Report: Rangers to Sign Cuban Player in January
The international signing period doesn’t begin until Jan. 15, but the Texas Rangers reportedly have one target in sight.
MLB.com reported on Wednesday that the Rangers will sign outfielder Geisel Cepeda, who plays in Cuba, to a $200,000 offer when the signing period begins.
Cepeda is not in Cuba. In 2021, he broke with the Cuban Baseball Federation, as he and 11 other players stayed behind in Mexico after the Baseball World Cup, and Cepeda eventually migrated to the Dominican Republic.
Cepeda related his story to completeswing.com.
He played five seasons for Sancti Spíritus, during he put up some eye-popping numbers. For his career he batted .333/.416/.413/.829 with 11 home runs, 123 RBI and 14 stolen bases. He had 30 doubles and two triples.
In his last two seasons with Spíritus — 2019-20 and 2020-21 — he hit over .350. The most games he played in any one season was 87 in 2018-19.
The Rangers have had a long, productive history of signing young players out of the Caribbean, including Rangers Hall of Famers Juan Gonzalez and Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez, both from Puerto Rico. Current Rangers outfielder Adolis García was born in Cuba and defected in 2016 after playing in Japan.
The Rangers also paid out one of the largest contracts to a Cuba player in Leonys Martin, shelling out $15.5 million, including a $5 million signing bonus, in 2011. Martin played five seasons for the Rangers, with his best year coming in 2014 when he hit .274. He career ended with Cleveland in 2018.
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