12:48pm: Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports (via Twitter) that the Cardinals have interest in Victor Victor Mesa and have long been monitoring his performance. Of course, St. Louis is one of the eight teams listed below which can only invest $300K in either brother, so it seems quite likely that another club could push bidding past that level.
11:39am: Outfield prospects Victor Victor Mesa and Victor Mesa Jr. have left Cuba with the intent to pursue contracts with Major League clubs, reports Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com (Twitter link). The elder Mesa brother is 21 years of age, while the younger is still just 16. Victor Victor seemingly confirmed as much this morning by tweeting a picture in which he is wearing a Team USA jacket alongside his younger brother. They’re being represented by Magnus Sports, per Sanchez.
Both brothers will be considered amateur players under the collective bargaining agreement and will therefore be subject to Major League Baseball’s international bonus pools, despite the fact that the older of the two does come with six seasons of pro ball in Cuba under his belt. As such, they’ll be limited to minor league contracts and signing bonuses that are relatively minimal when compared to the top prices paid for prior Cuban stars.
The Mesa brothers are the sons of Victor Mesa, a 19-year veteran of the Cuban National Series who has in the past served as the manager of Cuba’s team in the World Baseball Classic. Scouting info on the pair is somewhat sparse, especially as pertains to the 16-year-old Mesa Jr.
Prior to last year’s WBC, however, Sanchez called the elder Mesa brother one of the top prospects in all of Cuba, reporting that he was one of the main draws for MLB scouts to the international spectacle. Per Sanchez’s brief report, Victor Victor is a plus runner and defender in the outfield with a strong throwing arm. He enjoyed a terrific campaign in the 2016-17 season in the Cuban National Series, hitting .354/.399/.539 and swiping 40 bases in 70 games — lending credence to reports on his impressive speed. In all, he’s a career .275/.334/.378 hitter in his six professional seasons in Cuba. His aggregate numbers are weighed down, to an extent, by the fact that he made his professional debut at the age of 16 and, unsurprisingly, endured some struggles against the island’s top pitchers in his first couple of seasons.
There’s obviously a fair ways to go before either will be able to sign with a big league organization. The Mesa brothers will first need to be declared free agents by Major League Baseball — a process that could take several months but has, at times, also taken as much as a year for some players. Even if they’re cleared in short order, it stands to reason that they’d likely wait to sign until at least July 2, when the 2018-19 international signing period kicks off, thus resetting the bonus pools for teams throughout the league.
Eight teams — the Reds, A’s, Nationals, Braves, White Sox, Astros, Cardinals and Padres — will still be in the metaphorical “penalty box” for previously shattering their league-allotted pools by more than 15 percent and will subsequently be barred for signing any international amateur player for more than $300K. The other 22 clubs will be able to allocate as much of their pool space as they wish to either or both brothers — it’s not clear if the two are set on signing with the same organization — though the new CBA placed a hard cap on signings and no longer allows clubs to exceed their bonus pools in any capacity.
atlbraves2010
Victor Victor?
Ruben_Tomorrow 2
We have clearance, Clarence.
BalcoBomber
I picked the wrong day to stop huffing glue
ray_derek
Roger, Roger. What’s our vector, Victor?
Patick L
This is Darryl and my other brother Darryl.
CompanyAssassin
I am serious, and stop calling me Shirley.
toby312
Roger roger
baseballpun
What are Victors’ vectors?
thesheriffisnear
Damn, beat me to it!
sidewinder11
Am I the only one who’s beyond confused by the name situation? Why would a parent name both of their sons Victor? It’s similar to the Basabe brothers; both names Luis but with different middle names.
No Soup For Yu!
Rougned Odor also has a brother named Rougned. It’s just odd
Nobby
No it stinks.
Lenny Bruce
Stinks and a little rough
Steve Adams
Less confusing than Rougned Odor, whose younger brother is in the Rangers’ system and is also named Rougned Odor.
houston turmoiler
oh yes, how could we forget the younger Rougned and the hazing incident? Good times…
hiflew
It’s all about ego. That’s the only reason you have Juniors in the first place.
shawnlaroche96
Or just laziness
Cat Mando
“Why would a parent name both of their sons Victor? ” Culture and tradition.
I knew a members of a family from Costa Rica and every single woman was named Maria (I think there were 6 sisters but I only met 4). Only the second name was different. In fact every woman on their mothers side hand been named Maria for generations.
It’s only odd or confusing because it not common here.
matanzas1962
Ask George Foreman!!!!
Cardinals17
I was just getting ready to say; George Foreman!!! Ha! Foreman said the reason he and his wife’s reason to name all of their children George was that it was easy to call all of them in for supper. One yelled Name to summon all of their kids——- “George, Supper’s Ready!!”
ShieldF123
Anyone a fan of MMA? Try dealing with the confusion of identical twins Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. Both title contenders by the way. And they are legitimately IDENTICAL. What the hell
pt57
George Foreman has them all beat.
deweybelongsinthehall
How many sons does George Foreman have named George? I once was aware of twins named Mike and Mikey. Neither was named Michael!
Polymath
How about the twins Cate and Duplicate? Or Pete and Repete?
JackOfDiamonds
It’s surprisingly common in Latin America for siblings to have the same first and last name but different middle names. In such cases they are usually called by their middle names to avoid confusion.
fasbal1
Could have been George and George
creacher20
The White Stockings have a good chance to snag the older of the two. With Robert at High A and Moncada and Abreu on the ML roster the fit looks good (even if they are restricted in their spending). Prominent Cuban players, the Club house culture and the fact Renteria is fluent in Spanish makes too much sense
alexgordonbeckham
Guess you missed the part where they can’t spend over $300k on one player until 2019.
getright11
Like nobody else has Latino players or staff? Being Hispanic isnt a competitive advantage
politicsNbaseball
Idk if a Cuban player has ever signed with a team because of them having prominent Cuban players. It definitely makes sense, yet I have never seen it reported.
Priggs89
I know that Jose Abreu was part of the pitch from the Sox to Luis Robert. He made some sort of video talking about how much he loved the White Sox organization and how great they were with Cuban players.
I’m sure the financials played a more significant part, but the assistance from Abreu couldn’t have hurt. Obviously money is going to come first for 99.9% of these players, but if the money is basically the same, I don’t see why they wouldn’t want the chance of playing with someone they are familiar with (whether they’re friends or watched them growing up).
All Baseball No Xabial
Maybe one goes by V.V. And the other J.R. ???
66TheNumberOfTheBest
Is Victor Victor the Cuban equivalent of John-John?
sheff86
THAT IS THE BEST ONE.
BalcoBomber
Chaz Michael Michaels?
Double A
Ray-ray
lowtalker1
Are they planing on setting the table ?
NotaGM
Why do I smell another Rusney Castillo situation brewing.
Steve Adams
As explained in the post, they’re amateur players and are subject to international bonus pools. They’re barred from signing anywhere near the price at which Castillo did. They can’t even sign Major League contracts. Castillo was considered a professional player under the old CBA and signed a seven-year Major League deal.
So … I have no idea why you “smell” a Rusney Castillo situation outside of perhaps not reading carefully enough. They’re in completely different situations.
khopper10
Maybe he just means on-field performance?
NotaGM
In reference to, such hype over players that are not MLB proven. Where is Rusney now…AAA.
I should have been more detailed.
rocky7
Come on Steve…you had to know exactly what RightsaidFred meant by his initial comment.
More over-hyped Cuban ballplayers, that are the cream of the crop, with no US MLB minors experience that feel they can only sign for $millions with the odds against them producing any MLB performance worthy results. Buyer beware
Pretty sure that’s what he meant!
Cat Mando
rocky7 – There is a huge difference though. Neither of these guys can sign for $72.5M, they will get maybe a few million just like HS or college players entering the draft. Both will sign minor league contracts, not MLB contracts.
It’s no different than signing any hyped amateur.
therealryan
Just like all of the over-hyped American ballplayers who have no experience that feel they can only sign for millions with the odds against them ever producing any MLB performance worthy results. This upcoming year MLB has allocated over a $million for 64 players and MLB teams will be lucky if 15-20 ever produce even utility level production.
deweybelongsinthehall
No where near it with the cap in place. Rusney’s contract is actually preventing him from being on a roster. It’s grandfathered in and doesn’t count for luxury tax reasons for Boston but will if he’s added to the 40 man roster or gets traded. Odd side issue of the new CBA. He’s well paid but buried in the minors.
mlb1225
So you’re saying Victor Victor, and Victor are coming to The US?
deweybelongsinthehall
Only two tickets needed for three Victor’s. What a deal. To the Victor’s go the spoils…
Free Clay Zavada
How many Victors can a Victor Victor if a Victor Victors Victor?
RunDMC
The signing team of Victor Victor and Victor will be Victor Victor’s victor.
realgone2
Beau’s better butter for better biscuit batter
Adam6710
I really hope Victor Victor goes to a team in New York just for the Daily News headlines.
oriolesravenstimberwolves04
Orioles!!!!
Oh wait…
tealmarlin
Marlins
bravesandcrewfan
Victor Jr. was victorious in his MLB debut with his brother Victor Victor, who was also victorious. Victor drew a perfect vector in the outfield to make a victorious catch. Victor Jr. And Vlad Jr. And Ronald Jr. And the other Acuna combined for 9 home runs on the homestand in which the new expansion team Portland Victors were victorious over the new York Yankees of New York.
Bald Vinny
I’m going to name my kids, Bald Vinny Jr and Bald Bald Vinny
its_happening
Mine will be Slim and Limb.
camdenyards46
They wanted to name both kids after their dad, so they made one Victor Jr and one have Victor twice
snotrocket
I guess it makes more sense that calling the younger one Victor III?
Phillies2017
A name so nice you gotta say it twice.
24TheKid
Is Yoelkis Cespedes any kind of prospect? I heard a lot about him in last years WBC.
MZ311
Victor Mesa, father of Victor Victor Mesa and Victor Mesa Jr.
Android Dawesome
Maybe they will sign with the Ray Rays.
allmighty
No way trump likes this