As we await the outcome of the Twins’ negotiations with Korean slugger Byung-ho Park and the posting of fellow Korean All-Star Ah-seop Son, let’s take a look at some other news pertaining to the international market:
- Another exciting young Cuban player could soon be on his way to a major league organization, according to a report from MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez. 16-year-old infielder Miguel Vargas — the son of former Cuban star Lazaro Vargas — has defected from the island with his father. (The elder Vargas is no minor figure in the country: he played on two gold medal-winning teams and was the manager and director of the Havana Industriales.) As Sanchez notes, Vargas is one of several younger players who will look to become eligible for this July 2 period (if they can secure an exemption) or the one that follows it. While most prominent Cuban players who have joined the league in recent years were older and more established, we seem to be experiencing an increasing trend of younger players looking to sign at the same age as their counterparts in other parts of Latin America.
- 19-year-old Cuban outfielder Jorge Ona falls in between the veteran types and the just-eligible teenagers. As Ben Badler of Baseball America writes, Ona took the sixth spot on BA’s latest ranking of Cuban talent, and he’s the best player who has left the island in search of a big league job. Ona is still waiting to be declared a free agent, but Badler says he stands a good chance of qualifying to sign during the present signing period. There’s new video of the youngster available at the link.
- Twins slugger Kennys Vargas — no known relation to the gentlemen of the same surname discussed above — has drawn interest from the Korea Baseball Organization, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press reports. Selling the rights to the 25-year-old slugger could help balance out the team’s prospective signing of Park, who would in some regards take the place of Vargas in the organization. Club VP of player personnel Mike Radcliff said that moving Vargas “wouldn’t be in play unless or until we got Park done.” Of couse, Vargas himself would need to agree to a move and reach a contract with a KBO club. The Twins have been among the most active MLB teams in sending players to Korea. (From a player’s perspective, there’s often quite a bit more money and fame to be found abroad. Eric Thames, for example, has turned into a KBO star.)
- Meanwhile, 24-year-old Twins outfielder Oswaldo Arcia has told the team that he is not interested in going to Asia at this point. “The player has to agree,” Radcliff said. “He has no interest in doing that. He wants to be a major league star.” Arcia is coming off of a tough season — he was demoted and struggled at Triple-A — but has shown himself to be at least a competent major league hitter already. While he’s also a poorly-regarded defender, Arcia would still presumably draw interest from other big league clubs. He may well end up getting a chance elsewhere, as Berardino notes that he’s out of minor league options.
I don’t think the Twins should sell low on Vargas or Arcia. Vargas still has an option remaining. He can spend his time in the minors and be called up if needed.
Arcia should definitely not be sold low on. He should be on the MLB roster as a DH/OF and bench guy. Way too early to give up on him. I honestly feel like if they do give up on him, he could become the next David Ortiz as far as Twins mistakes go. He’s not as good as Ortiz, but I could see it really coming back to bite them. Could be wrong though…would prefer to not find out.
Why in the world would Vargas, a 25 year old who has played a total of 111 career mlb games, who has an immense amount of power potential want to go to any other league than the one he has worked his entire life to be in.
If he were in his late 20’s or above and had simply fizzled out of the majors then I could understand, but not at the current situation he is in.
If the Twins want to dump him then trade him, don’t insult a young player who has the potential to be a 20 hr guy by asking him how he would feel about playing in Korea, or any other league.
The same goes for Arcia. Both can be of help to a number of MLB teams.
I’ve never heard of something so ridiculous as this when both guys are under 25 years old.
The article indicates that Vargas is interested personally. Anonymous Twins source said something to the the effect of “he would make a ton of money”, not entirely insulting
Didn’t read the primary article, was hoping this site would put his mutual interest in their paragraph, which when reading it, made it seem as if it was entirely the Twins perspective.
Ona has a lot of moving parts in his swing and does well against soft throwing pitchers and pitches on the outer half. He struggles against quality fastballs both up and in. He has good power to all fields and as his body matures he should see an increase. What I liked best about him was his easy and natural jump on balls in the field. For a younger player he had good instincts and plus speed combined with his jump makes even some difficult plays look easy. He has plus arm strength and decent accuracy. He would be a top ten pick in the upcoming draft.
Arcia being out of options and hitting .199 in AAA last year obviously makes his situation tough. But Vargas isn’t anywhere close to a lost cause. He wouldn’t be the first power hitter to struggle early in his career. Of course, with Park presumably on the roster finding playing time might be an issue. So package him in a trade, or something. Don’t ship him off to Korea for a check.
Arcia might be of interest to the Angels. Good power, left handed and would be a good buy low candidate. Plus, he can masquerade as an OF.
Masquerade is a good word to use when describing Arcia’s defense. Even my wife, an Angels fan had to laugh… As a Twins fan, we have plenty of talented outfielders just teach them to hit…
Vargus is a major league power hitter and what is really good is that he is a switch hitter. Why you would give up on him at his age is ridiculous. The Korean would have to be outstanding to make the Twins give up on the big guy…