With Cespedes in Oakland, O's should make run at Jorge Soler

[Jordan Tuwiner]

With Cespedes signing with Oakland, the Orioles should make a major run at another Cuban talent: Jorge Soler.

Kevin Goldstein recently said that, when signed, Soler would become his #38 prospect in baseball.

Q: Where would Jorge Soler rank?
A: Number 38 (or number 39 if Cespedes was also getting ranked), ahead of Yasmani Grandal.

Be sure to check out Don's Jorge Soler scouting report.

I'm not expecting it to happen, but it would be nice to add an elite prospect to the system.

[TuckerBlair89]

I really hope the Orioles have some form of interest in Soler.
I think they certainly do, but that doesn't mean they get him.

[ofahn]

As much I would have liked to add Cespedes, Soler makes more sense for us in many ways.

Cespedes PROBABLY needed at least half a season in the minors to be ready for the ML. If we don't trade Jones (although I think we will - maybe before opening day) and Reimold has a good season; where would you put Cespedes? Soler would probably start at AA which would make him part of the Class of 2014. When you consider that might include both Bundys, Machado, Schoop, Tyler Townsend, Trent Mummey, Jason Esposito, and a few others; Soler really adds to that group.

IMO he shouldn't be offered a ML contract but we should offer him a SERIOUS bonus. Maybe 20% more than the rest of the pack.

[Zach]

Have their been any rumors on teams really interested in him? MLBTR has seemed to focus more on Cespedes (rightfully so) and I haven't been able to monitor it as much this semester.

[ofahn]

I believe the Cubs were reported to be the most interested. Here's a link that may help http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/jorge-soler/

[Matt P]

http://www.masnsports.com/school_of_roc ... thers.html

I have no hope of it happening.

[ofahn]

I have no hope of it happening.

Why do you say that? Under MacPhail I would have agreed but I think DD sees this kind of investment/risk differently. That doesn't mean we sign him, but it does mean we will probably at least be in the game.

[Matt P]

I have no hope of it happening.

Why do you say that? Under MacPhail I would have agreed but I think DD sees this kind of investment/risk differently. That doesn't mean we sign him, but it does mean we will probably at least be in the game.

They aren't going to outbid the Cubs. One should not be happy that they are at least involved in scouting someone IMO.

[ofahn]

One should not be happy that they are at least involved in scouting someone IMO.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step

Lao-tzu

[TuckerBlair89]

I have no hope of it happening.

Why do you say that? Under MacPhail I would have agreed but I think DD sees this kind of investment/risk differently. That doesn't mean we sign him, but it does mean we will probably at least be in the game.

They aren't going to outbid the Cubs. One should not be happy that they are at least involved in scouting someone IMO.

I mostly agree with you . I think they are interested but they won't land him. I would be shocked if they did.
I am happy they are starting to take a step in the right direction, but much more work is needed to be done. Next year hopefully they are fully ready to scout/sign guys like this immediately

[ofahn]

I am happy they are starting to take a step in the right direction, but much more work is needed to be done.

I think that part of the problem is that the Orioles have not actively scouted guys like Soler over the last few years because they had no intention of signing them. Now that these guys are getting such big contracts you need to have a better read on the player. I don't think it's a coincidence that the A's have been scouting Cespedes for more than five years.

If Soler was going for, say, 5M I think that you would see DD sending a jet to pick him up and a cashiers check. But for 25M you need to feel confident it's the right investment.

[Matt P]

I mostly agree with you . I think they are interested but they won't land him. I would be shocked if they did.
I am happy they are starting to take a step in the right direction, but much more work is needed to be done. Next year hopefully they are fully ready to scout/sign guys like this immediately

He might already be signed by the time Ferreira even gets to the Dominican how is that a step in the right direction?

[Zach]

It is rumored that the Cubs are willing to offer Soler $27.5 million. At this price I am not sure that Soler would be worth it for the Orioles. This would be almost 4x the amount of money that we gave to Dylan Bundy and as seen in another thread he is considered a top 10 prospect.

[Old Sneakers]

I have to agree with the above post. That is a huge sum of money I would rather seen used in the upcoming draft (Yes I know the top 10 picks are slotted, but after that there are some tough signs that could be enticed to go pro and forgo college).

[ofahn]

It is rumored that the Cubs are willing to offer Soler $27.5 million. At this price I am not sure that Soler would be worth it for the Orioles. This would be almost 4x the amount of money that we gave to Dylan Bundy and as seen in another thread he is considered a top 10 prospect.

Please remember that a figure like that is going to be spread out over five, six, seven, or even eight years. Theo Epstein is smart enough to know that Soler will probably need two years or so of seasoning in the minors, so he's not going to limit himself to a short contract.

What you're seeing here is the leverage that Soler and Cespedes had because they're not constrained by the draft. It reminds me of the draft of 1996 when Travis Lee, Matt White, and Bobby Seay were granted free agency because of a technicality. All three were given "stupid money" as signing bonuses because they had the leverage to negotiate with every team. Lee and White were signed by Tampa, and Seay by the Rockies; which were expansion teams that were trying to add premier prospects to the farm systems they were building. Both teams were not playing yet so they did not have any players to trade for prospects. They saw this as a way to game the system.

That's EXACTLY the way teams are looking at ALL of the International players available this winter. The system is going to change dramatically this summer so, if you want to add a bonus premier prospect to your barren system, you better do it NOW.

Give the Cubs credit for accepting that their farm system is a broken down mess and spending the money to re stock it. The passed on the big money free agents to spend their money like this. I think they will benefit from choosing this method and I hope that DD has the authority to make a competitive bid, too.