Jon Morosi of FOXSports.com reports that the Reds are “close” to a deal with Cuban pitcher Raisel Iglesias, who defected last November.
Ben Badler of Baseball America writes that Iglesias will probably wind up as a full-time reliever and “throws 92-95 mph with a sweepy but effective slider and erratic control.”
Last season he posted a 1.68 ERA with 50 strikeouts in 54 innings in Cuba and, while there’s no word yet on the money involved, previous speculation had Iglesias getting in excess of $10 million.
At age 24 he could move to the big leagues in a hurry.
