12:45pm Baseball America’s John Manuel has a solid write up on Viciedo and his free agent status. Agent Jamie Torres says, "He was processed at the end of May. To me, he was not drafted and should be an undrafted free agent. We’ll see if the union agrees with me." The catch here is whether or not Viciedo is subject to the rules of the draft now that he’s in the U.S. Had he gone to the Dominican Republic, for example, he could be a free agent. Since teams weren’t informed of his eligibility to be signed or drafted, his status remains to be determined. Manuel also presents mixed reviews of Viciedo’s potential, but his hitting ability is not in question.
According to Jorge Ebro and Wilfredo Cancio Isla of the Miami Herald, Dayan Viciedo, a 19 year old Cuban ballplayer, has defected from his home country and arrived in Miami with renewed motivation. This is a new name for me, but Ebro and Cancio shed some light on the arrival of a promising new talent:
"Born March 10, 1989… Viciedo is regarded as the best Cuban baseball player in the past eight years after Kendry Morales, who defected in 2004 and now plays in the Los Angeles Angels’ system.
’Dayán is going to spark a lot of talk in the majors,” said his agent, Puerto Rican lawyer Jaime Torres, ’He has arrived with youth, he is very versatile and his conditioning is exceptional. We will soon see him wearing the uniform of a major league team.’"
Viciedo is 6’2", 202 lbs capable of playing SS, 3B, and OF. According to the Havana Journal, at 16 he was the youngest Cuban All Star in history. At 18, he was chosen to play in the World Baseball Classic in the U.S. and is often compared to Omar Linares, one of the greatest Cuban players of all time. Baseball in Cuba has been on continued decline without motivated players.
No word on interested teams yet. Anyone have any more insight on Viciedo?
By Nat Boyle
