Cuban infielder Yosvani Garcia, 26, has been declared a free agent by Major League Baseball, MLBTR has learned (Twitter link). Because Garcia is older than 23 and has at least five years of professional experience playing in Cuba, he is not considered an amateur and will not be subject to international spending limitations.
Garcia will host a showcase for MLB clubs in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on May 27. He’s a lifetime .280/.375/.352 hitter in Cuba with a knack for making contact, evidenced by a strikeout rate of 14.8 percent in Cuba’s top league, Serie Nacional. Garcia has been clocked at 6.4 seconds in the 60-yard dash and possibly as low as 6.2 seconds.
Garcia, who is being represented by Pro Talent Sports Group’s Christopher Fanta, didn’t play in Cuba’s most recent season, as he was in the process of establishing residency in the Dominican Republic after defecting from Cuba. To this point, roughly 10 clubs have expressed interest in his services. It’s unclear at this stage exactly what type of contract Garcia could command. He’s not a Hector Olivera type of prospect, but we’ve still seen recent Cuban signings such as Dian Toscano (four years, $6MM with the Braves) and Daniel Carbonell (four years, $3.5MM with the Giants) obtain noteworthy guarantees, even though some scouts feel they’re likely to occupy part-time roles in the Majors. Another Cuban signee, Pablo Fernandez, received an $8MM bonus on a Minor League deal despite the fact that scouts were lukewarm on him, and he spent most of his time in Cuba as a reliever.
Unless he’s a defensive wiz seems like a very low money guy for a low 700 ops guy in cuba
Who’s his MLB comparison?
Kris Bryant.
I was thinking SFG when I saw infielder, thinking 3B. But the link to BR shows Garcia as a second baseman (only) with declining production in 2011 and 2012. Then no stats for 2013 or 2014. So, I’d have to guess there needs to be more to the story, or else he might be looking at a minor league deal, at best.
The “2012” season would be the 2012-13 campaign (Serie Nacional is played in the winter, from November through February), and he’s been in the process of leaving Cuba and establishing residency in a new country since that time, which is the reason for the gap there.
Thanks for update. I guess this is the lull before the trade season, where you can catch up on old posts.
Yanks sign him!
Have the Dodgers signed him yet?
I just clicked through to see what stats were accumulated on Baseball Reference. It seems like it is linked to the wrong player. Can anyone confirm?