There were a ton of MLB teams in the derby for Cuba defectee Jorge Soler, and the Chicago Cubs won the spending battle to get him. Now that Anthony Rizzo is up at the Major League level, Soler gets to become the next big name to be “franchise savior.” Soler, 20, joins the Cubs organization after playing for Cuba at several international tournaments, including the 16-under COPABE Pan American Championships in Mexico in 2008 and the World Junior Championships in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada in 2010.
The 6-foot-3, 205-pound Soler was one of the team’s offensive leaders in 2010, batting .304 with a .500 on-base percentage and .522 slugging percentage in seven games, helping Cuba to the World Junior Championships bronze medal. He drew nine walks and only had one strikeout during the tournament.
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