Jays sign Gurriel Jr.!

[KingKat]

Ang's not feeling it but he's only being signed to be a depth guy. All the reports see him as a 3B but you have to figure that the Jays see him as viable 2B depth behind Travis. You have to figure they'll give him some OF reps too so that he can be a super-util.

[Captain Adama]

Wow, straight out of the blue.

 

22 mill is ridiculously cheap for a super utility guy.

[Laika]

I really thought Gurriel Jr. would get more money than that.

[Brownie19]

http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=19198&position=3B

 

Is his brother is one of the best Cuban players?

Didn't have a great year for the Astros @ age 32..

His contract looks a lot better than his brothers and has potential to have a better MLB career just from the age they're defecting

 

Sweet job judging him after 132 PA's in the majors after all of 61 PA's in the minors - after escaping from Cuba and moving to another country. Thumbs up.

[KingKat]

I really thought Gurriel Jr. would get more money than that.

 

Clearly teams don't see him as an everyday player. Works for the Jays who both need a util guy in the short term and some young controllable talent for the future.

[saskjayfan]

http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=19198&position=3B

 

Is his brother is one of the best Cuban players?

Didn't have a great year for the Astros @ age 32..

His contract looks a lot better than his brothers and has potential to have a better MLB career just from the age they're defecting

 

http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/report-blue-jays-sign-cuban-prospect-lourdes-gurriel-jr/

 

#6 in international prospects

 

His brother had something like 130 plate appearances in 30 or so games. He didn't play a full year or anywhere close for that matter. His stats tell you almost nothing

[Terminator]

Mlbtraderumors is saying that sometimes these deals allow the player to opt-in to arbitration once they are eligible. If that's the case he'll make a bit more than 22 million if he's any good.

[Angrioter]

He's better player than Rusney Castillo

[UWHabs]

He's better player than Rusney Castillo

 

Rusney's struggles probably made people more cautious, but still thought he would have been closer to 30-40M at least on a 7 year deal.

[burlingtonbandit]

FG lead prospect writer has a much less glowing report on him. Compares him to Jace Peterson.

 

[KingKat]

So what if he's a UTIL player. He's only being paid like one anyways. Good on the Jays for filling a hole early at a sensible cost. The upside is gravy.

[burlingtonbandit]

I like the reports on the tools though. With all the effort the FO is putting into player development, there is a good chance his career turns out better as a Blue Jay than it would be if he played on 15 different clubs.

[Laika]

Clearly teams don't see him as an everyday player. Works for the Jays who both need a util guy in the short term and some young controllable talent for the future.

 

Cuban contract evaluations remain all over the place.

 

The Cardinals signed Aledmys Diaz for $8M and he looks like a stud now, after the #1 org gave him the proper amount of minor league seasoning.

 

The Braves signed Dian Toscano for $8M and he literally doesn't even exist.

 

The Angels gave $8M to Roberto Baldoquin and he's been the worst player in A+ for two years in a row.

 

Alex Guerrero got $28M from the Dodgers and he blows.

 

The Reds gave Raisel Iglesias 7/$27 and he's a f***ing weapon.

 

The Cubbies thought the world of Soler and gave him 9/$30 as a youngin'.

 

Puig at 21 got 7/$42 from the Dodgers.

 

It's hard to read anything into the dollar amounts given to these Cubes.

 

IIRC Gurriel had a showcase back in September. It's safe to say that he didn't blow anybody's socks off. I think the suppressed dollar amount is indicative of the fact that he probably needs a lot of minor league seasoning in the eyes of scouts. Don't expect him to knock on the door in 2017.

 

It's probably correct to say that if teams viewed him as a 2017 solution then he would have received something closer to the Tomas/Castillo/Olivera deals.

[burlingtonbandit]

Cuban contract evaluations remain all over the place.

 

The Cardinals signed Aledmys Diaz for $8M and he looks like a stud now, after the #1 org gave him the proper amount of minor league seasoning.

 

The Braves signed Dian Toscano for $8M and he literally doesn't even exist.

 

The Angels gave $8M to Roberto Baldoquin and he's been the worst player in A+ for two years in a row.

 

Alex Guerrero got $28M from the Dodgers and he blows.

 

The Reds gave Raisel Iglesias 7/$27 and he's a f***ing weapon.

 

The Cubbies thought the world of Soler and gave him 9/$30 as a youngin'.

 

Puig at 21 got 7/$42 from the Dodgers.

 

It's hard to read anything into the dollar amounts given to these Cubes.

 

IIRC Gurriel had a showcase back in September. It's safe to say that he didn't blow anybody's socks off. I think the suppressed dollar amount is indicative of the fact that he probably needs a lot of minor league seasoning in the eyes of scouts. Don't expect him to knock on the door in 2017.

 

It's probably correct to say that if teams viewed him as a 2017 solution then he would have received something closer to the Tomas/Castillo/Olivera deals.

 

Teams seem to put too much stock into what's happened recently I think. We see it with FA as well. Just because a player has 1 bad or 1 good season doesn't mean their talent level has fell or jumped dramatically. He still has the same tools he did a couple of years ago when the reports were a lot better.

[Laika]

Jeff Passan ‏@JeffPassan 4m4 minutes ago

Toronto's plan is to start Lourdes Gurriel Jr. at shortstop, probably at Double-A. Ultimately, thought is he may end up a corner outfielder.

[West Texas Forever]

I like this signing a lot, thanks Trump for being a head case, maybe more players will sign in Toronto!!!!!

[King]

Jeff Passan ‏@JeffPassan 4m4 minutes ago

Toronto's plan is to start Lourdes Gurriel Jr. at shortstop, probably at Double-A. Ultimately, thought is he may end up a corner outfielder.

 

Urena and Gurriel sharing middle infield duties

[THANOS]

Jeff Passan ‏@JeffPassan 4m4 minutes ago

Toronto's plan is to start Lourdes Gurriel Jr. at shortstop, probably at Double-A. Ultimately, thought is he may end up a corner outfielder.

 

If that's accurate, where does Urena play, assuming he's not dealt?

[HERPDERP]

I like this signing a lot, thanks Trump for being a head case, maybe more players will sign in Toronto!!!!!

 

relevant

 

[King]

If that's accurate, where does Urena play, assuming he's not dealt?

 

He said "probably AA" so.. that is just speculation. I wouldn't rule out starting in AAA.

[FireAlexAnthopoulos]

I can't get too excited because of the mixed track record of these Cuban defectors in the big leagues. It kind of reminds me of all the high-priced pitching prospects from Japan who went bust in the early-to-mid 2000s. But I'll trust in the front office and hope that Gurriel develops into a core player for us.

[Ehjays]

Teams seem to put too much stock into what's happened recently I think. We see it with FA as well. Just because a player has 1 bad or 1 good season doesn't mean their talent level has fell or jumped dramatically. He still has the same tools he did a couple of years ago when the reports were a lot better.

 

Two things stand out to me with this signing.

1) I didn't expect the Jays to have much activity in the International scene this year which was a very pleasant surprise

2) More importantly, The Jays FO is showing us the best way to build and sustain a winner is through player development, and once again I give them a passing grade. I'm still puzzled by the Smoak deal.

[RealAccountant]

Another asset in a system that all of a sudden is looking like average after it was probably one of the worst

[Maine Jays]

Shapiro-Gourriel > Alex-Hechavarria

 

Still waiting for todd's prospect take on the situation

[Spanky99]

Holy s***... great sign.

[King]

Our farm system was never even close to as bad as the Angels, or Marlins.

[AdamGreenwood]

Thoughts

 

1) It's important for Lourdes to do well in Toronto, not just batting, but that he enjoys his time here. I think a lot of foreign born players especially Cuban born players may be reluctant to deal with all of the possible border issues.

 

2) We've now added three decent prospects to our farm system. It is nice to see a change from AA's win-now mentality, and see our farm system actually getting better, instead of just getting pillaged.

 

3) The value of Cuban players hit an all-time high after Puig and Abreu had their dominant years. But, they've cooled off and other recent Cuban stars have not fared as well, so I think the value has dropped significantly.

[Spanky99]

Lol I want to say this is a joke but I don't think it is!

 

gbill's a joke, yes.

[Daniel Labude]

I like this signing a lot, thanks Trump for being a head case, maybe more players will sign in Toronto!!!!!

 

Trump was popular among Cuban Americans...getting 52 % of their vote (in Florida) based off of exit polls.

[BTS]

Holy f***, this is awesome. Absolutely love this signing. Can't see how anyone wouldn't like it.