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The Miami Marlins are not in the running for Cuban outfielder Jorge Soler, according to Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun Sentinel. While the Marlins are out, Houston Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow told Brian McTaggart of MLB.com that his club has continued interest in signing Soler. Beyond the Astros, the New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates and Toronto Blue Jays have all been tied to Soler recently.
The #Marlins made a strong bid for Cuban OF Yoenis Cespedes, but they are NOT in the running for Jorge Soler. ... sulia.com/my_thoughts/dd…
— Juan C. Rodriguez (@JCRMarlinsbeat) June 7, 2012
Yesterday, ESPNChicago.com’s Bruce Levine reported that, according to industry sources, the Marlins were one of four clubs expected to be the highest bidders for Soler; the others being the Yankees, White Sox and Cubs.
However, it now doesn’t appear that the Marlins will be one of the finalists in the Soler sweepstakes, according to Rodriguez’s report.
Soler’s agents told teams that yesterday was the deadline for them to submit their best and final offers for the 20-year-old. Levine reported the bidding for Soler is expected to "go somewhere between $25 and $35 million".
Astros GM Jeff Luhnow wouldn’t confirm if Houston had submitted a bid for Soler. All Luhnow would say is that the Astros "continue to have interest in Soler" and that he expects the signing process to happen quickly.