The newest Cuban sensation has hit the free agent market and his name is not Yoennis Cespedes or Jorge Soler. Major League Baseball declared left-handed pitcher and Cuban native Gerardo Concepcion a free agent yesterday. The 18-year-old is currently working out in the Dominican Republic and could begin negotiating with major league clubs shortly. Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com is reporting that the following teams have expressed interest in Concepcion; the Yankees, Rangers, Phillies, Cubs and White Sox.
It was originally reported yesterday that Concepcion had established residency in Mexico as of Tuesday, signaling he would soon be able to hit the open market. Rojas later updated the situation, stating that Concepcion had in fact been declared a major league free agent as of yesterday afternoon.
Concepcion has been working out for teams in the DR this offseason, and the lefty is scheduled to conduct a training session for the Yankees today.
There aren’t many stats to go off of, but Rojas does report that Concepcion was named the 2010-11 Rookie of the Year in the Cuban Serie Nacional, which is considered Cuba’s main amateur league. During that season, Concepcion went 10-3 over his 16 starts and 21 appearances while maintaining an ERA of 3.36.
You can check out all of the available free agents by position below.