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Jose Iglesias

Royals “Love” Jose Iglesias

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People in the Royals organization “love” Red Sox shortstop prospect Jose Iglesias, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. The 20-year-old Cuban is hitting .306/.340/.408 in AA, so chances are most teams like the looks of him. Not only can Iglesias hit, “scouts can’t say enough about [his] defensive ability,” according to Baseball America.

All of Boston's 29 rivals would probably have some interest in Iglesias, who signed an $8.25MM  deal with the Red Sox last summer. The Royals’ interest in the shortstop doesn’t mean the Red Sox would consider moving him, but it’s noteworthy as the trade deadline approaches.

Because of their depleted outfield, the Red Sox would like to acquire a left-handed hitting outfielder. David DeJesus, who is playing well and under contract for just $4.7MM this year, fits that description. Cafardo hears that the Royals want a lot in return for DeJesus in potential trades, though there’s no sign that the Red Sox would so much as consider moving their shortstop prospect. The Royals will have a top shortstop prospect of their own, once they officially agree to terms with Christian Colon.

Cafardo On Suzuki, Cabrera, Griffey, Zambrano

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In Nick Cafardo's latest piece for the Boston Globe, he takes an extended look at the Red Sox' early-season catching issues. He reiterates that if David Ortiz's struggles continue, the logical solution is to move Victor Martinez to DH and acquire a catcher. Cafardo names Kurt Suzuki as a player who would intrigue the Sox, since he can hit as well as play defense. Here are a few of Cafardo's other notes:

  • Other catchers to keep an eye on for the Sox include Chris Iannetta, Miguel Olivo, Chris Snyder, and even Twins prospect Wilson Ramos, though he'd be costly.
  • Cafardo praises the work Miguel Cabrera has put in to improve his image after last year's off-field problems. According to Cafardo, the Tigers "entertained trade proposals for him, but they wanted the farm in return."
  • Ken Griffey Jr. is off to a slow start this year, but the Mariners will give him time to work through it. Seattle may eventually have to limit his playing time if his bat doesn't get hot, but would never release him.
  • Cafardo is skeptical that the Cubs will be able to trade for a setup man and move Carlos Zambrano back into the rotation in the near future, suggesting the relief market is fairly thin.
  • One AL international scout's assessment of Cuban shortstops Jose Iglesias and Adeiny Hechavarria: "Iglesias is certainly the more polished player at this stage, but Hechavarria has more upside…. I’d say Iglesias could play defensively in the big leagues right now, where Hechavarria would need a year or two to refine his game a bit." While the Sox would like to give Iglesias more minor league experience, they could bring him up if something were to happen to Marco Scutaro or Dustin Pedroia.

The New Market For Cuban Players

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When you think about Cuban players that signed with a Major League team this past offseason, the first name that will come to mind is Aroldis Chapman and his six-year, $30.25MM contract. However, as ESPN's Jorge Arangure writes, the contracts signed by Jose Iglesias, Adeiny Hechevarria, and Noel Arguelles may dictate the future of the Cuban market.

Arangure notes that at this time last year, Iglesias and Arguelles were expected to command only $1-2MM on the open market. They, of course, signed for $8.25MM and $6.9MM, respectively. If those players meet expectations, not only will teams start to specifically target Cuban prospects, but players in Cuba will surely take notice and attempt to defect at a younger age.

Even though players like Hechevarria and Iglesias are college-aged, they're perceived to be more advanced than their American counterparts because they've faced tougher competition growing up. However, for every Kendry Morales making an impact in the big leagues, there's a Juan Miranda stuck in Triple-A. The risk associated with young players is the same no matter where they come from, but the Cuban market is getting more and more expensive. 

Odds & Ends: Damon, A’s, Beckett, Reynolds, Dye

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Sunday links….

Gammons On Bay, Beltre, Red Sox

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Peter Gammons' departure from ESPN has become a story in itself during this busy off-season, and Gammons' media rounds continued today as a guest on the WEEI Sports Radio Network's Big Show.  A full transcript is available here, but here are some of the hot stove items that Gammons had to share….

  • Gammons said that Jason Bay "does not want to play in San Francisco, pure and simple," in spite of the fact that the Giants would be willing to offer Bay the five-year contract that he is apparently seeking.
  • The Angels won't be players in the Bay sweepstakes, as Gammons predicted they will instead spend their money to re-sign John Lackey.
  • Gammons thinks the Mariners might still make an offer to retain Adrian Beltre, though such a move might create some issues with the newly-signed Chone Figgins, who came to Seattle under the impression that he would be the new third baseman.  Gammons reported that Beltre "hates" Safeco Field.
  • Given Roy Halladay's injury history, Gammons said "it would be a disaster" for Boston to trade Casey Kelly and Clay Buchholz for Halladay and sign the Toronto ace to a long-term contract.
  • If the Red Sox don't end up with either Bay or Matt Holliday, Gammons opined that Boston could pursue a defense-first strategy for a season by signing Mike Cameron and Xavier Nady.  Or, Boston could just save their money now and stand pat until mid-season before making any trades.
  • Even if the Red Sox add another big-money starter, the team would like to keep Josh Beckett because of the leadership he provides to the younger pitchers.
  • Speaking of clubhouse leadership, Gammons said that Marco Scutaro's ability to mentor Jose Iglesias was a factor in Boston signing the former Blue Jays shortstop.  Another reason was that Scutaro had a clean bill of health, unlike Mark DeRosa, who Gammons said the Red Sox were "a little bit cautious" on signing due to his wrist problems last season.

Passan On Arguelles, Bedard, Jackson

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Jeff Passan covers a few items in this piece for Yahoo Sports, headlined by 19-year-old Cuban pitcher Noel Arguelles.  The young left-hander impressed a number of agents and representatives from various teams at a workout last month in the Dominican Republic, and the four teams most interested in signing Arguelles are the Athletics, Mariners, Rays, and (who but?) the Yankees.  Passan predicted that Argulles' deal will be worth somewhere around $8.2MM to $10MM, which match the contracts given to Jose Iglesias and Dayan Viciedo last year by the Red Sox and White Sox, respectively.

In other news from Passan's column…

  • Passan says the Yankees are much more interested in Aroldis Chapman than they are in Arguelles, and that Chapman's recent agent switch to Randy and Alan Hendricks may help New York.  Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens are/were both represented by the Hendricks brothers.
  • The Royals are "going hard" to sign Erik Bedard to a short-term contract.  Passan thinks Bedard will sign with someone for an "incentive-loaded one-year deal" in an effort to prove that he's healthy and worthy of a more lucrative longer-term deal for 2011.
  • Detroit seem to be becoming more determined in their quest to trade pitcher Edwin Jackson.  An unnamed executive is quoted as saying, "It’s like they want to give him away, and I don’t really understand why."

Gammons & Edes On Boston’s Offseason

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In a piece for ESPN Boston, Peter Gammons and Gordon Edes answered five key questions about the Red Sox and the upcoming offseason. There's not many hard rumors in the piece, but there's plenty of discussion topics, so let us know what you think…

  • Both Gammons and Edes believe the Sox will retain Jason Bay (Gammons guesses the contract will be in the four year, $64MM range), and neither is sure who will compete with them for his services.
  • The Red Sox "can easily" keep shortstop Alex Gonzalez at a reduced rate even though they declined his option earlier this month. Gammons feels the team needs depth and mentions Marco Scutaro, while Edes doesn't think it would be wise to make a long-term commitment that would block prospect Jose Iglesias.
  • When it comes to blockbuster trades, Gammons thinks the only way the team pulls one off is if they a) get frustrated during contract extension negotiations with Josh Beckett, or b) can get Adrian Gonzalez or Felix Hernandez.
  • Edes says it wouldn't be a Red Sox offseason if they didn't explore a big trade, but he thinks it's a longshot that they'll acquire Gonzalez. He says another run at Roy Halladay is more likely.
  • Gammons notes the Sox would like to add a righthanded batter than could play center and right, and they've long been intrigued by Cody Ross. He mentions that the Marlins tried to get Manny Delcarmen in July.
  • Both writers believe they will make a run at Rich Harden, and Gammons thinks they'll go after Ben Sheets as well.
  • And finally, Gammons says the team believes they will not be the high bidder for Aroldis Chapman, but they made a strong case for Boston as the place he'd want to be.

Odds & Ends: D’Backs, Iglesias, Moeller

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Links for Friday…

Odds & Ends: Eyre, Rockies, Red Sox

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Links for Monday…

Odds & Ends: Chapman, Iglesias, Dodgers

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They're not quite as good as Saturday morning cartoons, but here's some Saturday morning links…

  • David Lennon of Newsday writes that the Mets are among a handful of teams that are exploring a deal for Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman. We learned that Chapman was officially declared a free agent by MLB yesterday.
  • ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. sat down for a chat with Jose Iglesias, who the Red Sox signed for over $8MM this summer. When asked why he chose the Sox, Iglesias said they "were a team that needed a shortstop," and "they are my father's favorite team."
  • With Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, Chad Billingsley, Jonathan Broxton, Russell Martin, George Sherrill, and Hong-Chih Kuo all eligible for salary arbitration this offseason, Dylan Hernandez of The LA Times says that the Dodgers could be looking at raises totaling about $20MM.
  • Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune says that Royals "upper management still considers (Milton) Bradley a talented hitter who could thrive in a low-key environment such as the one in Kansas City." He also wonders if a Bradley for Aaron Rowand deal could work.
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