Well-regarded young Cuban right-hander Yadier Alvarez has established residency in Haiti, according to Ben Badler of Baseball America. (Note that Badler spells his last name “Alvares”; various outlets have utilized both spellings in reference to the same player.)
That clears one hurdle for Alvarez to become eligible to sign, but others remain. Most notably, having been born after September 1, 1995, Alvarez missed the deadline to register for the upcoming July 2 signing period. He was understandably unable to do so when required (May 15 of last year) because he was still in Cuba at that time. Thus, as things stand, Alvarez would be on track for eligibility as part of the 2015-16 class (assuming he otherwise qualifies).
Alvarez is reportedly seeking a waiver to avoid an otherwise lengthy delay. MLB’s rules allow players to seek a waiver for “a compelling justification for his failure to register,” but the league has not yet been required to address a situation in which a Cuban youngster was unable to apply in time.
Should Alvarez obtain the necessary waiver before the close of the current July 2 period, he would be able to decide whether to sign within it or wait until the opening of the 2015 period. If he is not able to do so, then he would enter a market in which the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, Diamondbacks, and Rays are all prohibited from agreeing to a bonus of greater than $300K, effectively taking those clubs out of the running.
