Cuban second baseman Andy Ibanez, who has unexpectedly languished on the market despite being declared a free agent months ago, has changed agents, Ben Badler of Baseball America reports. He’ll move from Bart Hernandez and Praver/Shapiro to Relativity Baseball.
The 22-year-old appeared to be preparing to sign earlier in the spring, but with his change of agencies it’s now unclear when that might happen. As Badler notes, there seems to be a reasonable likelihood that he’ll ultimately wait until the calendar flips to a new July 2 period, when a new slate of clubs will pull the trigger on spending cap-busting bonuses. (Ibanez is subject to international bonus pools.)
As Badler writes, Ibanez is a well-known and well-regarded prospect. While he does not have any particularly flashy aspects to his game, he’s regarded as a sturdy ballplayer across the board. Badler rates him above fellow young infielder Roberto Baldoquin, who got $8MM from the Angels, but notes that he could nevertheless fall shy of that mark.
he’s regarded as a sturdy ballplayer across the board.
Sturdy as in a Howie Kendrick type?
No, more like Omar Infante.
Infante is pretty good.
He’s a solid ball player, but Howie is an absolute stud at the position. Ibanez is projected by most to be a solid player with average tools across the board, similar to Infante.
seems like a guy the Phillies should at least consider… probably don’t have to pony up a ton of cash, no other incumbent for when Utley leaves, low risk high reward type of move…
Are we sure he’s languished and not just waiting for July 2nd? It could be possible that the Dodgers have added him to the mix of players they plan on making a run at this summer.