The Athletics have strong interest in five-tool Cuban outfielder Jorge Soler, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. She says Yoenis Cespedes' price tag is too high for the A's, and his desire for either a four or ten-year deal doesn't work for them.
Soler, 19, has also been linked to the Yankees, Phillies, Nationals, Cubs, and Rangers this offseason. Nationals Director of International Scouting Johnny DiPuglia has watched Soler for years, and told Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post, "He’s got a Hanley Ramirez-type body. Plus arm. Plus bat speed. He’s a good kid, a good-energy kid." Though Soler would need more minor league seasoning, it's been written he could have more upside than Cespedes. Soler is younger and more talented than the Rangers' Leonys Martin, wrote Baseball America's Jim Callis, so he figures to beat Martin's $15.6MM contract. Callis notes that the $2.9MM international signing cap installed in the new CBA doesn't begin until the 2012-13 signing period, so as long as Soler signs before July 2nd, there are no limitations.
Slusser also adds to the A's-San Jose story in another article. She talked to former Giants general managing partner Peter Magowan, who thinks San Jose is "wishful thinking" for the A's. She also learned from A's owner Lew Wolff and others that the stadium issue is not on the agenda for the owners' meetings in two weeks.
if the a’s could pull soler….i would be absolutely….just….amazingly thrilled for lack of a better word…without this comment being deletable
edit: what level would he start out at? high-A? low-A?
I think the A’s would prep him for 2014 or 2015. Slow roll through the minors with a callup right before the new stadium opens.
that makes sense, i just also think they won’t want to baby him along either, so i think starting him at High-A makes the most sense
He’s Cuban = White Sox
Peter McGowan has nothing better to do..
The Giants are such a bunch of backstabbers. The most deplorable team in America. They would be in Tampa if it wasn’t for the kindness of the A’s.
$15-20MM may sound like a lot of money for Oakland, but combine that with next year’s projected payroll and it should be still less than 2011. I think Fuentes is going to be the high roller at around $5MM.
Man, Oakland is going to be bad for the next couple years. I really hope that we get a favorable decision soon to move to San Jose. We have waited long enough, just give us a damn decision already Bud!!
Beane is bound by the revenue-sharing laws, so he HAS to spend on someone, or maybe thats his goal: dont spend a dime in protest until he gets a stadium resolution.
I think he’s going to do what he did last year and try and buy all these high risk guys like Harden & McCarthy, or just pick over the scraps in Feb as players rush to grab jobs. Maybe he can find takers for Bailey, Balfour, Suzuki and Fuentes in exchange for some overpaid RF or DH. I’m not entirely sure the A’s will stink too, Seattle still has no offense and the Astros are in far worse shape. With the talent they currently have, they could actually surprise if Barton, Allen, Carter, Sizemore, Weeks, Cowgill etc all hit their ceilings. I mean the obvious thought is “no that wont happen” but this is baseball, it doesnt often play by logic and luck plays a huge part.
Maybe Taylor will finally figure it out
Remember the A’s bid 19.1M last year on Iwamura that was returned when a contract couldnt be worked out. That amount should put them squarely in the mix for Soler and with the influx of new players they dont need to add salary which also opens up more cash, even with the little fan attendance they get.
What are we talking here? Low A like a Gary Sanchez? AA/AAA/Chance of being called up later in the season like Chapman? Where is Solar expected to play?
i wanna say high-A, he’s only 19, but if he’s really that good, he should perform fine in a hitter’s league like the cal-league. maybe midway through the season (depending on performance) a promotion to AA
I think they space it out so he debuts in late 2014.
that would mean something like, high-A-AA in 2012, AA-AAA in 2013, AAA-MLB in 2014?
Now this guy sounds like a way better fit for the A’s than that Iwakuma pitcher.
here come those tricky A’s again!!
Yes please. That is all.
The A’s were reportedly a close second in the Chapman sweepstakes so it may not be as far fetched as it originally appears
They better sign him..they have cut what, 30 million in payroll?? Should go hard and spend huge in the international market…major league club is literally a stop-gap..focus should be all on minors/devlopment
The A’s fans are only asking that Giant owners show class and let the A’s move to San Jose just like how the A’s owners showed class and let the Giants have the rights to San Jose. The A’s can not compete in Oakland because the stadium is falling apart and there is no hope in the future of building a new one there with the worst mayor ever. If the A’s fail in San Jose they will fail by themselves. The Giants can’t claim san Jose since they were the ones who failed to build a stadium there after the A’s let them have the rights.
No, you really can’t defend your team here. The A’s want to move to the largest metro area without a MLB team, and the Giants are using the rights given to them by the previous A’s ownership to block them.
Look up attendances, the A’s were a top 3 team from 88-92, and the Giants were the worst in that time frame. The Giants had a terrible park where it was 30 degrees with wind chill no matter how sunny it was, and no one wanted to see them. They were about to move to Tampa, but were saved last minute and the A’s gave them those BS “rights”, even though Oakland is closer to SJ than SF, to help increase their fanbase. The situation is entirely reversed right now, and the Giants are not doing the right thing by the A’s.
It really is disgusting, and Bud Selig is a coward for not telling the Giants they can’t use those “rights” anymore. Its doubtful they would even hold up in court.
Giants fans cry poor that “losing” SJ would effect them, but with so many former Giants/SF-resident fans are moving to Oakland nowdays, they could just start promoting the team there with no issues. Plus SF is a massive tourist hub with plenty of local residents who go to games. Losing SJ wouldn’t mean anything to them, at all. The Bay Area can definitely afford two teams as well. Its the Giants being preposterously evil and greedy who want the A’s out, when the A’s did their part to keep the Giants there when the situations were reversed. Sorry to break it to you, but your team’s owners are deplorably evil and greedy. They are basically the Monte Burns of MLB.
I love how giants fans chime in about drawing crowds completely forgetting about the miserable decades they spent at Candlestick where they drew less than the A’s….get over yourselves…Att park is the ONLY reason you guys draw a crowd today.
Well you do seem decidedly less lame than most Giants fans who just come on here and say “A’s SUCK THEY DONT HAVE ANY FANS AND HAVENT WON A WS SINCE 2010” when theyre entirely delusional new jacks who dont remember how screwed the Giants were back in the 90s.
SF is still a massive tourist hub and its incredibly easy to get to a game there, and winning the WS gained them a massive local fanbase, losing SJ only makes them slightly less rich, when this is a two team market and always has been. Splitting that market 50-50 is the issue here, the Giants want it at its current 80-20 split, when that’s unreasonable.
the a’s moving to san Jose will not hurt the giants fan base. It will make it much harder for A’s fan to travel to san jose which will open up the north bay to the giants. I can be at AT&T within 1 hour but San Jose will take much longer due to the fact no BART in san jose. The problem is that the Giants want no team in the bay area competing with them. Greedy yes but they only care about money.
That’s where you’re missing the point. Most fans are not created geographically. Most fans of a team are those who follow the team because they are doing well. They have some sort of attractive product on the field. The Giants are just showing how completely classless and how they are really the D-Bags of the MLB. These are all excuses for them to try and have the A’s contracted and just try and dominate the Bay Area market for themselves when the Bay Area can support 2 teams. They have done it with football so why can’t they do it for baseball?