So you might have heard by now that the Mets will be sending scouts to Erisbel Arruebarruena’s showcase this weekend, as the Cuban shortshop looks to defect to the MLB. A noted defensive wizard, Arruebarruena is 23, and started at shortshop for Cuba in the World Baseball Classic last year. Baseball America’s Ben Badler reported about a month ago that Arruebarruena was ready to defect stateside — and his showcase was supposed to run from yesterday to today in the Yankees’ Dominican Complex.

Arruebarruena has drawn comparisons to Jose Iglesias — and Badler ranked him at No. 10 on the list of prospects in the WBC not currently on an MLB team. “He’s a below-average runner, but his quick first step and instincts give him good range. He has a quick transfer and a plus-plus arm with accuracy, which allows him to make throws from deep in the hole and turn 4-6-3 double plays with ease,” says Badler, who went on to state his offensive talent was more like Adeiny Hechavarria than Iglesias.

So this is a tough situation to gauge — although it’s possible that he could spend a year in the minor leagues and work on improving his offensive approach, there’s no guarantee he’ll provide more than Wilfredo Tovar or Ruben Tejada offensively. It has been noted that signing Arruebarruena does not feel like the pursuit of Aroldis Chapman, Yoenis Cespedes, or even Jose Abreu — and that his acquisition will come with much less fanfare.

It’s hard for me to take a stance on this matter, but I certainly would not be upset if the Mets signed this young man. I do, however, think it is an unlikely situation, so don’t get your hopes up. At the very least though, I am going to believe that the Mets are actually interested since the front office has demonstrated they are willing to start spending money once again. It does not hurt to cover your bases by sending a couple scouts out to see him play.

In closing, let me take a moment to express my happiness for the copy and paste feature, because Arruebarruena is no easy name to type out. 🙂

(Photo Credit: Alyson Rode)