Now that Cuban defector Jorge Soler has finally been declared a free agent his representatives have asked all interested teams to submit bids by this Thursday, according to Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago.
Levine reports that the price for Soler is expected to exceed $25 million and timing the bidding war for him during the same week as the MLB draft should make things very interesting, as the buzz on the 20-year-old outfielder is that he’d definitely be a top-10 pick if eligible for the draft and might have gone as high as the top three.
Why would Soler’s agents want the bidding to take place immediately and at the same time as the MLB draft? Well, for one thing they’ve already waited a long time for Soler to be declared a free agent. And perhaps most importantly he needs to sign by July 2 in order to avoid the new collective bargaining agreement’s revised rules on international prospect spending.
In other words, if he doesn’t sign within the next four weeks he can say goodbye to any thoughts of $25 million.