Count the Cubs and White Sox among the teams who are interested in signing Cuban outfielder Yasel Puig, reports Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune. Both franchises have extensive experience with players hailing from Cuba.
The 21-year-old was officially declared a free agent on Tuesday and now has until July 2 to sign with a team to avoid new financial limitations put in place for international players. For the Cubs, signing international free agents out of Cuba is nothing new as the team recently agreed to terms with outfielder Jorge Soler on a nine-year, $30MM deal. On the South Side, the White Sox have a long-term relationship with Puig's agent, Jaime Torres, who has negotiated deals with the team in the past for players such as Jose Contreras and Alexei Ramirez.
Windy City Showdown: Battle of Yasel Puig is airing in select theaters near you!
New chicago rivalry? Puig vs. Soler
Theo is a scrub. Kenny Williams will get him.
Isn’t Williams the same GM that traded Gio Gonzales twice?
that 1 year of Nick Swisher was worth it!
still managed one more playoff win with Swisher than the Cubs managed over their entire era under LOUUUU
Those Sox sure know how to put fans in the stands!
Those sox sure know how to be in first place too
In June.
As opposed to being irrelevant…in May
Hey remember how the phillies also traded him and the a’s too
Kenny Williams has proven himself to be a great GM, just look at the plethora of talent in the Sox minor league system and their prospects for the future!
It’s a good thing they have such a good farm system to fill in for their roster full of aging vets!
You can thank Jerry Reinsdorf and his refusal to spend on the draft for that. The success of the White Sox under Williams should attest to his ability.
You mean the guys that are contributing to the roster. Where is the Cubs version of Chris Sale, De Aza, Vicideo, Alexei, Addison Reed, or Hector Santiago? Or even a slick fielding Gordon Beckham?
De Aza has nothing to do with the Sox farm system.
‘Slick fielding’ Gordon Beckham with his outstanding -6.4 UZR/150.
Santiago has a 4.44 ERA, his xFIP is 4.62.
The White Sox don’t have the tools to win it the next few years, and they have enormous holes to fill when Dunn and Konerko fall off.
Seriously stop using sabermetrics if you dont actually watch the games. You can tell me how bad an infielder Beckham is but when I see him play I see a very good second baseman. That is where sabermetrics cant be used in and of itself. I dont care how many times you say that 1+1=3 because of some new fangled way to do math. When I do the problem I still get the good old fashioned number 2.
I’ll take science over your eyeball test any day.
“He may not be a very good fielder, but gosh darn it I think he looks slick out there, sign him up!”
Look, I am not a big fan of defensive metrics either, but the ENTIRE REASON they exist is to quantify something that is otherwise prone completely to the random, ill-defined and subjective assertions of random evaluators who may or may not have any particular baseball knowledge to base it on.
The fact that you think your answer is factual (“1+1=2!”) and the defensive statistics are made up says nothing at all about the defensive statistics. You may be right and you may be wrong, but one is objective and one is subjective. I’ll take the objective evaluation every day of the week. And I don’t mean this disrespectfully, but I’m not going to trust somebody who calls himself “windycitywarrior” to be objective when he evaluates his team’s players. Bias is a bigger deal than you think it is.
“De Aza has nothing to do with the sox system” then Rizzo has nothing to do with the cubs system, De Aza yes was not drafted by the sox but he has spent 2 years in their system. I would say he is more a product of their system than anyone doses at this point
How is who started out whose farm system relevant to building a contending team? If you want to achieve a lifetime of glory by scouting talent and then either squandering said talent or trading it away, have at it. We’ll give you your medal. But what if you’re a team that drafts and then parlays these chips into assets like Danks, Quentin, etc? Or develops flailing prospects into major league talent like Floyd, Humber, Santos, Santiago? The nothing to do with a farm system argument should really apply to signing free agents, after they’ve achieved success elsewhere. But if you’re the club that ultimately discovers and develops major league talent, why isn’t that important? Just trying to understand what logic you’re applying to an evaluation of a team’s development process
Straw man. Stick to the point and don’t use logical fallacies.
The only guy that’s worth anything out of that group is Sale. I’d say Reed as well, but with the changes to the CBA, relievers have virtually no value.
Is the object to “build value”, or construct a championship ballclub? What about the remainder of that staff? Peavy was acquired by trading touted, but ultimately not very useful prospects such as Richard and Poreda. Is it better to hoard these prospects, just because? Humber and Floyd- successful reclamation projects of #1 draft picks. Quintana picked up from the observant Yankee franchise, that got distracted digging in the recycling bin for the likes of Boone Logan, Dewayne Wise, Freddy Garcia, and Chris Stewart.
I don’t think you fully understand my point on Reed. His success as a prospect is minimized by the fact that established, successful relievers can be acquired easily and cheaply by virtue of the fact that they are not affected by compensation in free agency.
Humber has hardly been successful and Gavin Floyd has shown to be a #5 pitcher at the MLB level. Quintana has been very good to date; however, he has only pitched 43 1/3 innings at the MLB level.
Boone Logan has been very good as a middle reliever for the Yankees.
The cubs farm system has what exactly? Rizzo? He is a product of the redsox system. Casey Coleman? Ohh yeah real good. Jackson is profiled as nothing more than an above average center fielder. Solar is way too unknown. So yeah the cubs have a horrible farm system too. And most baseball analysts agree
rizzo is a product of the boston FO which is basically the cubs front office now. jackson- an above avg CF is awesome. that means he’d start for at least 16 teams. Soler* is potential like any prospect (just like junior lake). no one claims coleman is a good prospect. most baseball analysts say the cubs have a farm ranked ~14 (took a hit from rizzo call up). it should improve even more though with the likely trades.
Sit there and comfort yourself with your highly ranked system that year after year should be good one day, like the Royals. Meanwhile, the White Sox keep fielding a cpmpetitive team, and then when the cupboard appears dry, manages to reload on the fly. 10 winning seasons in the last 13 years, only one bad season (2007) bookended by 89 and 90 win seasons. It’s not necessary in this day and age to completely demolish and rebuild a team from the ground-up, unless you have the need to satisfy a colossal ego like Theo. Wish the Cubs well, but the jury is out on Theo’s ability to appraise and nurture talent. Overspending on slot recommendations, applying a shell game, and riding a pair of Dominican juicers, and then leaving town just as the whole thing collapses does not a boy genius make.
Theo get’s way too much credit for that first championship…
Aging vets?? You mean konerko, Dunn, aj, and peavy? It’s pretty easy to find 5 players.
Find some that can match their production.
A scrub with one more WS ring than K-Dub
I really like what the Cubs are doing. I think it’s a relatively low risk proposition for signing young, free agent talent at a fraction of a MLB veteran’s salary. I don’t think all of their prospects will pan out. But I think if they hit a couple out of the park it will be well worth the investment and they will have player control for several years.
Man even as a Reds fan I’m loving the Cubs new approach to signing these young potential studs! The NL central could be a very competitive division here in about 3 years with the Bucs, Reds, Cubs, and Cards. I don’t see the Brew Crew competing for awhile unless they unload Greinke, K-Rod, and Marcum for prospects. Their farm took a big hit after those big trades, I think they could benefit well from unloading those 3 pitchers.
Where’s the guy that predicted Cubs would go hard after Puig? He even said something along the lines of nobody caring about his prediction. Well. I care. There you have it. Cubs in on Puig haha.
cubs can have him they still suck. it doesnt matter who has the better farm system or GM the white sox are far superior of a team
the thing is. this year is the best team the white sox will have for the next 5 years, and they still won’t make the playoffs. the cubs have young talent on the major league level, growing talent in the minors, money to spend in free agency. all things that they white sox don’t have. all the white sox have are empty seats, chris sale, and a number 1 fan (obama), who can’t even name a player on the team.
um whatever Scott. You can throw things up on the wall and it won’t necessarily stick. The first fan is more than familiar with the Sox lineup and pitching staff, showing a geek-sports interest in the Sox, Bears, and Bulls like Bubba Clinton. Where is all this young talent? The Sox have been going young for several years and you just haven’t seen it. Look at their pitching staff and bullpen. Look at the young non-talent they parlayed into vets. Two can play that game…all the Cubs have are pink hatted fans who are out of the park by the 7th inning, Starlin Castro, and a fan base that largely can’t even name a player on the team.
You are clearly a typical dirtball White Sox fan by your profile picture. Really something to be proud of! Hood Life!
Ah-another Cub fan i.e racist /trustafarian from the burbs.
Because I am white? That’s racist. I live IN the city, in a nice neighborhood, because I have WORKED for every penny I have. Displaying a photo of 2 dirtbags who jumped a 52 year old man is hood trash.
I’d bet the White Sox make the playoffs. This isn’t basketball, three great players aren’t going to win a division and Cleveland is going to fall apart eventually. The AL Central is a very winnable division, and it’s been that way for a while.
Sale is young and a legit ace and should get votes for the cy young. Alexi isnt old at all 28 I believe. Beckham is getting better and better and only 25 I think. De aza is 26 I believe and a legit center fielder and should get all star votes but won’t because he plays for the sox and only Yankees make it. Rios is 27 im pretty sure and is back to all star form Vicedio is playing extremely well and not even 21 yet if I’m correct. Flowers is 25 I believe and showing the power and arm strength that made him a top catching prospect once. Quintana(time to realize he is a legit pitcher) and axelrod are under 26 Floyd i believe is 27 danks is right around there. Reed, jones, Santiago are all under 30 and under 25. So outside of aj, konerko, Dunn and peavy how are the sox old and bad?
Do some research on the players or watch some baseball games. Also, look up the ACTUAL ages of the players, because they are pretty much all older than “you believe”! Google is an amazing tool. While you are using it, try to find yourself a Danks jersey, you will get to enjoy his contract for the next few years.
I’m almost positive I’m close on all the ages and I’m soo sorry if I was slightly off the point I was making is that most of the players on the 25 man roster are fairly young and have a good amount of years of control. And the danks contract was seen as a fair market value not an extreme over pay and not an extreme discount. And that contract pales in comparison to sorianos, zambranos(seriously still paying him) and marmols. What research besides the ages did I need to do. I’m a whitesox fan who watches every game if I’m not working. And I actually like the cubs too I just can’t stand typical cubs fans who argue
For no reason.
Also i did all this from my
Phone and didn’t feel like running multiple apps. So sorry
I’d rather buy a Danks jersey than a Garza jersey
or samardzija or maholm or any pitcher you have given a big contract to
Big deal, the Sox are a better team this season than the Cubs, not saying much, the Cubs are in re-build mode and still took 2 of 3 from the Sox at their home. What team with playoff aspirations lets the worst team in baseball come into their house and take 2 of 3? The Cubs may be bad but the Sox won’t be winning the World Series either.
As a Cub fan, you’re not permitted to mention Cubs and World Series in the same sentence. And yes, the Sox slipped at home, but also swept the Cubbies in the Cubs park.
LoL, you really think the Sox have any chance don’t you? This year will be just like last, Sox fans will be all high and mighty until mid August. Then slowly you are going to slide, and before you know it you will be 10 games behind Detroit!
You can prove that? Detroit who’s pitching staff out side of verlander is horrible and their defense is just as bad.
Take comfort in rooting for a collapse mid-August. Beats sitting at home and watching the Theo drywall project over the next five years, with no guarantee of success. Isn’t the object of all this to field a competitive ballclub? I’ll take enjoying a team that is competitive year in and year out, and remains relevant.
Yeah, our team has sucked for a century, but look at how good our farm system is!
Is there a trophy for fantasy championships due to having good farm systems? Cubs win hands down for the murderers row of Felix Pie-ay, Corey Patterson, Andrew Cashner, Brett Jackson, Josh Vitters, Tyler Colvin, Ben Christiansen, and Luis Montanez. Wonder whatever happened to Jon Garland? I bet if he tried hard, he could win a World series ring some day.
I will give you Felix Pie and Corey Patterson. However Cashner brought Rizzo, Vitters is hitting right now. Jackson needs work but costs nothing, Colvin is best known for having a piece of a bat stuck in his chest, and I’m pretty sure his name is Lou Montanez. I’m pretty sure if you tried harder you couldn’t come up with the diffrence from last Nov till now!
yeah and the sox swept the cubs at wrigley. because the cubs have won 2 of 6 games means the white sox aren’t that good? C’mon man
Chicago Cubs: Disregard Everything, Acquire Foreigners.
Hope Rizzo works out for guys, and doesn’t revert to his form last yr with the Pods. How’s that for pressure? If he bombs, time for Plan C.
yeah I forgot that if a top prospect struggles in a short call to the majors, they outta just be released and forgotten about. yup.
Or traded for a pitcher that was injured for 98% of last season!
Where is this extensive experience of Cuban ball players on the Cubs? Other than Jose Cardenal, that is….
Ok seriously, why don’t the Cubs just change their nickname to the Chicago Cubans? Maybe a new image will help them win something for a change.
Seriously why can’t sox and cubs fans get along? Two teams in different leagues that have 100% nothing to do with each other. Ozzie and hendry are gone both teams are looking up. The cubs are rebuilding and Theo is changing the culture of the cubs( just needs to get them to stop playing that stupid song after each win) and the sox are in first place and are getting better.
I hate AJ so much… And I know the batboy for the Sox and he says that he is a total jerk. Other than that I have nothing against the Sox. Just their fans. So many Sox fans are more interested in the Cubs losing than the Sox winning. It makes no sense. Now I’m sure it goes both ways, but seriously I know one intelligent and respectful Sox fan that knows what he is talking about. Just 1.
This signing could be good for the Cubs, but I hope Epstein/Hoyer do their homework on these Cubans. I haven’t heard much about them (Soler included).
On the other hand, I have no idea what Kenny is doing. Is he rebuilding? Is he pushing for playoffs? Why is he spending money in 2 different places. It doesn’t make sense to say well I’m going to try to make the playoffs, but I’m not all in… I think it really tells how low the Sox are on money. He doesn’t have prospects to deal or money to trade for pieces. I really think the best thing the Sox can do is ask around for how much Konerko can bring in. He will never be more valuable, and he could bring in some serious young players.
I read every comment up until now and I can not help but laugh. I am from the North Side and now live in Texas. Yes I bleed Cubbie Blue…however I do watch baseball..the Cubs will be terrible this year and next. There will be a vast improvement going into the 2014 season.
Back to the Sox fans saying they will contend or even win the American League Central… I can not stop laughing. If be the grace of God you make the playoffs do not even think you will get past this team that plays 4 1/2 hours from me in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are not only the team to beat in the American League, they are the team to beat PERIOD.
Another bitter Cubs fan -they are , in fact, contending in the AL Central, if you care to look at the standing.
How sad for you- separated from the trustafarians from Wilmette, Highland Park and Lake Forest, you still fail to grasp the grim reality for your team.
It is sad that you can’t confront him on any of his points. Instead you make vast generalizations of an entire fanbase. Not all Cubs fans are trust fund people. I know plenty of blue collar working Cubs fans.
I understand Mayfield’s issues with the Sox winning the AL Central. The pitching staff is being held up by smoke and mirrors right now. Sale is VERY GOOD, but he is not going to keep this up all year. There is no guarantee that Peavy will remain healthy all year. It is more likely that he will be injured at some point. Quintana (sp) is not as good as he has pitched lately and will regress. Floyd….well he sucks. Who knows when Danks is coming back?
3b and 2b are giant holes in the batting order. And Ramirez forgot his power at home this year.
And with all of that the Sox are still leading the Central. While Detroit has been bad lately, the Sox have matched that instead of building on their lead. Detroit has the money and the players to make deals to make big improvements to their team. Sox fans should be worried.
By the end of the year both Chicago teams will be irrelevant. The Cubs are one of the worse 3 teams in the league and by August the White Sox will be 10 games back to Detroit.
Ha this was supposed to be about puig. Then it turned into a typical cubs v sox and neither team got the player.