Baseball’s hottest free agent could come from Cuba

Baseball’s hottest free agent could come from Cuba

Cuba's Yoennis Cespedes watches his third hit of the game as he drives in his fourth run of the game in the seventh inning against Mexico during their World Baseball Classic game at PETCO Park in San Diego on March 16, 2009

Now that the Texas Rangers have won the right to negotiate with Japanese pitching phenom Yu Darvish, Major League Baseball has turned its attention to the other exciting player on the international scene. This player will not require a $50-million (all currency U.S.) posting fee and, unlike Darvish, he will be free to talk to any team about a contract.

Yoenis Cespedes, a captivating Cuban outfielder with a running back’s body whom scouts have been following for years, is within days of gaining his residency in the Dominican Republic. Once he does, Major League Baseball will declare Cespedes a free agent and the bidding can begin.

“Then anyone can make an offer who wants to,” said an American League executive who was not authorized to speak publicly about a free agent. “Compared to Darvish, this is going to be the Wild West.”

At least a dozen teams fancy the 26-year-old Cespedes, who is built like Bo Jackson and has Vladimir Guerrero’s swing. Some people in baseball believe he will command a contract worth more than $50-million, and the list of teams who may pursue him includes the Miami Marlins, the Philadelphia Phillies, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Baltimore Orioles, the Toronto Blue Jays, the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees.

None, however, want to reveal their strategy regarding his impending free agency or publish their own scouting reports.

Certainly, all 30 clubs are aware of Cespedes’s exploits – his speed in the 60-yard dash, his ability to track balls in centre field and, most of all, his power to all fields as a right-handed slugger. Although Cespedes has had only a few at-bats against major-league pitching, in the World Baseball Classic, many talent evaluators believe he may eventually separate himself from all previous position players who have defected over the past two decades from Fidel Castro’s Cuba.

“He might be the best to come out of Cuba,” said Ismael Cruz, the Toronto Blue Jays’ special assistant to the general manager. “The question for everyone is how much you want to pay for that, and that is up to each team to decide.”

Cespedes, whose mother, Estela Milanés, was a star pitcher on the Cuban softball team at the 2000 Olympics, defected from Cuba on a speedboat after he broke the single-season home run record in the 2010-11 season. He and Jose Dariel Abreu, the Cuban league most valuable player, each hit 33 homers.

Once he got to the Dominican Republic (if he had sought residency in the United States he would be subject to baseball’s draft and therefore not be a free agent), Cespedes hired Adam Katz of the Wasserman group to represent him. His management team in the Dominican published an indulgent 20-minute video called The Showcase that illuminated his undisputed athleticism and brute strength through his workout regimen, as well as highlights of him in a Cuban uniform crushing balls to all fields and flashing his magnetic smile.

Like Darvish, there is an element of mystery surrounding Cespedes because the recent records of Cuban defectors is mixed. Several, like Livan Hernandez, Orlando Hernandez and Kendry Morales, have become stars, while others, like Alay Soler, Leonys Martin and even Aroldis Chapman – currently a $30-million setup reliever – have not quite lived up to expectations.

Those who have seen Cespedes play for the Cuban national team and in recent workouts in the Dominican, issue universally favourable reports, although with nuances. All agree he can run, field, throw, hit for power and perhaps hit for average over time. Some assign higher grades in certain categories.

One general manager referred to Cespedes’s five tools and said, “all of them are off the charts.” Others wonder if he will play centre field in the majors, but one scout who has seen him play in competitions in four different countries, said he has uncanny defensive instincts and plays with his heart. He added that within “a few years he will be one of the two or three best centre fielders in baseball.” As for his speed, he has been rated a 7 on a scale of 2 through 8.

A few described an average to slightly above average arm, and wonder whether Cespedes will ever be a .300 hitter. A National League scout, who has seen him several times since 2008, projected him as a .270 hitter, with 25 home runs and 85 to 100 runs batted in. Not a superstar, but perhaps an All-Star. “He’s definitely a middle-of-the-order guy,” the scout said. “I’ve seen him for years now and I always used to say, ‘I hope he comes out.’” New York Times News Service