Jose Abreu Showcases For Teams At End Of September

Jose Dariel Abreu may be the biggest positional free agent to come out of Cuba, both literally and figuratively, in recent memory. Abreu is now set to showcase his power and skills for major league teams at the end of September in hopes of earning a major league contract this winter. The 26 year old first basemen will host the audition for MLB teams in the Dominican Republic after defecting from Cuba just one month ago. 

Scouts have said that Abreu's power is undeniable and may even be greater than Yasiel Puig's power over in Dodger town but that is where the scouts agreeing ends. Some scouts wonder if Abreu can catch up to a major league fast ball where other scouts think he could step into the majors now and hit around 25-30 home runs. Abreu is not a big average guy and probably projects to be a .260-ish hitter in the majors but if he can hit 30 home runs and Curtis Granderson fan can tell you that sometimes that is enough. The difference between Puig or Granderson is Abreu seems to be all bat and a DH type and less of a flexible player that you want in the field so there is always that to think about as well.

Abreu has drawn comparisons to other major league players like Kendrys Morales, except with more power, Dayan Viciedo, and Pedro Alvarez. All three of those players are good major league players and would be welcomed additions to the Yankees any season so I am all in on Abreu for 2014. The Red Sox, Rangers, Yankees, Giants, Mets, White Sox, Pirates, and Marlins all look like possible landing spots for Abreu although I am going to throw my prediction in now and say he lands in San Francisco, write it down.

Speculation has Abreu making somewhere in the neighborhood of $32,000,000 for four years all the way to $60,000,000 for six seasons. With a weak first base market headlined by Mike "Babe" Napoli and a struggling and aging Justin Morneau we may see Abreu break the bank this year and unless we want to sign a 26 year old DH, and just for the record I say do it and deal with the loss of defense at first base every once in a while, I cannot see it happening. Abreu should still be fun to watch as he comes to a television near you in 2014.