In what is becoming a January tradition, it looks like we have another Cuban prospect or two to obsess about …
Remember how I mentioned that those two Cuban defectors – now 23-year-old shortstop Aledmis (sometimes “Aledmys”) Diaz, and 24-year-old outfielder Dariel Alvarez – were holding a workout in Mexico this weekend, and I expected we’d hear some things about them soon? Remember how I said we hadn’t yet heard whether the Cubs were definitively in on either or both, but that it seemed likely they would be?
Well, here’s some clarity on both issues.
First, the workout. It was postponed, according to Jesse Sanchez, who says it will be at the end of this month. No reason given for the postponement, but I reckon it has to do with drumming up the maximum possible financial interest (as the offseason shakes out, more teams might know that they’ve got additional financial flexibility). Sanchez added that at least 10 teams have “strong interest” in Diaz.
Second, the Cubs’ interest. Gordon Wittenmyer cites a source who tells him that the Cubs are indeed one of many teams interested in Diaz, thought to be the better of the two prospects.
I had planned a write-up on the prospects tomorrow, so I’ll save the meat for then (including a discusion on why the Cubs would be in on a 23-year-old shortstop despite the existence of Starlin Castro and Javier Baez (spoiler alert: “assets”)) – but it’s good to know that the Cubs continue to seeks a wide variety of avenues for spending their theoretically-available dollars. Neither Diaz nor Alvarez is subject to the international spending restrictions, so the highest bidder is likely to get them. (Though having a stable of young Cuban players, as the Cubs already do, probably can’t hurt as a selling point.)