Jose Julio Ruiz is drawing more interest than fellow Cuban first baseman Leslie Anderson, reports ESPN.com’s Jorge Arangure Jr.. Ruiz has attracted interest from many teams, including the Red Sox and his agents have fielded multiple offers. It’s unlikely that the 25-year-old will sign before Monday, but he could sign soon. Some teams wonder if Ruiz could hit in the majors immediately.
Anderson worked out in Mexico last week, but the nine teams that watched the 27-year-old were generally unimpressed. One interested executive called the showing "mediocre at best." Still, Anderson could sign with a big league club within a week.
Here are a few other notes from Arangure Jr.:
- Eduardo Salcedo, an 18-year-old infielder, could be cleared to sign with MLB teams sometime this week. If everything goes through, the D’Backs and Braves will be among the teams interested in signing him. The bidding could reach $2MM for the shortstop-third baseman.
- The Pirates agreed to sign 17-year-old Dominican outfielder Willy Garcia for $280K.
- The D’Backs signed 17-year-old Dominican outfielder Socrates Abrito for $190K.
Socrates Abrito is one of the best names I’ve heard in a while. There seems to be a lot of Latin American signings lately. Looks like a good area for teams to focus on since a lot of guys are cheap, young and will be focused solely on baseball in their development.
Is Salcedo still represented by Boras?
With all of the free agent first baseman that can’t find a job, I wonder how much Ruiz and Anderson will demand. I could see Ruiz with the Pirates and Anderson with the Marlins or Indians. I do think that Logan Morrison deserves a shot at first though.
The Marlins would be crazy to not give Morrison the full time gig if not to open the season but at the very least by June. Morrison is a top 15 prospect coming into spring training. Patient, good contact hitter, decent glove, decent power. I don’t see why the Marlins would want this Anderson when they have one of the most promising hitters in the minors ready to go.
You are 100% right. He’s exactly what the Marlins crave. In terms of hitting, they have Dustin Pedroia (Chris Coghlan) and Steve Garvey (Morrison). He will be great on the Marlins aka one of the best organizations in the NL.
“He’s exactly what the Marlins crave.”
Because he’s got electrolytes…?
His nickname is Brawndo I hear.