Angel Villalona free...and now back with the Giants

[seitas]

If you ever wondered what happened to former top prospect Angel Villalona, here’s an update.

According to the Associated Press, Villalona has sued the Giants for over $5 million, alleging violation of contract. For those unfamiliar, Villalona was charged with murder in his native Dominican Republic in September of 2009. Charges were eventually dismissed due to lack of evidence after witnesses recanted their testimony.

The suit against the Giants was filed August 8 in the Dominican Republic. Villalona, now 21 years old, seeks $10,400 in lost wages and $5 million in compensation for moral and material damage experienced. The suit also requires the Giants to make a decision on his contract status within five days.

Villalona was given a team record $2.1 million signing bonus when he joined the Giants in 2006 at the age of 16. Highly-regarded for his bat, Baseball America ranked him as the No. 33 prospect in the game prior to the 2008 season and the No.44 prospect in 2009. He is currently practicing in the Dominican Republic in an effort to revive his once promising career.

 

[t3dudek]

Re: Angel Villalona free...and suing the Giants

wonder if another team will pick him up. could be an interesting player to buy some cards of his. Cards our under 2 dollars each so if u could buy 15 - 20 autos of his for under 50 dollars maybe it would be a good cheap investment in the long run.

 

[seitas]

Update

Henry Schulman relayed this report to the Chronicle Sports Desk today:

In an odd twist to a story that has had so many bizarre turns, it appears that big first base prospect Angel Villalona will be back in the organization playing ball soon, now that murder charges against him have been dismissed in his native Dominican Republic.

Staci Slaughter, the Giants' senior vice president of communications, just let me know in response to an inquiry that the club expects to "resolve" a $5 million breach-of-contract lawsuit that Villalona filed against the Giants in the Dominican, and that if it is resolved, Villalona "most likely" will be reinstated into their system and report to the team's academy on the island to resume his baseball work.

That will surprise folks (including me) who figured the Giants were done with Villalona after he was charged with murder for an August 2009 killing of a 25-year-old man at a nightclub in the Dominican. He was playing for Class A San Jose at the time, was on the disabled list and was allowed to fly home to visit his mother.

Villalona spent three months in jail and was released on bail. reportedly after reaching a $139,000 settlement with the family of the victim. That family asked prosecutors to drop the charges, but they refused, citing the seriousness of the crime. But sometime this summer, the charges were dropped for lack of evidence. Villalona then sued the Giants last month, alleging they owed him $10,800 in salary and asking for $5 million on punitive damages. Whether the suit seemed frivolous or not, the Giants had to take it seriously because they do a lot of business in the Dominican, starting with the academy to which Villalona would return.

This is an interesting development not only from a legal standpoint, but also baseball-wise. After all, Villalona is still only 21 years old. He was 16 in 2006 when the Giants signed him for a $2.1 million bonus, at the time a franchise record for an amateur player, later dwarfed by Buster Posey's $6 million bonus.

In 2009, playing at San Jose, largely against players a few years older, Villalona hit .267 with a relatively weak OPS for a first baseman of .704, with nine homers and 42 RBIs in 292 at-bats. How long it takes him to catch up is anybody's guess. He also will have to reapply for a visa to return to the United States. His prior visa was revoked after his arrest.

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