Jorge Soler a No-Go for Sox
By Matt Adams
It was originally and erroneously reported months ago, but time has passed, free agency has officially achieved, and now a contract has been signed. The winner of the Jorge Soler sweepstakes is the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs already made a splash in the Cuban market in March by signing Gerardo Concepcion.
Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus has recently made statements on Twitter that Soler is likely going to start his career in Single A so he’ll be of no help to the Cubs current troubles, however along with 19-year old SS Javier Baez they are building a core of young high ceiling players.
Money is not yet established but it’s widely believed that whoever landed the 20 year old outfielder would have to overpay dearly. Theo Epstein’s M.O. has for years been to go after amateur talent and pay a high price in order to keep the farm system stocked. Soler represents the last time the executive is able to do that under the league’s new CBA.
**UPDATE**
Jon Heyman tweets that Soler is getting about $30M from the Cubs.