Get out the Spanish-English dictionary and put on Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…
- Morgan Campbell at the Toronto Star posits that Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos' recent scouting trip to the Dominican Republic could mean the team is "closing in" on Jose Julio Ruiz. Yesterday, Ruiz's trainer told the Nuevo Herald that the first baseman's most recent tryout, his "last before signing," was against Blue Jays players. The blog cubanballplayers.com also reported on Tuesday that Ruiz had a private tryout with the Jays. Both the team and Prestige Sports Agency, which represents Ruiz, remain mum on any communication.
- Cuban first baseman/outfielder Leslie Anderson tells Angel Mazariego of the Mexican newspaper Sipse that he is willing to play in Mexico this season if nothing materializes for him in the majors. Anderson lists the Red Sox, Yankees, Mariners, Dodgers, Giants and Brewers as the teams he knows to have scouted him recently. Mazariego adds the Dodgers and Tigers to the list.
- Amaury Perez Torres at the Cuban baseball blog Las Avispas cites a "source close to" pitching prospect Juan Yasser Serrano saying that the right-hander has worked out for 10 major league teams this winter. Most recently, the source says, Serrano struck out four in a two-inning simulation for the Cubs on February 19, with a fastball that touched 93.
- If it seems like there is more chatter about Cuban defectors than ever before, that's no coincidence, writes Campbell in the Toronto Star. In a lengthy article, he outlines how more Cuban players are now aiming at the major leagues thanks to the success of Kendry Morales and Yunel Escobar, neither of whom was a starter in Cuba. Equally significant was the contract that third base prospect Dayan Viciedo signed with the White Sox in 2008. A Cuban baseball expert in Canada tells Campbell that Viciedo made players on the island think, "If he can get $10 million, then what am I worth?"
- Speaking of Morales, Jorge Arangure Jr. adds a new dimension to the first baseman's recent switch from Hendricks Sports Management to Scott Boras in an article in ESPN the Magazine. Rodney Fernandez, who recruited both Morales and Aroldis Chapman for Kendricks, is being investigated by the MLBPA and Florida police in regard to $300K that disappeared from Morales' bank account.
Blue Jays shouldn’t have traded Tyler to Wallace……
Hope Jays keep Wallace at 3 base.!!!!!!!!!!!
Assuming you meant “Taylor” and yes, Wallace is a first baseman.
Not happy with Edwin Encarnocion?
Viciedo isn’t, and never was, a shortstop………..Get out your Baseball American Handbook and get your facts straight
I don’t know how this Anthopoulos experiment will work out, but I like his initial moves. Of course, I remember being so excited when JP started, with the way he stripped down the roster, expunged the dead wood (Mondesi anyone), and then seemed to inject talented youngsters into the roster. He was supposed to be cutting edge, from Oakland and a master of the sabermetrics that would give us an advantage. Then those talented youngsters turned into Russ Adams, he signed David Eckstein, and taunted Adam Dunn. All of which is a long winded way of saying that I hope that Anthopoulos signs the Cuban kid, and I hope he’s a good ball player, and I hope that his dedication to scouting pays off. But mostly, I hope that I see the Jays win 90 games again before I die…
Oh my god. Such a good album.
Agreed. Instant nominee for MLBTR thread title HOF.
AGREED…
I saw the title of the link and thought, “I wonder if somone will reference Raekwon.”
Then I read the next line… LOL
“Cuban first baseman/outfielder Leslie Anderson tells Angel Mazariego of the Mexican newspaper Sipse that he is willing to play in Mexico this season if nothing materializes for him in the majors. Anderson lists the Red Sox, Yankees, Mariners, Dodgers, Giants and Brewers as the teams he knows to have scouted him recently. Mazariego adds the Dodgers and Tigers to the list. ”
So they both essentially named the Dodgers as a team that is interested? Or did Anderson not name them, but Mazariego did, or vice versa?
Also, it is interesting to see the Dodgers interested in a 1B. I’d guess they dont feel Loney is a long term solution..
They could be interested for trade bait purposes too. It’s never bad to stock pile on young high-ceiling prospects.
Very true. It’s just given their lack of IFAs signed, going after a 1B is interesting…
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Four K’s in 2 innings and hitting 93. Not bad. Of course we’ll never sign him, we just work them out so everyone else can know about them.
The environment enables these agents to conduct business this way. It is like I am drowning and your telling me how deep the water is (movie: as good as it gets). Millions of dollars are at stake here. I do not think I blame the agents and their actions they have a product to sell and people are buying. I remember the Viciedo dealings and I do remember them selling him the Cuban Babe Ruth, but not sure Kenny bought it hook line and sinker. Cause what would that player get? A lot more then 10 mill over that time period. Alexei Ramirez has been a steal for the White Sox up to this point so this made ir easier for Kenny to feel comfortable with spending the money on Viciedo.
That player is going to be good. The kid is or was 20 years old and came to a different country, different league and was noted by scouts to see improvement at third and at the plate through out the second half last year. He was paid above slot, yes. For Viciedo to be written off or to be called fat and lazy at this point is ludicrous. I can remember when I was 20 and i have matured mentally quite a bit, thank God nobody wrote me off at that point.
There is a cause and an effect to things and the Cuban agents are the effect, the cause is much, much deeper then we all realize.
I agree, anyone who has seen Viciedo play gets it immediately, this guy has no right getting the kind of money he received and it is next to incomprehensible that he will ever make a MLB roster. He literally does everything very poorly on a baseball field, I have never seen a player be bad at every facet of the game like he is.
That’s a bit harsh. I mean the guy played all year in Double-A as a 20 year-old and hit .280. He’s got very good power and sure, the plate disciplline isn’t there, but it took Kendry Morales several years to develop into the guy he was last year. No reason Viciedo can’t do the same.
Yes and no. The thought of trading Quentin is interesting. If he gets hurt again please God no, clubs will really start to see his future as a DH. Then we have too many guys that project best at DH. But, this is Konerko’s last year on his contract. So 1st will open up next year and either Flowers or Viciedo COULD be moved there. Plus Andruw Jones and Kotsay I believe are both on 1 year contract and with that said we don’t necessarily like the DH situation now. Plus our backup catcher and starting catcher are both 1 year or last year on their contract. With Kenny no prospect is safe, but it is not a reach for a scenario where Kenny holds on to these guys.