Alex Anthopolous appears to have followed through on his promise to invest heavily in international free agents, as the NY Post is reporting that Cuban shortstop Adeinis Hechavarria has spurned the Yankees to sign a $10 million contract with the Jays. Hecheverria reportedly turned down the Yankees because he saw a quicker path to the majors with the Jays. A similar story has appeared on the Jays website. As both articles note, this is $2 million more than was paid to highly-regarded Red Sox SS prospect Jose Iglesias.
As Brent S notes on the other thread, "While playing on the Cuban national team with then teammate Jose Iglesias, Hechavarria was penciled in as the starting shortstop (Iglesias slid over to 2B). Iglesias is currently considered a world class defensive shortshop." That's a promising sign regarding his defensive abilities, for sure, as I've read nothing but rave reviews about Iglesias's glove. Links to video of Hechavarria and quotes from the Cuban Ballplayers Blog are available in the first few posts in the thread.
Further details to be updated as they become available.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20100314163413149