Rangers sign 17 yr old amid controversy

[love_that_reefer]

ESPN's Keith Law writes that a lot of executives are unhappy with the Rangers signing 17-year-old Dominican outfielder Jairo Beras because they were under the impression that he wasn't allowed to sign until July 2.
Dionisio Soldevila of the Associated Press reported early Wednesday morning that the Rangers had signed Beras for $4.5 million. Meanwhile, Ben Badler of Baseball America reports that Beras' birthdate was listed as December 25th, 1995, which means he isn't 17 years old yet. The Rangers might have some explaining to do.

Looks like the Rangers could be in a little bit of trouble here or at least have to negate the deal. Rangers are really going after the young, international stars.

[Witlon]

Three years from now, his birthday will likely be December 25th, 1985. So, it shouldn't be a big deal in the long term.

[Saber]

This is looking pretty funky. Rangers seem to think the kid is 17 already, old enough to sign. MLB thinks otherwise. Beras' handlers have not been providing many records either way. Outside of Adrian Beltre, how often do teams try to prove someone is older than they say?

[realmofotalk]

Well, if he's one of the most coveted talents to ever come out of the D.R. like Beltre was, he wouldn't need to pretend he's younger than he is in order to beg some team to sign him.

[zodious]

What ever happened to Danny almonte?

[HollywoodLeo]

He's an assistant baseball coach at James Monroe high school in New York according to his wikipedia page.