Twins Notes: Hunter, Garcia, Radcliff
Few expected the Twins to be in contention this season, yet after today’s 6-5 win over the Blue Jays, Minnesota (30-19) now owns the best record in the American League. The Twins have been boosted by a 20-7 record in May, the first time the club has won 20 games in a single month since June 1991. Here’s some more from the Gopher State, courtesy of 1500 ESPN’s Darren Wolfson (all Twitter links)…
- There has been “no movement” between Torii Hunter and the Twins on a contract extension, though Wolfson guesses a deal will come at some point during the season. Hunter signed a one-year, $10.5MM deal with Minnesota last winter and has openly discussed both how he wants to eventually work in the Twins’ front office and how he’s undecided about playing in 2016. If performance is a factor, Hunter has been playing well, hitting .280/.332/.458 through his first 184 plate appearances. I would wonder if an extension would even be necessary this early, since as Wolfson notes, it’s “not like he’s going anywhere.”
- The Twins were one of the 20 teams who attended Cuban infielder/outfielder Yosvani Garcia‘s showcase earlier this week.
- Garcia isn’t subject to the international bonus pools, yet the Twins also have great interest in the 2015-16 international free agent market, as team VP of player personnel Mike Radcliff tells Wolfson that the new class of July 2 international players is “one of the best we’ve ever seen.” The Twins are prepared to spend up to $4MM on a single player, and Wolfson notes in a follow-up tweet that the player in question is Dominican shortstop Wander Javier. Fangraphs’ Kiley McDaniel reported in March that the Twins and Javier are “widely believed” to already have an agreement in place once the signing period opens on July 2. The Twins’ international bonus pool is just over $3.948MM, so if they wanted multiple players, they would have to trade for some extra space (unless they were willing to overspend in this int’l class and be limited to $300K signings in the next two classes).
- Radcliff also said that Minnesota may sign fewer amateur draft picks than usual, as their “system is pretty full” of players already. As Wolfson notes, most teams generally sign around 25 of their 40 picks; for comparison’s sake, the Twins signed 30 of their 40 picks in the 2014 amateur draft.
Twenty MLB Clubs Attend Yosvani Garcia Showcase
Cuban infielder/outfielder Yosvani Garcia held a showcase for interested clubs in the Dominican Republic yesterday, and 20 Major League clubs were represented, MLBTR has learned. Four teams from Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball were present to watch the 26-year-old Garcia as well.
Garcia’s best tool is his speed, and he checked in at a 6.3 and 6.22 on his 60-yard dash in Santo Domingo yesterday. Major League Baseball declared Garcia a free agent earlier this month, and his age and experience make him exempt from the league’s international spending limitations.
In parts of five seasons in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, Garcia batted .280/.375/.352, showing little power to accompany his speed but a contact-oriented approach (14.8 K%) and a respectable eye at the plate (9.3 BB%). While his skill set differs from the ones that netted Jose Abreu, Yasmany Tomas, Yasiel Puig and Rusney Castillo their hefty paydays, recent contracts for outfielders with lesser power indicate that Garcia could still take home notable money. Daniel Carbonell received a $3.5MM guarantee when signing with the Giants last year, and this past offseason, Dian Toscano received a four-year, $6MM contract from the Braves. Garcia is being represented by agent Christopher Fanta of Pro Talent Sports Group.
Cuban Infielder/Outfielder Yosvani Garcia Declared Free Agent
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.