According to Rob Biertempfel, the Pittsburgh Pirates will be bidders on Cuban outfielder Jorge Soler. However, Biertempfel adds that the Pirates won’t budge over their pre-set value, and won’t spend Yoenis Cespedes money.
Cespedes signed a four year, $36 M deal with the Oakland Athletics over the off-season. Soler has drawn comparisons to Cespedes, with some saying his upside could be higher.
Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago reports that the going rate for his services are expected to be between $25-35 M, and that Soler wants all bids in by Thursday, June 7th. Levine says that the top bidders are expected to be the Cubs, White Sox, Yankees, and Marlins.
About Tim Williams
Tim is the owner and editor in chief of Pirates Prospects. He started the site in January 2009, and turned it into his full time job during the 2011 season. Prior to starting Pirates Prospects, Tim worked with AccuScore.com, providing MLB, NHL, and NFL coverage to various national media outlets, including ESPN Insider, USA Today, Yahoo Sports, and the Wall Street Journal. He also writes the annual Prospect Guide, which is sold through the site. Tim moved to Bradenton in 2013, and will be providing live coverage all year of the Bradenton Marauders, GCL Pirates, instructs, mini camp, Spring Training, and lunches at Mixon's Fruit Farms.
June 4, 2012 at 1:54 pm
Bidding and trying to actually sign someone are 2 very different things. This is a PR stunt by Pirates, nothing more.
June 4, 2012 at 2:50 pm
Yep that’s all they do….they don’t even try, do they?
sheesh.
Soler is not exactly a slam dunk MLB prospect btw. LOTS of questions.
June 4, 2012 at 4:49 pm
Here’s a scouting report on him:
http://baseballprospectnation.com/2012/02/14/scouting-report-jorge-soler-of/
Foo Gayo