TBNL: Mo Vaughn; Potential trouble on the international market

Mo Vaughn will always hold a special place for me — since he hit the first foul ball I ever caught at a game.

Vaughn was linked in 2007’s Mitchell Report to performance-enhancing drugs. The report provided evidence of multiple purchases of HGH in 2001, which MLB would not ban until 2005 (two years after his final game).

All these years later, Vaughn confirmed that he did use HGH during his career in an interview with The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. The revelation at this point is really much ado about nothing. It was already known information and, perhaps more importantly, it wasn’t against league rules at the time. Vaughn’s transgression, while bad, wasn’t quite as severe as those caught using steroids.

This admission also doesn’t change much about his legacy.

Dave Roberts’ extension is the latest in rising manager salaries

Manager salaries are finally starting to rise in recent years, a change in baseball that has probably been overdue. The Cubs set a new market when they signed Craig Counsell away from the Brewers with a five-year, $40M contract in November 2023. The $8M annual salary set a new mark for the highest ever in baseball.

The Yankees signed Aaron Boone to a new deal in February that essentially was a three-year, $15M deal. The new contract bumped his existing 2024 salary to $4.5M. He’ll earn $5M in 2025 and $5.5M in 2026. It didn’t set a new mark but puts Boone among the highest-paid managers in the sport.

On Monday, the Dodgers and Dave Roberts reset the bar. Roberts received a four-year deal worth $8.1M a year, topping Counsell’s annual salary. Given Roberts’ track record over his ten years in Los Angeles — eight division titles, four NL pennants, and two World Series titles — he certainly seems worth it.

More trouble looming on the international market?

MLB has looked for ways to combat the widespread existence of illegal agreements between teams and youth players in Latin American countries for years.

The last time the league faced an issue with international market violations was 2017, when a league investigation found several infractions that resulted in the resignations of Braves GM John Coppolella and scouting director Gordon Blakeley in October 2017. Coppolella, in part because he lied to league officials during the investigation, was placed on the league’s permanently ineligible list for his involvement.

The Braves were also heavily penalized by the league two months later. 13 prospects signed during the prior signing period were forfeited and the club faced strict limitations to what they could spend on the international market for three years. Atlanta also had to give up their third-round pick in the 2018 Draft.

According to a report from Nathanael Pérez Neró of the Dominican Republic outlet Diario Libre (via worldbaseball.com’s Leif Skodnick), there may be a new wave of these illegal agreements. Neró points out several examples, including one involving a kid who turns 12 years old later this year and who won’t be eligible to sign until 2030.

It is a not-so-shocking development if true and one the league will surely look to investigate further.

Of course, some of the concern may prove moot before these agreements would come due. The current collective bargaining agreement expires after the 2026 season. The league and MLBPA are already preparing for a work stoppage. Among the many issues expected to be discussed is the possibility of an international draft, which the MLBPA has vocally opposed.

Elsewhere, around the sport …

• Former reliever Dan Serafini’s trial on murder charges will begin in late April, according to a report from The Sacramento Bee. Serafini and his wife are accused of shooting her parents in October 2023.

• Yasmani Grandal remains the lone veteran catcher on the free agent market who could potentially handle a near-starting role, but no offers have materialized to his liking. The Braves reportedly reached out about a month ago (before losing Sean Murphy to injury) but weren’t in the neighborhood of Grandal’s asking price.

• With the WBC Qualifiers now complete, MLB.com’s Michael Clair put together his list of the ten players that impressed him most in pool play. Michael’s always-excellent international newsletters are loaded with good stories.