Giants interested in Cuban first baseman Jose Abreu

The San Francisco Giants are hoping to be involved for the services of Cuban first baseman Jose Abreu according to Andrew Baggarly of Comcast SportsNet Bay Area.

The Giants also hope to be involved on Jose Abreu, the 26-year-old power-hitting first baseman widely regarded as Cuba’s top offensive player. Abreu, a right-handed hitter, is in the process of establishing residency in Haiti or Mexico and could double the average annual value of the seven-year, $42 million that the Dodgers gave Yasiel Puig last June.

Abreu will likely be one of the prize free agents this summer due to a very thin free agent market. The 6'3, 250 pound first baseman recently defected from Cuba and will be eligible to sign as an International free agent as soon as he establishes residency in another country. At 26 years old, Abreu projects as a power hitting first baseman at the major league level.

The recent successes of international free agents such as Yu Darvish, Yoenis Cespedes, Yasiel Puig and Hyun Jin Ryu have encouraged the Giants to potentially go after Abreu. Among the teams that are expected to be interested in the Cuban first baseman are the Red Sox, the Orioles, the Rangers, the Metss and the Pirates.

Matt Sullivan of MLB Daily Dish wrote a great article on the potential market for Abreu.