It was a surprise when the news broke Friday that the A's were the favorite to sign Cuban OF prospect Lazaro Armenteros, a 17-year-old who has been eligible to sign a contract with a major league team since February. The A's signed "Lazarito" today to a deal that includes a $3 million signing bonus.
The A's entered the 2016-2017 international signing period with an allotted pool of $3,818,700 and had already been linked to a half-dozen prospects whose reported bonus demands were going to take up nearly the entirety of Oakland's allotment. Adding Lazaro to the tally means Oakland has spent nearly double what they had been expected to spend just days ago.