Cuban Defectors we KNOW are available

Today I went to a tryout of 4 Cuban defectors at the Arizona Diamondbacks´ academy. The scene there was wild. The players´agent told me that at least 26 major-league teams had their scouts in attendance. No idea about the identity of the few teams who weren´t interested, but I was able to pick out reps from the Devil Rays, Yankees, Mets, Giants, Cubs, Mariners, Braves, Indians, Diamondbacks, Reds, Twins, Brewers, and Nationals.

The scouts who came were a bit disappointed to find out that the most interesting player, 23-year-old pitcher Sergei Linares, was suffering from food poisoning. Linares is reported to throw in the high 90s, but he was held out of the simulated game and limited to a side-throwing session.

The other three players are 22 y/o shortstop Yohannis Perez, 23 y/o catcher Alexis Fonesca, and 25 y/o RHP Yoslan Herrera.

Perez, who was also suffering from foid poisoning, is a line-drive hitting shortstop who drew wide praise for his footwork and glove. His bat wasn´t on display too much today, as the raw DSL pitchers he faced nearly hit him five times. He ended up taking a couple of walks on pitches nowhere near the zone and hitting a double in what I saw of the simulated game.

Fonesca displayed solid gap power, going 4-for-4 in the at-bats I witnessed, with 2 doubles and 2 triples. Against better defenders, those triples would have been a double and a single, but his bat definitely drew some interest.

Herrera was nowhere near as hyped as Linares, but seemed to handle himself just fine in the tryout. His fastball was sitting between 90-92, and the DSL Devil Rays, who served as the whipping boys for this exhibition, were helpless against his breaking ball.

The prevailing opinion of the people I spoke with was that Linares and Perez were the best of the group.  It’s possible that these players could get bonuses north of $1 million.

In terms of market value, nobody´s really sure how to treat Cuban players yet. In the wake of the Contreras signing, the prevailing wisdom was that the Cuban mystique caused teams to overrate – and overpay – defectors. The Yuniesky Betancourt signing, which turned out to be a huge bargain, changed all that. There hasn´t been a significant Cuban signing since Betancourt came over, and none of the scouts I talked to today had any idea what these players´ price range would be.

I should have pictures of the 4 Cuban players in the next couple of days.

Gourriel Defection Debunked

Updating a previous item, it appears El Nacional jumped the gun when it reported on Gourriel´s defection.

The story I´ve gotten from a couple of sources is as follows:

Baseball insiders had been speculating about a potential Gourriel defection throughout the Central-American games. One of the biggest reasons Gourriel was considered a low defection risk was the family connection. During the games in Cartagena, however, Lourdes Gourriel was with the University of Havana team competing at a tournament in Ecuador. With the possibility of the simultaneous defections of father and son, the rumor mill ran rampant.

At this point details are still unclear, but the consensus is that Gourriel did not defect, and has no plans to do so.