So the Cubs Aren’t Getting Cuban Shortstop Hechavarria

Last week, there was a head-scratcher of a rumor that had the Chicago Cubs attached to a top Cuban shortstop prospect, who is free to sign with any team. Yesterday, word trickled out that the kid - Adeinis (not Adeiny, apparently) Hechavarria - would more likely be signing soon with the Blue Jays.

The Post has learned Adeinis Hechavarria is going to get more money than the $8 million Jose Iglesias Iglesias got from the Red Sox.

However, it won’t be from the Yankees. And it has nothing to do with the Yankees not wanting to spend the money on the Cuban refugee shortstop.

According to an industry source Hechavarria is close to signing a $10 million deal with the Blue Jays because he didn’t envision himself playing short for the Yankees.

Hechavarria, 21, was leery of Derek Jeter’s impending extension that will keep him at short for the foreseeable future.

Having seen Hechavarria work out often in the Dominican Republic, the Yankees were high on the 6-foot-1, 170-pounder with a body that resembled a young Alfonso Soriano. NYPOST.com.

Alfonso Soriano? Oh, well, in that case, we don’t want him. Kidding, of course.

The Cubs’ interest was always a bit perplexing given the expect cost, and the fact that Hechevarria and Starlin Castro sound like they are both equally good at short and equally ready to play in the bigs.

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Cubs Interested in Another Cuban Prospect - Adeiny Hechavarria

Studly 21-year-old Cuban prospect Adeiny Hechavarria has officially been unblocked by the authorities in Cuba (damn it’s good to live in the United States, huh?), and is free to sign with a team in America. The New York Yankees and the Chicago Cubs have shown the most interest in the shortstop.

Hechevarria, 21, is excellent in the field, but questions remain about whether he can hit in the bigs. Unlike the Cubs recent Cuban signing - Serrano for $250k - Hechevarria is expected to get big bucks on the order of $10 million.

That said, it would be interesting to learn where the Cubs’ strong interest comes from. Sure, a guy like Hechevarria might not be ready to play in the bigs for a couple years, but are the Cubs looking at him to play in the middle infield soon? Say, perhaps in a double-play tandem with Starlin Castro? Ryan Theriot is under the Cubs’ control for two more years after this season, but could be non-tendered after this or next season.

What such a signing would mean for the Cubs’ other stud shortstop prospect, Hak-Ju Lee, remains to be seen. Thought of as the future of the middle infield, together with Castro, Lee is still playing A-level ball, so his future is uncertain. But he’s said to be better defensively than even Castro.

One thing’s for sure - it would be nice to have these kind of questions to deal with.

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Now Alan Trammell is Feeding the Starlin Castro Hype Monster

Like the potted plant in Little Shop of Horrors, the hype monster surrounding Chicago Cubs shortstop prospect Starlin Castro keep growing to nearly unwieldy proportions, screaming “feed me, Seymour” all the way. That is not to say that the hype is undeserved - it may very well be deserved - but soon, it will ask for our blood. I’m just sayin’.

Jumping on the bandwagon is Chicago Cubs bench coach, and former All-Star shortstop Alan Trammell.

“I’d say he’s ahead of the curve,” Trammell said of Castro, who played at Class A Daytona, Double-A Tennessee, the Arizona Fall League and Dominican Winter League last year. “I’m very anxious to see him in the games.”

Trammell, who turned 52 on Feb. 21, has watched Castro during fielding drills and had a few early sessions with him.

“Everything he does is what you’re looking for,” the Cubs bench coach said. “He’s quiet, attentive, he gets after it.”

Trammell was able to see Castro play one game in the AFL, but the shortstop didn’t get many chances. It was what Castro did when he didn’t have to make a play that impressed Trammell.

“I saw his ready-preparation was good,” Trammell said. “A lot of times, guys you watch are sloppy and they get careless.

“What he’s been taught — and I’ve talked to Ryne Sandberg and others — they say he carries himself a little bit above, not like a normal 19-year-old. Those are all good traits. Now we need to see him in a game to evaluate.”

Castro won’t start Thursday in the Cubs’ Cactus League opener against Oakland but is expected to sub for Ryan Theriot at shortstop at some point in the game. Some have projected Castro to be the Cubs’ first All-Star shortstop since Shawon Dunston.

“I know it’s a great story,” Trammell said. “I can remember back in the day, the one thing going against him is — unlike myself and a couple of my teammates who were moved through quickly — we were a rebuilding team, and this is not.” cubs.com.

It’s good to hear that:

1.) Castro’s defense continues to look good. As a shortstop, we’d love for him to hit, but being a supremely good defender is where his bread will be buttered; and

2.) The Cubs still seem very unlikely to bring him up too soon.

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Chicago Cubs Sign Cuban Pitcher Juan Yasser Serrano

The Chicago Cubs lately have preferred to focus on Pacific Rim scouting when it comes to stocking the minor leagues outside of the draft, obviously while keeping their toes dipped in the Dominican Republic and elsewhere in Latin America. But now, the Cubs have finally reached into Cuba to make a minor league free agent signing.

The Cubs have reached an agreement with Cuban right-handed pitching prospect Juan Yasser Serrano. However, the deal is not expected to be finalized for another month.

The team has not confirmed the report.

Serrano, who defected from Cuba in April 2009, still needs to undergo a physical before he can join the Cubs. There also is additional paperwork that must be completed before the deal is finalized, a baseball source said Wednesday. cubs.com.

The price tag is somewhere around $250k, which would place Serrano at the equivalent value of a 3rd-ish round pick in the draft (caveat: international free agent signings tend to have extreme signing bonuses in both directions - super high on the top end, skewed low on the low end). Serrano is 21, and will probably head to High A Daytona after minor league camp breaks.

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Lou Piniella is Feeding the Starlin Castro Hype Monster

Has there been a more hyped Chicago Cubs prospect than Starlin Castro? Oh, I suppose the answer to that is an obvious yes - both Mark Prior and Kerry Wood were all universe prospects.

But nevertheless, every day it seems someone is singing the praises of Castro as the next great thing in Chicago. Yesterday, it was Cubs manager Lou Piniella.

“I might just start Castro at shortstop Thursday and give him some playing time,” Piniella said.

Fans aren’t the only ones who want to see the super-hyped infielder play.

“I’m anxious to see the kid myself, I’ll be honest with you,” Piniella said Monday. “He handles himself very professionally for a young kid out here. The more experience we can get this young man in Spring Training, the better.”

Just 19 years old, Castro has fit right in.

“He’s calm, he’s not awed by being here,” Piniella said. “He’s relaxed, he’s not starry eyed. If you didn’t know he was 19 years old, you couldn’t guess he was 19.” Muskat Ramblings.

What’s nice to see there is that Lou is complementing Castro’s maturity, in addition to his playing ability. Castro will need that maturity to overcome the likely disappointment of being sent back to the minors at the end of the Spring, despite all this heavy praise being lavished all over him. It’s no reflection of Castro’s future ability; but no one really expects him to break camp with the Cubs this year.

Also, there is a paranoid part of me that reads comments like this and thinks, “I wouldn’t believe he was 19 if I met him? I hope that’s not a reflection of him being, you know, not actually 19″…

Again, I’m just being paranoid.

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Piniella Has No Plans to Use Starlin Castro as a Backup

When it comes to prospects, the Chicago Cubs have not always shown an appropriately level of restraint in promoting them to the bigs, only to have them sit on the bench. So, it is with some trepidation that we’ve watched shortstop Starlin Castro rocket through the system.

But good news: manager Lou Piniella says he sees Castro as a starter, not a backup. In fact, if anything happens to Ryan Theriot, Piniella says he’s ready to give the job to Castro full-time.

Piniella would have no problem going to phenom Starlin Castro if anything were to happen to shortstop Ryan Theriot.

“I mentioned that if Theriot were to get hurt, which we don’t want, obviously, you just put the kid at shortstop at let him play,” Piniella said of Castro. “That’s in case of an injury to Theriot. We don’t want to see that. We want Theriot to play.

“If the kid shows he can handle it and we had an injury at the position, why not? I want to see him in the spring. He played very well last summer, and he had a really good winter ball, and he’s a good-looking young guy. If he’s ready and somebody gets hurt, why not utilize hit talent? That’s all I’m saying. He wouldn’t be here as a backup at all.” Daily Herald.

Good-looking young guy, eh, Lou? Grrrrr. That’s my cougar growl.

Despite Lou’s comment, Castro could have an effect on the Cubs bench, but probably not until he’s ready to be a full-time starter. When Castro is ready, Theriot will slide to second, which will probably make one of Mike Fontenot and Jeff Baker obsolete.

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The Chicago Cubs Have 5 of the Top 100 Prospects

The Chicago Cubs’ farm system has really done a 180 in the past two years. Maligned since the days of Prior and Patterson, the Cubs now boast one of the better, deeper systems in baseball.

In fact, Baseball America just released its Top 100 prospect list for all of baseball, and the Cubs are well-represented.

Shortstop prospect Starlin Castro comes in at 16, third baseman Josh Vitters at 70, center fielder Brett Jackson at 74, pitcher Andrew Cashner at 95, and pitcher Jay Jackson at 98. Together with shortstop Hak-Ju Lee, those are considered by every service to be the Cubs’ top prospects. All except Jay Jackson and Lee will be in big league camp this year, so it will be exciting to see the youngsters play.

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Cubs Make Huge International Splash - Sign Korean Youngster

The Chicago Cubs continue to dominant the Far East international free agent market. Going back to the days of Hee Seop Choi, the Cubs have clearly made inroads in South Korea, and aren’t giving up any time soon.

Yesterday, the Cubs signed 18-year-old pitcher Kim Jin-Yeong tor a whopping $1.2 million bonus, making him - by my quick mental count - the highest paid international signee in Cubs history. He reportedly hits 92 on the gun, and is just out of high school.

He’ll join other Korean prospect studs in the Cubs’ system, including shortstop Hak-Ju Lee and pitcher Dae-Eun Rhee, both of whom make me think the new kid’s name is probably Jin-Yeong Kim, as opposed to Kim Jin-Yeong. But we stick with the reported ordering for now.

Another interesting side note to the impact of Korean culture on these signings - that is to say, another, in addition to the ordering of names -  in South Korea, my understanding is that kids are typically considered age “one” at birth. So a kid who we’d say is 17 would be said to be 18 in Korea. Please correct me if I’m wrong, but this could impact these signings in the opposite way that signings out of the Dominican Republic turn out to be surprises - some of the Korean prospects could actually be younger than we think.

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