Ken Rosenthal reports the two AL teams are in the mix to sign the Cuban defector.
Recently defected Cuban outfielder Daniel Carbonell is most likely to sign with the New York Yankees or Seattle Mariners, according to FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal.
Carbonell played professionally in Cuba since he was 17 years old before recently defecting, and while he might not receive the same hype as players like Jose Abreu and Yasiel Puig, he's still a four-tool outfielder (he lacks power) who can have a serious impact at the big league level.
Currently, Carbonell has established residence in Mexico, though it doesn't look like he'll be there for long if Rosenthal's report is correct. The 6'3", 220 pounder has athleticism that should have MLB teams salivating, and by the looks of it, the Yankees and Mariners look to be the most likely to cash in.
The Mariners don't have much history with Cuban imports, having signed Yuniesky Betancourt in 2005 and getting five solid but unspectacular years out of him. More recently, the team brought on pitching prospect Roenis Elias, and his future looks very promising.
It's hard to imagine the Yankees will make a huge push to go after Carbonell, given their stock of outfielders and already massive payroll. Conversely, this is the high-spending Yankees we're talking about, and many of the team's outfielders are nearing the ends of their careers—Ichiro, Alfonso Soriano—which could make this a move with the team's long-term future in mind.