The Chicago Cubs officially announced the signing of one Cuban prospect today, and it’s being reported that they could be doing the same for another in the near future. Gerardo Concepcion’s five-year, $6 million contract with the Cubs became official yesterday. While the Cubs didn’t offer an update on fellow Cuban native Jorge Soler, Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune reported that it’s been speculated that Chicago will sign the outfielder “as soon as he becomes available”.
While Soler has made clear his intent to play professional baseball in America, he has not yet been cleared as a free agent by Major League Baseball. As we found during the Yoenis Cespedes sweepstakes, this can be a long and drawn out process. It’s unknown when Soler will finally be cleared, but several teams have expressed interest in him this offseason.
When it became evident that they were out of the chase for Cespedes, the Cubs reportedly turned their attention to Soler. While they were the initial favorites, at least eight teams have since been tied to Soler, including; the Red Sox, White Sox, Blue Jays, Orioles, Phillies, Yankees, Marlins and Cubs.
Early reports had the Cubs willing to go as high as $27.5 million for Soler. While this may seem ridiculous, last month two unnamed general managers told Nick Carfado of the Boston Globe that they expect Soler to sign for more than five years and $15-20 million.
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