Bomber Bites: Is The Next Cuban Star Destined For Pinstripes?

Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com reported yesterday that 21-year old Cuban defector, Yoan Lopez has recently been cleared by the United States government to enter the country, and can now sign with any big league team he chooses. Sanchez also reports that the Yankees could go well over the top one last time during their 2014-15 international spending limit to secure the fireballing right-hander.

The Yankees have signed several of the top internationally-ranked players over the past year, in an attempt to rebuild a less than stellar farm system. However, Lopez might be on the fringe of being big league ready now, which could greatly impact not only the Yankees’ pursuit of his services, but could impact the remainder of the domestic free agent pitching market as well. The last thing that Max Scherzer and James Shields want to see, is a young pitcher come in, and take the Yankees out of the running for THEIR services, which in turn, would drop both of their asking prices dramatically. Without the Evil Empire in play, teams know they won’t have to outbid one of the big spenders for the other two free agent’s services.

But who is Yoan Lopez? He’s long and lean at 6’3″, 190 lbs. He’s a four-pitch guy, whose repertoire includes a cutter, a slider, a curve, and a change-up. His heater sits, according to Sanchez, between 93-95 mph, and has touched 100 in the past. His most recent professional experience, is having pitched for Isla de la Juventud in Serie Nacional, Cuba’s top professional league competition-wise.  Lopez after leaving Cuba, established residency in Haiti, and has been awaiting clearance from the U.S. government since last year, after being declared a free agent by MLB.

Where would Lopez fit with the 2015 Yankees? Try anywhere in the rotation from the #3 spot back, following the likes of Masahiro Tanaka and Michael Pineda. Nobody knows for sure which C.C. Sabathia is going to show up. While Nathan Eovaldi shows promise, he did lead the National League in hits allowed last season, and the recovery of Ivan Nova could take him to the All-Star break. Lopez would be an easy upgrade over Chris Capuano in the rotation. The Yankees have had so-so luck in the past with Cuban hurlers, experiencing the highs of El Duque, Orlando Hernandez, and suffering the pitfalls as well with Jose Contreras. In 49 innings of work before fleeing Cuba, Lopez sported 28 Ks to only 11 walks, and posting a 3.12 ERA.

Lopez has worked out for numerous teams, none of which have been identified, but if the Yankees do indeed go all-in to bring him to the Bronx, they will be subject to a 100 percent tax on whatever they sign him for, having blown well past their spending limit on international players this past summer.

If Lopez proves to be the real deal, the Yankees could have an extremely talented, young corp of big guns on the horizon, as he would join Luis Severino and Ian Clarkin. Add to the mix the aforementioned Tanaka and Pineda, and the Yankees’ starting rotation could be set for years to come–all without giving up top prospects or now highly-valued draft pick compensation. Along with the Yankees, the Dodgers, Diamondbacks, and Padres are all listed as other teams interested in pursuing Lopez. This could be the move Yankees’ fans have been waiting for all winter long…