The Hechavarria Signing

I thought about it overnight and came up with some other big reasons I love this deal, if it becomes official at some point today (although all sources are saying it is as good as done).

• When we add the players we received in the Doc deal to Brandon Morrow, Dana Eveland, and Adeiny Hechavarria, you get the sense that the Jays are starting to add talent, not lose it. None of these players can come close to performing like Doc, but when we add them together and give them 1 full season’s experience (2010), it is viable that they add up to more value than people give them credit for.
• Adding Adeiny boosts the confidence of all Jays players in thinking that they’ll be very competitive very soon. That goes a long way to motivating players to play hard and to stick around for things to come. When contracts need to be signed and FAs look at whether they want to join the Jays, they’ll take that into consideration, believe me.
• Even though all fans were clamoring for Cubs SS prospect Starlin Castro to be acquired by Alex Anthopolous, he may have acquired a better player. That’s saying a lot, but when you consider the power potential Adeiny has (which is compared by some to rival Alfonso Soriano‘s), you get the sense that they may have a top 3 SS prospect that has a lot more mature baseball skills overall. I would think that $10 million for the rights to such a player makes a ton of sense if this is the case.
• Where were the Orioles in all this? They need a SS more than anyone else, don’t they? Oh yeah, they’re under the JP Ricciardi plan of “I like what we have here” and are definitely not interested in out-scouting other teams. We can all thank Alex Anthopolous for changing the Jays aggressiveness. If he keeps this up, there’s no reason to think that the Jays can’t win a championship in this decade. Well, at least 1….right?
• The lead off spot for 2011 and beyond should now be settled, as Adeiny has the speed to steal lots of bases and is expected to get on base often.
• And my last point of the morning, I sincerely think that Adeiny’s presence with the Jays adds an international flavor that it needs to attract more high quality international players into the fold. Future (or present) Cuban prospects, for example, who look favorably on coming to Toronto now because Adeiny could tell them about the situation there and attract them to Toronto (if his experience is a good one, of course). I’m thinking of the next big pitchers who’ve defected from Cuba,20 yr old SP Reinier Roibal (escaped to Mexico) and 27 yr old SP Yuniesky Maya (escaped to the Dominican Republic). Roibal in particular is expected to grow into the next Aroldis Chapman if he can control his stuff. The nice thing about him is that he is still very young and has lots to learn, so Roibal could be the next Alex Anthopolous target once he is cleared to sign by U.S. authorities (they need to make sure he won’t send money to Cuba if he signs). After all, the Jays were apparently willing to give $23 million to Chapman, so why not $23 million for both Hechavarria and Roibal? That would be nice, and Adeiny’s presence enhances the chances of it happening.