Angel Villalona drops lawsuit against Giants

Published by on October 5, 2011 | 13 Responses

Surprising news, but then again, not mind-blowingly surprising.

The AP reports:

Villalona sued the Giants for $5 million in damages, alleging the team kept him on the inactive list even though he had been cleared of homicide charges.

He said in a statement to The Associated Press that he plans to return to baseball and meet all the terms of his contract with the Giants.

He received a $2.1 million bonus when the Giants signed him at age 16 in August 2006. It was the biggest bonus the franchise had ever given to an amateur player.

Pre-2008, Villalona was rated as the #33 best prospect by Baseball America; pre-2009, he was rated #44. Villalona hasn’t played professional baseball in the United States since his 2009 season when he was an 18-year-old in the California League; he hit .267/.306/.397 that year with 9 home runs. Now 21-years-old, Villalona will try to restart his pro career in the States that was derailed by a murder charge in the Dominican Republic. Though, I have no clue how his Visa issues will affect his return — if it ever happens. I assume that getting another Visa for Angel will be a tough situation, and ultimately, he might not be able to return to the United States.

Villalona was highly regarded as the top position prospect in the Giants system before Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval emerged. It’s hard to say what kind of baseball shape he’s in — is round a shape? — and if he’ll ever amount to anything in a Giants uniform.

He’s a career .268/.316/.424 hitter across three minor league seasons. It probably raises a moral question of, “Would I want to root for this guy?” but that’s for another day.

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powerhouse
powerhouse

Your right Liem some of these guys on the board are always blaming others for their actions. If the guy can play let him play but to think the Giants should have kept tabs on him 24 hours a day and in some way is their fault is asssine. Kinda explains they way this country is in the shape it's in cause no one takes responability for their actions

TSF
TSF

Giants fans rooted for Barry even after he was exposed, so I doubt San Francisco would have a trouble embracing a rising star like Villalona. Provided his star actually reaches the night sky and doesn't return to earth as a meteor shower. The Giants front office is at least partially responsible for the trouble Villalona is in. As their top prospect and principle investment, one would think the Giants would have been monitoring Villalona in the offseason so he wouldn't compromise his value to the team, as he did. Villalona passed on more lucrative signing deals to play for the Giants, as he idolized Barry Bonds, and during his lockdown in the DR the Giants won the World Series. I can only imagine what SF has accomplished has only has reinvigorated his desire to play for, and star on the major league roster. It could be the foundation for the elusive team loyalty that Bonds was also famous for. We do have to wonder about Villalona's conditioning while he was away from AA. Even if he's out of shape, he has so much raw power and natural athleticism I doubt it'll be an issue for long (if at all) at first base. But has his strike zone judgement improved? While still green, he can no longer hide behind his youth to dismiss his plate deficiencies. He could still improve and debut at a reasonable age, but runs the risk of other players beating him to the starter's job. I'm not even talking about Brandon Belt - Brett Pill, while having less upside than a polished Villalona, is ready to contribute right out of Spring Training 2012. I personally feel, with his massive size, ridiculous power, limited speed but rocket arm, the Giants should consider converting him to C. We will never see what happened to Posey happen to Villalona. If someone tried...they might get shot.

Liem
Liem

So the Giants were responsible for what Villalona did during his personal time? Are MLB teams supposed to hire a 24/7 security detail for all of their prospects and have that detail control every aspect of the prospects' lives?

LeviDavis
LeviDavis

No, they have no legal responsibility, but the PR realities of bringing Villalona to the big leagues just might outweigh any contribution he makes on the field. Plus, I don't want a murderer playing for my team, or even a guy who was only accused of murder who then bought the silence of the victim's family.

TNT
TNT

I think the charges were dropped. I do not know how or why, and I am pretty sure no one outside of a 3rd world country does either. As far as the Giants being responsible for his actions? Every employer is now acountable for his employees actions away from work? I do not think you are being realistic, it is a nice thought. How about if he is/was guilty his own country and government do the right thing? Just a thought.

Liem
Liem

My comment was not intended to endorse Villalona's return to the Giants or any other baseball organization. I only wanted to point out how I disagreed with the author of the first comment when he wrote, "The Giants front office is at least partially responsible for the trouble Villalona is in."

TSF
TSF

Juan Uribe was also accused of participation in a DR shooting, an accusation he beat in court. This was prior to the 2010 season. Imagine if he had his visa revoked and was sitting in a Dominican jail?

Paapfly
Paapfly

It's more than a little ridiculous to suggest that Giants fans would embrace Villalona, who murdered someone, because they adored the best hitter ever, who simply used steroids.

John K
John K

Bonds has NEVER had a hot urine test. So keep quiet about our Bay Area Superstar.

Chris Quick
Chris Quick

Yes, but Barry Bonds murdered the sanctity of the game!

Chris Quick
Chris Quick

My ability to tell a joke on the interwebs must really suck.

Jumping Off Point
Jumping Off Point

Baseball barred players of color for decades, enshrined a bigot like Ty Cobb and has a vast history of performance enhancers before that phrase was a media buzz word. Yet Barry killed its sanctity. Yep, makes perfect sense.