Cuban ss Jose Israel Garcia, 19, has a deal for 5M with the reds @BenBadler 1st
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) June 8, 2017
As @JesseSanchezMLB reported Tues, #reds completed signing of Cuban SS Jose Garcia. $5 million bonus; costs club $10 million with penalty. pic.twitter.com/z0wbDpI8Wd
— Mark Sheldon (@m_sheldon) June 8, 2017
According to Baseball America, Garcia is 6-foot-3 with room to grow from his current 170 pounds.
He's a righthanded hitter with a long swing that gets him tied up on fastballs on the inner third, but he's adept driving pitches on the outer half to the opposite field. Garcia's limited power is mostly to the gaps, with a chance to hit 10-15 home runs in his prime once he gets stronger. He has shown solid strike-zone judgment for his age during international competition.
Garcia is the third Cuban prospect to sign with the Reds in the past year, joining 21-year-old pitcher Vladimir Gutierrez and 22-year-old shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez.
The #Reds are adding Cuban infielder Jose Garcia to their farm system. pic.twitter.com/YjIHK98cUg
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) June 8, 2017
Rodriguez, who is regarded as an elite defensive player, is hitting .266 with 17 RBIs and seven steals in 54 games at advanced-Single-A Daytona this season.
Gutierrez is 4-4 with a 4.44 ERA in 10 starts at Daytona.
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