The Chicago Cubs were busy yesterday and one of the more busier days you will see on any given day. Yesterday was the opening period to sign international free agents. The Cubs made splashes and were the most active day yesterday. The Cubs officially signed 3 players and unofficially signed 1 player.
The Cubs officially signed shortstop Gleyber Torres, right-handed pitcher Erlina Moreno and right-handed pitcher Jefferson Mejia. The Cubs reportedly have signed top international prospect outfielder Eloy Jimenez. The official announcement should be made in the upcooming days.
Here’s the more in-depth look of each player:
SS Gleyber Torres: Torres is 16-years old and was ranked as the #2 top international prospect by Baseball America and #3 by MLB.com. Torres is from Venezuelan. Torres has the skills and potential to be a great player. He does have a lot to improve, but that will come along with age. Some scouts think he can stick at SS, but other scouts don’t think he has the toughness and will player 2B and 3B instead.
The Cubs were the only team willing to pay Torres for his services and gave him a bonus of 1.7 million.
Here’s Torres scouting report (MLB.com)
RHP Erling Moreno: Moreno is from Columbia and is 16-years old. Baseball America had him ranked as the 16th best international prospect and MLB.com ranked him 17. Moreno already can hit 90 on the radar, but usually sits anywhere from 87-90. When Moreno ages, he’ll likely throw in the mid-90’s to upper-90’s. Moreno has a great changeup and should be able to throw a great breaking ball in time. It’s too early to tell what Moreno will be, but he has promise. He’ll only get better with age and when he adds muscle. The Cubs signed him to a bonus of 800,000.
Here’s Moreno’s scouting report (Baseball America)
RHP Jefferson Mejia: Mejia is 18-years old and is from the Dominican Republic. The Cubs were the favorite to sign Mejia all along. Mejia’s fastball sits anywhere between 90-93 and has a swing-and-miss changeup. Plus, he throws a curveball that works for him. Mejia wasn’t ranked by Baseball America or MLB.com. The Cubs signed Mejia to a bonus of 850,000.
Here’s Mejia’s scouting report (Baseball America)
OF Eloy Jimenez: The Cubs haven’t officially signed Jimenez, but are expected to sign the 16-year old Dominican Republic outfielder soon. The Cubs are expected to give him a bonus of anywhere between 2.5-2.7 million. Jimenez was the #1 international prospect by everyone, including Baseball America and MLB.com. Jimenez is expected to make the official announcement in the next couple days. Jimenez projects as a corner outfielder. As of right now, Jimenez has great speed; however, scouts believe he’ll slow down when he gets bigger. Jimenez has great hand-eye coordination and knows how to use the whole field. He also possesses raw power and could have above average power later down the road. Many scouts love how he handles his self already.
MLB.com states another team offered more money than the Cubs, but Jimenez did chose the Cubs. Manly because Jimenez and his family were a big fan of Sammy Sosa and the thought of him playing RF where Sosa played, excites him and his family.
Here’s Jimenez’s scouting report (Bleacher Nation)
From the looks of it, the Cubs are done signing international free agents. But you never know with the Cubs front office. If the Cubs do sign any more players, they won’t be big names and just minor signings. Even if the Cubs don’t, they obvious won the international free agent signing day.
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