MLB: San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs in Tug-of-War for Cuban Prospect Eddy Julio Martinez
Eddy Julio Martinez is one of the most promising international free agents on the market. He is a 20-year-old centerfielder and seen by scouts as the second coming of former All-Star Andruw Jones, per MLB.com.
Martinez is ranked fourth on MLB's 2015 List of International Free Agents available on the market behind pitchers Yadier Alvarez and Vladimir Gutierrez as well as outfielder Yusniel Diaz. All of these players are from Cuba, with Martinez establishing his new residency in Haiti.
But the outfielder is currently in a controversial contract dispute as the San Francisco Giants and the Chicago Cubs are in a tug-of-war for his signature. Both clubs have claimed that they have a deal in place for the Cuban defector, as reported by CBS Sports.
The report noted that all these fuss started when Martinez or one of his representatives reached an agreement with San Francisco for a reported $2.5 million contract last Oct. 3. The Giants, however, only holds an agreement without a signed contract and was based only on a series of texts and emails.
That's when another representative of Martinez made a deal with Chicago for a reported fee of $3 million. MLB.com adds that the Giants did not confirm their deal, but Martinez was pending for a physical. MLB sources said that Martinez's father was seeking for a signing bonus worth $3 million and Martinez had signed the deal himself on Oct. 8.
The Giants are not going down without a fight as they submitted paperwork to the Commissioner's Office, proving that the deal with Martinez happened the day after they came to terms, per MLB.com. Representatives for the Cuban national denied the claim and their client did not sign any term sheet for the Giants.
With the current situation, MLB officials have stepped in as CBS Sports reported that the league will now decide which team Martinez will sign for. The decision is believed to be available within a week.
But why do the Giants and Cubs like to sign the 20-year-old? According to MLB's Scouting Report, he has the skills to become a five-tool player who can hit, hit for power, field, run and have a canon of an arm. Scouts described his body as solid and compact and praised his athleticism.
The scouting report added that Martinez has a quick and compact power swing with the ability to hit home runs in both directions and has a good eye that is enough to work the counts. He also has speed with enough base-stealing potential and has the defensive ability to play all outfield positions.
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