Jose Dariel Abreu...?

[TrueYankee01]

Slugging first baseman Jose Dariel Abreu has escaped from Cuba and is elsewhere in the Caribbean, Jorge Ebro of El Nuevo Herald reports. It is unclear where Abreu is now (Ebro notes that various reports have placed Abreu in the Dominican Republic and in Haiti), but one agent with whom Abreu has had contact confirms that he is not in Cuba.

If in fact Abreu can make his way into the MLB free agent market, he'd have an enormous impact, likely earning the largest contract ever given to a Cuban player. The 26-year-old hit .453/.597/.986 in Cuba's Serie Nacional in 2010-2011 before hitting .394/.542/.837 in 2011-2012 and .382/.535/.735 in 2012-2013. Also in 2013, he hit .360/.385/.760 in six games for Cuba in the World Baseball Classic.

Those are, of course, stunning numbers, and ESPN Deportes' Jorge Morejon notes that Abreu will likely also benefit from a rising tide of good play by Cuban defectors like Yasiel Puig and Yoenis Cespedes. Grantland's Jonah Keri wrote in 2012 that Abreu "just might be the best hitter in the world," and Abreu's entry into the free agent market would surely be accompanied by a tidal wave of hype. Major League teams may not think quite the same way -- Keri notes that Abreu isn't particularly athletic, which might dampen teams' enthusiasm somewhat. But he quotes Athletics assistant GM David Forst comparing Abreu to Ryan Howard, which would still make Abreu a very valuable commodity.

Since Abreu is over 23 and has played Cuban professional baseball for more than three years, he would enter the market as an unrestricted free agent. He would appear to be in excellent position to receive more than Puig, who got seven years and $42MM from the Dodgers last June.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2013/0...#disqus_thread

I remember watching this dude in the WBC. He has tremendous power and just looks like a legit baseball player.

The Yankees have missed on a handful of IFA lately (Puig, Darvish, Ryu, Cespedes, Chapman, etc...) so do you think they will be interested In this guy?

I surely hope we take the gamble. And Cuba, suddenly, is producing crazy baseball players!

[ARoDfan4life]

we have to. There's nothing left that we can do to keep us competitive. We have to.

[TrueYankee01]

Jorge Soler is another name Yanks missed out on

[ARoDfan4life]

we have to.

[TrueYankee01]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkXOm5Pe4Qo

Not to take away from the guy, but that was a 65mph hanging breaking ball

[TrueYankee01]

Forward this video to 1 minute...

http://youtu.be/CwfyBKBQQqU

[TrueYankee01]

Abreu hit .453/.597/.986 in Cuba in 2010-2011. The next year he hit .394/.542/.837. No typos. This is real.

Geez. Just do it Cashman and Hal. $60M should get er' done.

[TrueYankee01]

Scouting report...

Abreu has put up cartoonish numbers in Serie Nacional. After hitting .394/.542/.837 with 35 home runs, 75 walks and 40 strikeouts in 71 games last year, Abreu is leading Cuba in OBP and slugging with a .382/.535/.735 line in 42 games this season. So how many MVP awards would Abreu win if he came to the big leagues? Well, not everyone is even convinced he’d be able to handle major league pitching.

Abreu, 26, has outstanding power to all fields. He’s a smart hitter, his hands work well at the plate and he doesn’t have much effort in his righthanded swing. When he gets a mistake, he makes pitchers pay. The question scouts have is whether he’s more than just a mistake hitter. Abreu has picked up bad habits in Cuba, including an unorthodox setup with a double toe tap in his stride. He cuts himself off and has only fair bat speed, leaving him vulnerable to even average velocity inside. He can handle curveballs in the strike zone but he also showed he was susceptible to chasing hard breaking stuff away, swinging through several sliders at the tournament. With his marginal athleticism, scouts wonder whether the 6-foot-2, 258-pounder would be able to make adjustments against big league pitching, which is why some scouts aren’t wild about him despite his performance record in Cuba and international competition.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/major...0-prospects-2/

Hmmmmm

[TrueYankee01]

Too bad we have Tex for 3 more years. I honestly think Red Sox will be all over this guy. Rangers as well.

[SatchelPaigeYankee]

we have no where to play him if we did get him.

[apalradio]

we have no where to play him if we did get him.

Maybe DH?

[primetime714]

Too bad we have Tex for 3 more years. I honestly think Red Sox will be all over this guy. Rangers as well.

Yea unless he could play RF or 3B which I doubt I don't think we'd sign him.

[Yankees1962]

Maybe DH?

What are you going to do with Arod from 2015-2017?

[BronxYanks45]

unless his 1B defense can translate to 3B then we have no where to put him. Then comes the thorny conversation about do you stick him in the minors to get used to american style baseball, get used to ML pitching etc...

[THEBOSS84]

unless his 1B defense can translate to 3B then we have no where to put him. Then comes the thorny conversation about do you stick him in the minors to get used to american style baseball, get used to ML pitching etc...

If he's going to get paid what they're saying he's going to get paid, minors aren't an option.

3 more glorious years of Tex!

[goin for 27]

Huge example of Yankees sins right here.....MONSTER deal to Tex, who is on steep decline, but has 3 more years here.

Trying to get responsible on spending, but saddled with bloated contracts.

Abreu is hugely worth the risk of a deal a la Puig, etc.

Yanks are not in a position to do it. Prior, we could overwhelm anyone we wanted.

Now? In this case, Red Sox and Rangers in catbird seat for Abreu, and have much more available funds.

[Yankees1962]

Huge example of Yankees sins right here.....MONSTER deal to Tex, who is on steep decline, but has 3 more years here.

Trying to get responsible on spending, but saddled with bloated contracts.

Abreu is hugely worth the risk of a deal a la Puig, etc.

Yanks are not in a position to do it. Prior, we could overwhelm anyone we wanted.

Now? In this case, Red Sox and Rangers in catbird seat for Abreu, and have much more available funds.

Most of us loved that signing then, how would the Yankees know his decline would start early? Do we stop with the more than five year contracts? If so, good luck missing out some big time free agents in the future.

[teknetic]

Huge example of Yankees sins right here.....MONSTER deal to Tex, who is on steep decline, but has 3 more years here.

This board went off its rocker when they signed Tex. No one envisioned this type of sucking so soon.

[THEBOSS84]

Last year, the LAD traded for Crawford despite having just signed Puig and having Ethier and Kemp in the fold for years to come. I wouldn't be too upset if the Yanks made a similar move and just let the roster crunch work itself out.

[JL25and3]

Trying to get responsible on spending, but saddled with bloated contracts.

I'm not sure I'd describe it as "trying to get responsible." If "responsibility" is defined as getting under $189M, OK, but that's all they're trying to do. If you're looking to build a successful team and organization, however, a more responsible approach (IMHO) would be to recognize the existing contracts as sunk costs and try to spend responsibly going ahead. Trying to get under the luxury-tax cap while still carrying those contracts is not a responsible way to put together a team.

[goin for 27]

Most of us loved that signing then, how would the Yankees know his decline would start early? Do we stop with the more than five year contracts? If so, good luck missing out some big time free agents in the future.

Oh, no doubt. I loved the signing, and especially stealing him from the Sox. Point is, you live and learn.

Tex was 8/180, taking him from age 29 to 37. That, coupled with ARod, etc....they don't work.

I did not see this type of decline at 33, no. However, he is a risk, bigger body, etc.

Robbie is a risk - needs speed and quickness as an infielder, big mistake hitter, etc.


I would say rule of thumb is no more than 7 years. Increase AAV where needed. Ideally? Follow the Sox. Victorino is a very solid player....he is currently at a 3.6 WAR.....he got three years. He declines? Okay, not the end of the world. He is very productive this year, you need one more good year out of him to have it be a worthwhile deal.

Again, I was all over Tex, live and learn. I am also growing much less interested in any $100M+ deal. For the amount of money that gets tied to one player, coupled with the risk, you need to do those VERY sparingly.

I am cool on Robbie, due to the fact that we have a long row to hoe to get competitive, then he will be in decline.

Would I rather put his money towards like an Abreu +? I think I would.

[Hitman23]

Why are we middle naming Jose, is he in trouble?

[primetime714]

This board went off its rocker when they signed Tex. No one envisioned this type of sucking so soon.

Yep, it seemed like a good move at the time. And the Yankees got a great year out of him 2009. I was 100% for this signing. He's still far from the albatross some would have you think he is though. Certainly not worth the money coming his way, but oh well.

That said I'd love to see the Yankees go after Abreu on a long term deal. Cuban players are smart signings because you can sign them through their prime years and you can sign them before they prove they can play at this level which creates risk, but offers the reward of getting them at well below market value if they do pan out.

I know many will claim the need to keep the DH spot open, but I think that's an overrated concern. The Red Sox for years have enjoyed success by keeping Ortiz firmly secured in the DH spot.

It all depends on how his bat translates, but the power numbers he's putting up even against a lower level of competition are simply crazy (74HRs over a 2 year span with 549 PA). His overall numbers dwarf those of guys like Cespedes and Puig.

I don't think the Yankees will sign him unless ownership wants to make a big splash, but they should absolutely be considering it regardless of Tex's situation. The Yankees need offense and this guy could potentially provide it for many years to come (is only 26 years old).

[BobbytheMurcer]

Really we don't have the right fit for him right now...that plus the ghost of Kei Igawa lurking in Hal's pocketbook....

[apalradio]

What are you going to do with Arod from 2015-2017?

worry about that in 2015. Too many things can happen between now and then given ARod's health history, and there's no guarantee he'll even be able to suit up by 2015. This team needs to start revamping its roster sooner rather than later. If this guy is indeed as good as scouts seem to think he is, it'd be a shame to see the FO sit on their hands like they have lately.