The Ultimate Free Agent

Webster defines Free as enjoying civil and political liberty or choosing or capable of choosing for itself. We as Americans sometimes take this for granted in my opinion. In addition the usage of words in specific instances sometimes just do not seem to really fit. The term Free Agency in sports means a player's contract with a team has expired, and that player is able to sign a contract with another team. Not entirely FREE as I am sure everyone would like to sign with a team that is most likely to make it to the World Series, but due to roster size and financial reasons, that is not an option. So, where am I going with this?

The World Baseball Classic opened our eyes to several highly talented ballplayers around the world that were/are not currently on the Major League Baseball stage. Americans will be able to see Daisuke Matsuzaka every fifth day for the Red Sox this season, but we will still not be graced with the abilities of Yulieski Gourriel. The world saw just a glimpse of this talented ball player during the World Baseball Classic, but there is a lot of excitement around his abilities. With the imminent death of Cuban Dictator Fidel Castro looming, will this change the way the United States and Cuba interact?

Gourriel is a 22 year old 3B/2B/SS for the Cuban National Team and Sancti Spiritus team of the Cuban National Series. Gourriel is the son of a former Cuban National Team member Lourdes Gourriel who was a major player for the Cuban National Team in the 70's and 80's.

Scouts who have seen Yulieski have stated that if he were available in the draft, he would be a guaranteed first rounder. Yulieski has been compared to a young Chipper Jones, Alex Rodriguez and even Hall of Famer Ernie Banks.

Accomplishments of the young Gourriel include winning the Junior Pan Am games as a 17 year old, hitting .433 while winning Gold in the 18-and-under tournament, Olympic and World Cup Gold Winner in 2004 and 2005 and lastly a second place finish to Matsuzaka's Japanese team during last seasons World Baseball Classic.

During the 2005 World Cup Gourriel destroyed world pitching with splits of .319/.385/.894 yielding an OPS of 1.279 in 11 games. His numbers in those 11 games included 47 AB's, 8HR's, 19 RBI's and 12 runs scored.

Last season as he led Sancti Spiritus to the Cuban National Series he became the first player in Cuban history to go 20/20. Yulieski homered in 5 of the last 6 games prior to the Series that capped off a 29-2 record over their last 31 games. To summarize his season, he led all Cuban players in Triples, Home Runs, RBI's, Total Bases, and was second in SB's. Over the 90 game Cuban season his numbers were:

349 AB's 89 Runs 114 hits 19 2B 11 3B 27 HR's 92 RBI's 21 SB's .327 Avg

Projected over a 162 game season, these numbers translate to one of the top 5 seasons in major league baseball history.

625 AB's 158 Runs 204 hits 34 2B 20 3B 49 HR's 166 RBI's 38 SB's .327 Avg

So, who would be interested in this talented ballplayer who will only be 23 next season? Of course it would include all the big money players and can only come to fruition if the new regime post Castro allows for players to come to the Major Leagues without defecting since Yulieski has already been rumored to have defected but strongly refuted those claims last summer after a tournament in Columbia.

With his abilities to play 2B, SS, 3B, it opens the possibilities for others besides the Yankees whom would have to be creative to find a position for him with Cano, Jeter and ARod manning those positions already.

So who do I think will/should bid for the services of Yulieski?

1. Florida Marlins
Jeffrey Loria should buck up and pay whatever it takes to get this kid on his Miami based club which city boasts the largest Cuban population which would only increase if things open between the U.S and Cuba after the death of Castro. Sliding him in at 2B over Dan Uggla would be a tremendous upgrade and give the Marlins an infield of Jacobs, Gourriel, Ramirez and Miguel Cabrera.

2. Boston Red Sox
Mike Lowell's contract ends at the end of this season and sliding Gourriel into that spot and the two hole in the lineup in front or Manny and Big Papi would make the Red Sox nation happy that they will have an offense comparable of the hated Yankees.

3. Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers have a $0.5 million buyout of Jeff Kent's $9 million he would be owed. This money could be used to get younger and better with the signing of Gourriel. With the talented Dodger system and the current players under contract, Ned Colletti will be a big player in the Yulieski Gourriel sweepstakes.

I know this is all hypothetical depending on what happens post Castro and even more so if Yulieski even decided he wanted to play in the major leagues but wouldn't it be an interesting scenario? I am not the kind of person who wishes any undue harm onto anyone, but I am really anxious to see what happens to relations with Cuba and the United States once Fidel Castro passes on.