Cuban prospects Yusniel Diaz and Omar Estevez sign with Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers landed the third-ranked prospect on MLB.com's list of the top 30 international prospects by signing Cuban outfielder Yusniel Diaz. They also came to terms with second baseman Omar Estevez.
The signings continue a long history of Dodgers' success in Cuba, including the signing of Yasiel Puig among others.
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Diaz is just 19 and signed for $15.5 million and Estevez is 17 and agreed to a $6 million contract, according to MLB.com reporter Jesse Sanchez, who was first to report the news.
Diaz batted .348/.447/.440 in 250 plate appearances last season in Cuba playing for the Havana Industriales. He didn't hit any home runs but he drew more walks (36) than strikeouts (33) and would have been the Rookie of the Year in Cuba if he hadn't defected shortly after the season, according to Baseball American, which has video of Diaz in action.
Estevez is not as highly ranked but has solid power at the plate and good fielding skills. He does not have a great throwing arm and would be expected to remain on the right side of the infield.
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The Dodgers have been busy during the current international signing period agreeing to terms with 28 prospects and spending $23.5 million to do so. Additionally, the club will now have to pay a $22 million tax for exceeding its allotted bonus pool that was initially $2,020,300 but was reduced to $700,000 after trading away slots.
With the Dodgers investing so heavily in the current period, they won't be able to sign a player for more than $300,000 in each of the next two international signing periods.
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Kyle Ringo is a contributing writer to Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at kyle.ringo@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo
