets were increased, a surplus of scouts were hired and every highly-touted prospect suddenly became a realistic target.
"We're certainly energized since he's been here and we're very aggressive," Paddy said. "We're not going to get in a race that we're not willing to win."
That includes players such as Cardona (a right-handed pitcher) and Cenas (a third baseman) -- both 16 years old who became eligible for signing on July 2. Anthopoulos confirmed that Cardona received a $2.8 million signing bonus -- the largest given to a Latin American amateur player in club history -- while Cenas garnered $700,000.
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