Let the bidding begin. According to Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com, Cuban first baseman Jose Dariel Abreu has been declared a free agent by MLB and is now free to sign with any team.
Abreu defected from Cuba earlier this year and we learned last week that he had established residency in Haiti. The 26-year-old needed to be unblocked by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) before MLB could declare him as a free agent.
Checking in at 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds, Abreu is highly-regarded for his power potential. Because he’s older than 23 and played in Cuba’s top league for more than three years, he will not be subject to MLB’s international spending cap. Some have speculated that he could get a richer contract than Yasiel Puig’s seven-year, $42 million deal with the Dodgers.
Ben Badler of Baseball America reported earlier this week that Abreu is scheduled to hold two open showcases for all teams next week in the Dominican Republic. As Sanchez notes, the Giants are among the teams who have expressed interest.