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The Cardinals and White Sox are the favorites to sign Cuban outfielder Luis Robert, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports. Robert is expected to sign with a club over the weekend.
Robert, 19, is expected to command a deal worth at least $20 million, according to Passan. He has drawn interest from the Padres, Astros, Reds and Athletics in addition to the two finalists, but appears to be headed to either St. Louis or Chicago.
Robert is the last elite Cuban talent to be eligible to sign under the old collective bargaining agreement, meaning his bonus will likely be the last massive one seen given to a Cuban amateur for the near future. The Cubs, Red Sox, Yankees and Dodgers are ineligible to sign Robert because none of those clubs can offer more than $300k for an individual player due to signing restrictions.
Robert’s decision will add a high-risk, potentially high-reward prospect to the system of either the Cardinals or White Sox this weekend. He won’t be the first major Cuban add for either of those clubs, as the Cardinals have Aledmys Diaz starting at shortstop and the ChiSox have both first baseman Jose Abreu and top prospect Yoan Moncada in their organization.