NEWSLETTER
Yet another twist! A good one! It’s been a really good 24 hours for the Cubs, eh?
The long and winding road of the Eddy Julio Martinez story has led to the Chicago Cubs’ door, apparently. That’s according to Jesse Sanchez, who is typically excellent on international signings. He originally reported that Martinez, the 20-year-old outfield prospect, had a $2.5 million deal with the Giants, but it later fell through for reasons that appear to have been tied to money.
Specifically, Martinez was looking for $3 million, and Sanchez says the Cubs were willing to give it to him:
Source: #Cubs have met Eddy Julio Martinez's asking price. Cuban OF has signed a $3 million deal with Chicago. http://t.co/VjwGy6s8Ij
— Jesse Sanchez (@JesseSanchezMLB) October 8, 2015
Martinez is inarguably one of the top prospects on the international market this year, though the dollar figure there suggests he’s much closer to a “very good true prospect” as opposed to the kind of can’t miss future superstar some were calling him earlier this year. Opinions on just how strong of a prospect he is vary pretty wildly.
But that’s no reason not to be excited about the reported signing, because Martinez is a very good prospect. He’ll cost the Cubs $6 million when the overage tax is factored in, so clearly they like him a whole lot. Having already blown their international free agent pool, signing talent like Martinez – when the cost is only money – makes so much sense. The market is still replete with several other interesting Cuban prospects, so this might not be the end.
If and when the signing is confirmed, we’ll have much more on the (possible) newest big-time Cubs prospect. We’ve written about him quite a bit around here in the past few months, though, if you’ve missed any of it.
UPDATE: Keith Law, who was the first to report that there was no deal with the Giants, is hearing the same as Sanchez:
Cubs have a potential agreement with Cuban CF Eddy Julio Martinez for $3 million, pending a physical.
— keithlaw (@keithlaw) October 8, 2015
