Noel Arguelles Rumors
Royals Notes: Hosmer, Arguelles
The Royals defeated the Orioles this afternoon to earn their fifth victory in their last six games. The big headline of the day for Kansas City, however, has to do with a certain minor league call-up...
- The Royals announced that Eric Hosmer has been called up to the big leagues to replace Kila Ka'aihue at first base. Hosmer was the third overall pick of the 2008 amateur draft and was rated by Baseball America as the eighth-best prospect in the game before this season. He has a career .886 OPS in the minors, and had a superb .439/.525/.582 line in 118 plate appearances for Triple-A Omaha this season.
- MLB.com's Dick Kaegel says the club wanted Hosmer to have around 250 Triple-A at-bats before coming to the majors, but it's interesting that K.C. pulled the trigger now and not next month. The early call-up means that Hosmer is likely to pick up enough service time to become a Super Two player, meaning he'll earn an extra year of salary arbitration. This, of course, depends on if the Super Two rules aren't changed in the next collective bargaining agreement.
- Noel Arguelles is pitching well in his first month of pro baseball, writes Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star.
- You can follow all the latest Kansas City news on MLBTR's Royals-centric Facebook page, RSS and Twitter feeds.
Odds & Ends: Griffey, Texeira, Arguelles, Burrell
Friday night linkage..
- If Ken Griffey Jr. takes on some sort of role with the Mariners organization, it will likely be next year, writes Larry LaRue of The News Tribune.
- Speaking of Yost, he tells Daniel Paulling of the Kansas City Star that he expects to use Kanekoa Texeira as a reliever. The Royals claimed him off of waivers from the M's on Thursday.
- Dayton Moore is pleased with the job that Ned Yost has done so far with the Royals, writes MLB.com's Dick Kaegel.
- GM Andy MacPhail is next up on the O's hot seat, writes Kevin Cowherd of the Baltimore Sun.
- Royals GM Dayton Moore says that lefty Noel Arguelles has shoulder soreness and is not certain to pitch this year, writes Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star (via Twitter). The Royals inked the Cuban defector to a deal this offseason.
- Pat Burrell "couldn't be happier" after landing in San Francisco, writes Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News.
- The Reds' $1.75MM option on Jonny Gomes looks like a bargain right now, tweets John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Gomes is hitting .303/.366/.520 with 7 HRs in 175 plate appearances this season.
Odds & Ends: Dye, Arguelles, Royals, Astros
Upset over seeing your Syracuse-topped bracket get ruined tonight? Cheer up by reading these news items!
- MLB.com's Bill Ladson thinks the Nationals will make a move to bolster their current right-field platoon. He thinks Jermaine Dye would help the team, though Washington denied any interest in the veteran last week.
- Noel Arguelles hasn't shown much in camp with Kansas City, but ESPN's Keith Law says it's part of the Royals' strategy to take it easy on the 20-year-old.
- Rany Jazayerli of the Rany On The Royals blog looks at how K.C. has only recently gotten back into the habit of drafting local prospects. He also lists some of the local talent that the Royals didn't draft between 1988 and 2003, such as (sorry to mention it again, Royals fans) Albert Pujols.
- The Astros are putting a greater emphasis on foreign scouting, writes The Houston Chronicle's Richard Justice.
- Tracy Ringolsby of FOXSports.com lists 10 notable scouts who could be future general managers.
- The Cubs could wait until the trade deadline before getting their desired set-up man, says FOXSports.com's Jon Paul Morosi.
The New Market For Cuban Players
When you think about Cuban players that signed with a Major League team this past offseason, the first name that will come to mind is Aroldis Chapman and his six-year, $30.25MM contract. However, as ESPN's Jorge Arangure writes, the contracts signed by Jose Iglesias, Adeiny Hechevarria, and Noel Arguelles may dictate the future of the Cuban market.
Arangure notes that at this time last year, Iglesias and Arguelles were expected to command only $1-2MM on the open market. They, of course, signed for $8.25MM and $6.9MM, respectively. If those players meet expectations, not only will teams start to specifically target Cuban prospects, but players in Cuba will surely take notice and attempt to defect at a younger age.
Even though players like Hechevarria and Iglesias are college-aged, they're perceived to be more advanced than their American counterparts because they've faced tougher competition growing up. However, for every Kendry Morales making an impact in the big leagues, there's a Juan Miranda stuck in Triple-A. The risk associated with young players is the same no matter where they come from, but the Cuban market is getting more and more expensive.
Royals To Sign Noel Arguelles
4:38pm: Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star tweets that the Royals are saying there could be up to two or three weeks worth of paperwork before the signing is official. Technically, no deal is in place yet.
SUNDAY, 2:46pm: Keith Law weighs in with his reaction to the signing, calling it a "tremendous get for the Royals." Law profiles Arguelles, and also discusses the mentality that international free agency favors big-market teams like the Yankees and Red Sox. Law finds the mentality to be a myth, to put it lightly.
SATURDAY, 10:41pm: More detail courtesy of Passan, who says that the two sides have agreed to a pact. On top of the $7MM, Arguelles can earn up to $2MM in incentives as well - and give Passan a dead-on prediction. Of course, the deal will not become official until the youngster passes a physical.
Arguelles' fastball reached 94 mph when he threw for the Cuban national team. Also armed with a strong changeup and above average curveball, he must improve his control to truly capitalize on his potential.
10:31pm: The Royals are believed to be near a major-league agreement with lefty Noel Arguelles, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. The deal is reportedly worth $7MM over five years.
This comes as somewhat of a surprise as we recently heard that the most interested clubs were the Athletics, Rays, Mariners, and Yankees. Late last month, Passan predicted that the Cuban defector would fetch between $8.2MM and $10MM, slightly more than what he is set to receive from Kansas City.
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