NEWSLETTER
As Luke put it well on Twitter yesterday: I guess this is going to be one of those things.
In a story that had already turned and twisted in unpredictable directions, Cuban prospect Eddy Julio Martinez reportedly agreed to a $2.5 million deal with the Giants this weekend. The dollar figure was much lower than had been anticipated by most third party sources, and suggested that not only had Martinez miscalculated the market by waiting well past July 2 to sign, but also that perhaps Martinez was not as universally well-regarded as we’d previously thought.
But now that’s all out the window once again, courtesy of this Keith Law report:
Eddy Julio Martinez is not signing with the Giants and remains a free agent.
— keithlaw (@keithlaw) October 6, 2015
Oh, so did he not pass a physical or wa …
No injury. I just watched him take BP today (and it was very very good). https://t.co/8zbPcbi56X
— keithlaw (@keithlaw) October 7, 2015
OK. Well. That’s certainly an interesting twist. To be sure, Jesse Sanchez’s original report stated only that the Giants and Martinez had agreed on a $2.5 million deal, but nothing was yet finalized. Maybe it’s not quite done, but is still being worked on? Here’s what Giants GM Bobby Evans noted this weekend:
Evans excited about prospects of completing Eddy Julio Martinez deal. Potential future center fielder. #SFGiants
— Henry Schulman (@hankschulman) October 5, 2015
That is to say, I wouldn’t quite yet get excited about the possibility of Martinez still being out there for the Cubs to sign. I also am now a little gun shy about just how big-time he is, given the reported bonus. None of that is to say he’s not still an excellent prospect – by all accounts, he is. It’s just that, since the dollars are often the best clue we ever get about Cuban prospects, we now have to recalibrate just how we perceive the pursuit.
Then again, Law’s report makes it seem like Martinez is not imminently signing with the Giants at all, and maybe everything’s entirely back to square one.
As I said: this was already a twisty, turny story going way back to earlier this year. I’m just going to follow along.
UPDATE: Jesse Sanchez confirms that the deal with the Giants has fallen through, reportedly because Martinez’s father is instead seeking a deal closer to $3 million. Read Sanchez’s report for the latest.
