Jose Abreu defects

[notoriousgod71]

Let's see Ryan pony up the cash for him!

[Oxtung]

Let's see Ryan pony up the cash for him!

 

The Twins already signed him!

[raindog]

He's likely to receive the biggest contract ever given to a Cuban player, so don't count on it. Sure would like to be proven wrong. His numbers in Cuba are insane.

[cmb0252]

Wasn't a fan of the Twins trying to sign Guerrero. Wasn't a fan of the Twins trying to sign Gonzalez. I would definitely be a fan of the Twins trying to sign this guy. Even though he will be stuck at 1B reports about his bat are insane. Ben Badler suggested he would be a major league above average player with a ceiling higher than that. That, I can get excited about.

[Mike Sixel]

We can always dream.

[Thegrin]

Report: Top Cuban slugger Jose Dariel Abreu defects | HardballTalk

 

Here;s the source of the story.

[Larsbars08]

With Morneau coming off the books, and Willingham going into the final year of his contract, you'd have to think that the Twins will at least look at him. With all due respect to Colabello and Chris Parmelee, we don't exactly have a 1B prospect knocking on the door. Maybe Kenny Vargas? It will be several months before Abreu will be ready to sign, he's got to establish residency in another country first. If you could sign him to a 6-7 year deal at 70-80 mil. you'd have to think about it. His numbers in Cuba are insane, and considering how well Cespedes and Puig have done, it seems like a no-brainer. I doubt we'll be the highest bidder, I assume that Texas and the Red Sox will throw a ton of money at him, but who knows. Stranger things have happened.

[Badsmerf]

Twins are in a perfect situation to land one of these Cubans. They have the money to spend and the talent coming up lines up pretty well with them. Worth a shot. I'd rather spend money on a guy like this than Morneau (as much as I like him).

[drjim]

OK, now there is a legit free agent 1B.

[TheLeviathan]

To me, this is terrible news: One more possibility to help this club soon to go by the wayside. Can't get everyone, but man it'd be nice to at least be a player in these opportunities.

[Major League Ready]

Holy crap would we have some right hand hitters with Sano, Buxton and this guy. Pinto and Harrison could be studs too and let's hope we are seeing the Brian Dozier of the future right now. I think the line-up below could score some runs.

 

Buxton

Mauer

Sano

Arcia

Abreu

Hicks

Pinto / Walker

Dozier or trade Dozier & Harrison for pitching and insert Rosario

Florimon

 

Pluffe / Hermann / Escobar / Walker or Mastro on the bench

[DaveW]

I think the Twins geography hurts them a bit when it comes to a guy like Abreu. Minnesota isn't exactly known for it's warm weather and diversity....so any guy coming straight from Cuba to Minnesota would be due for quite the culture shock, which is why a place like Texas (not a lot of Cubans, but plenty of Spanish speakers and it's warm) or LA/NY makes more sense (and has in the past)

 

I wouldn't want to give up much more then 60-70 mil to sign him personally. The problem is he is a one tool player, no? That is a lot of high risk/high reward.

[Winston Smith]

It seems people think the Pohlads are made of money. It won't be long they'll expect them to spend 50-52% of revenue on payroll and put a competitive team on the field.

 

If they wanted to go after a Cuban player they have the best possible salesman in Tony O.

[Mike Sixel]

They have plenty of money and flexibility in payroll. Again, nice to dream. Loved Winston's post.....

[diehardtwinsfan]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but he now has to establish citizenship somewhere and won't be a free agent for another year, yes?

[Oldgoat_MN]

Unfortunately I believe that SpiritofVodkaDave is probably right.

 

I like what Winston Smith said, too, but Tony O came up in a time when the Twins franchise (Senators before them) was owned by Calvin, who was unusually aggressive about signing Latino players and treating them well.

 

Not something Calvin gets a lot of credit for.

[DaveW]

Unfortunately I believe that SpiritofVodkaDave is probably right.

 

I like what Winston Smith said, too, but Tony O came up in a time when the Twins franchise (Senators before them) was owned by Calvin, who was unusually aggressive about signing Latino players and treating them well.

 

Not something Calvin gets a lot of credit for.

yeah, also not to mention that whole losing 3 years in a row thing that the Twins have going for them

[James]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but he now has to establish citizenship somewhere and won't be a free agent for another year, yes?

It could take several months. He does have to establish residency in another country first. Baseball America has a pretty good article on him. It even has a Youtube clip for those that want to see his swing.

 

Cuban Star Jose Abreu Leaves Cuba - BaseballAmerica.com

[TheLeviathan]

Oakland A's may not be cold, but they weren't exactly lighting the world on fire either when they signed Cespedes. In the end, overspending the expected amount is your most sure bet to land one of these guys.

 

Therein lies the problem though.

[Guest USAFChief]

Yeah...I'm not sure I accept "geography" as any kind of legit reason why the Twins cant sign int'l FAs.

[DaveW]

Yeah...I'm not sure I accept "geography" as any kind of legit reason why the Twins cant sign int'l FAs.

 

It's a bit different with a cuban defector (who is already in his prime) vs a 16-18 year old.

[TheLeviathan]

It's a bit different with a cuban defector (who is already in his prime) vs a 16-18 year old.

 

You just made the argument against you. Why would a guy with only one contract to sign (more than likely) waste his time with climate? Money will be the overwhelming deciding factor.

[Pius Jefferson]

You just made the argument against you. Why would a guy with only one contract to sign (more than likely) waste his time with climate? Money will be the overwhelming deciding factor.

 

Because he's going to have other offers from warmer climate teams who more importantly are contending teams and not in rebuilding mode like the Twins.

[TheLeviathan]

Because he's going to have other offers from warmer climate teams who more importantly are contending teams and not in rebuilding mode like the Twins.

 

Unless they are offering him more money...all of that is irrelevant.

[IdahoPilgrim]

Unless they are offering him more money...all of that is irrelevant.

 

Unless you have some inside information from somebody in the Abreu camp, there is absolutely no way to know that money is going to be the deciding factor. No matter who he signs for, he will be set for life, and I'm sure he knows that. Professional athletes decide all the time to go to a team other than the highest bidder for non-financial reasons (climate, contention status, personal preference, etc).

[old nurse]

Unfortunately I believe that SpiritofVodkaDave is probably right.

 

I like what Winston Smith said, too, but Tony O came up in a time when the Twins franchise (Senators before them) was owned by Calvin, who was unusually aggressive about signing Latino players and treating them well.

 

Not something Calvin gets a lot of credit for.

 

Calvin was tighter with money than the Pohlads ever could be,

[TheLeviathan]

Unless you have some inside information from somebody in the Abreu camp, there is absolutely no way to know that money is going to be the deciding factor. No matter who he signs for, he will be set for life, and I'm sure he knows that. Professional athletes decide all the time to go to a team other than the highest bidder for non-financial reasons (climate, contention status, personal preference, etc).

 

I will make this very simple for you and anyone else to prove: can you please cite past defectors or IFA that have turned down more lucrative deals because of climate or win/loss records? Since so many of you toss this counter-intuitive notion around at nearly every turn....surely this is a host of examples...no?

 

I would just adore hearing them. I mean, how on Earth did Sano sign here? We dupe him about Minnesota? Construct a fake set on Hawaii with a bunch of dudes saying "you betcha!"? Last I checked....we offered the most money.

[righty8383]

I learned a long time ago not to get my hopes up when an opportunity like this comes along. Even though the Twins have never had a better opportunity to splurge on a player like this, I would be shocked if it happened.

[darin617]

The Twins already signed him!

I am not sure I believe he has signed. If Thrylos broke the story then I would feel a little better about this statement.

[h=1][/h]

[Thrylos]

Unfortunately I believe that SpiritofVodkaDave is probably right.

 

I like what Winston Smith said, too, but Tony O came up in a time when the Twins franchise (Senators before them) was owned by Calvin, who was unusually aggressive about signing Latino players and treating them well.

 

Not something Calvin gets a lot of credit for.

 

True, but it is before Calvin. His dad/uncle Clark came into the Senators as a part time owner, full time manager in 1912. By 1915 the influx of Cubans to the club started (The Twins/Senators are the first franchise to get into Latin America, btw; another part of the club's history that is disregarded by the current owners.)

 

After Castro all bets were off in Cuba...