What's great news for Jose Abreu, the Chicago White Sox first baseman who deservedly won the American League Rookie of the Year on Monday evening, is even better news for his fellow countrymen.
The 27-year-old Cuban-born Abreu collected all 30 first-place votes to unanimously earn the award after a season in which the righty slugger hit .317/.383/.581 with 36 homers and 107 RBI. Abreu's slugging percentage led all of baseball, and he finished tied for fourth in homers, fifth in RBI and sixth in average.
Abreu is only the fifth player to win Rookie of the Year unanimously since 2000, and the other four provide some pretty great company: Mike Trout (2012), Craig Kimbrel (2011), Evan Longoria (2008) and Albert Pujols (2001).
That's a nugget Abreu can stick on his resume, but it's more than that. It's also something that Cuban players as a whole can point to as well, especially those who haven't arrived in the major leagues or even left the island yet.
That's because there's now a seemingly ever-expanding line of former Cuban stars who have defected, signed a big-money deal with an MLB team and then found immediate success in the big leagues.
At a time when baseball's bottom line keeps growing, the market for Cuban players has become one of the most explosive in the sport, in terms of both talent and money.
You already know the most recent examples off the top of your head, right? Heck, we're practically on a first-name basis with them: Aroldis (Chapman), Yoenis (Cespedes), Jorge (Soler), Yasiel (Puig), Jose (Abreu) and Rusney (Castillo).
Some of them are further along or more proven in their careers in the United States than others, but it seems safe to say that most have not only panned out but also broken out as All-Star-caliber players.
To wit, Chapman, Cespedes, Puig and Abreu have made it to the Midsummer Classic already, and it won't be a shock to see Soler and/or Castillo, both of whom debuted only in the second half of the 2014 season, get there in 2015 or soon thereafter.
Here's the rundown of the largest contracts (by total value) ever signed by free agents from Cuba:
What immediately stands out? That six of the seven have come in the past five years.
What's more, if you look at the trend within that group, the dollars have more or less increased with each passing player, from Chapman's $30.25 million in 2010 to Cespedes' $36 million in 2012 to Puig's $42 million in 2013 to Abreu's $68 million this year.
It's no coincidence that Castillo, the most recent to sign, landed a seven-year, $72.5 million contract from the Boston Red Sox in August—a record amount for a Cuban free agent.
The dollars keep going up because the players keep proving to be well worth the price. In many cases, they even have been (or look like) bargains.
All of this can only mean huge money will be coming Yasmany Tomas' way.
The next in what has become a longer and longer line of former Cuban stars in MLB, Tomas is a free agent this winter at a time when offense and especially power—his primary skill—are in as high of a demand as they ever have been.
Here's Jon Heyman of CBS Sports on what Tomas' market looks like and what kind of money may be in the outfielder's very near future:
The Phillies are said to be 'all over' Tomas, who's impressing folks with prodigious drives in the Dominican. He's unproven in MLB, but the Cuban positional stars have translated very well lately, and he just turned 24. The Rangers, Dodgers, Giants, Padres, Red Sox and Mariners are all said to be involved. He is believed to want $100M.
And here's a taste of what Tomas can do to a baseball:
Before you ask: No, not every Cuban defector turns into a gem.
There are plenty who have signed steep deals that have yet to show any return for the team, even within the past handful of years.
Among them: infielder Alexander Guerrero, for whom the Dodgers ponied up $28 million over four years; shortstop Erisbel Arruebarrena, who also inked with the Dodgers for $25 million over five years; and right-hander Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez, who initially got $48 million over six years from the Philadelphia Phillies before the club's doctors examined him, after which the pact was reworked to $12 million over three years.
And there are countless more Cubans who remain lesser-knowns (Aledmys Diaz) or never-weres (Noel Arguelles) or has-beens that never amounted to anything with a major league team (Yunesky Maya).
Which raises the possibility—or likelihood even—that a tipping point will be reached eventually.
There will come a time when an MLB team spends a small fortune on a can't-miss Cuban star who doesn't live up to expectations, or worse, turns out to be nothing more than a fringe big leaguer.
At some point, Cuba will have its version of Kei Igawa.
Maybe it will even be Tomas, especially if he's the first to get a nine-figure deal and doesn't hit like the second coming of Abreu or even Cespedes.
But based on the recent success of the big-money Cuban players who have been worth every penny—and then some—all of the spending in this market has been validated.
Jose Abreu's new Rookie of the Year trophy is just further proof of that.
Statistics are accurate through the 2014 season and courtesy of MLB.com, Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted.
To talk baseball or fantasy baseball, check in with me on Twitter: @JayCat11.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
- Login to post comments