Bring Me Jorge Soler

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

The Jorge Soler Sweepstakes was reignited yesterday when Buster Olney tweeted that the list of teams who were the "most aggressive" in their pursuits of the young Cuban was down to 4- the Dodgers, Cubs, Braves, and Yankees.  That fire was stoked a bit more today when The Post reported that Soler was expected to finalize a deal with one of those teams before tomorrow.  According to George King, Soler and his agent are looking for a 4-year deal, and with what's already known about the 20-year-old Soler that's a deal the Yankees should make sure they offer and make sure they offer a good one.

The makeup on Soler paints him as a potential 5-tool player with plus power, speed, and arm strength.  If he were in the recent MLB Draft, he likely would have been a top 5-10 pick.  He's not a finished product yet, and almost certainly wouldn't make an immediate Mike Trout or Bryce Harper-like jump to show, but Soler would be an easy top 5 prospect in any organization.  His 4-year contract won't be a cheap one, but he'll almost certainly come cheaper than Yoenis Cespedes, and at 6 years younger than Cespedes he's positioned to have a longer career.


With the Yankees possibly losing both Swish and C-Grand to free agency as part of their payroll cutting initiative over the next few years, they are going to need to find some productive replacement options.  There isn't much in the upper levels of their farm system to get excited about at the moment, and playing the Major League free agent market would go against the budget plans and could end up being more costly than signing Soler.  His agent is looking to get a deal done quickly, before the new international spending limits kick in on July 2nd as part of the new CBA, which works in the Yankees' favor.  And future payroll ceiling or not, the Yankees still have more money to spend than anybody, and now would be the perfect time to flex that muscle while they still have the chance.

As a young, high-ceiling talent, the Yankees could get more aggressive with Soler once they got him into the system, and he could surprise everybody and adjust quickly to the game and pitching over here, which would give the Yankees every reason to move him up quickly.  The Yankees would have nothing to lose here, except money, and everything to gain for both the short and long-term future.  They were hesitant to move on Cespedes, which I agreed with.  But Soler looks like a better all-around player and could be a key piece in their organizational transition over the next few years.  Make a big offer, cut the check, and get the kid in pinstripes, stat.

An outfield of Soler, Mason Williams, and Tyler Austin in 2015-2016?  I could dig that.