Is this the starter the Mets want...

In Dec. it was reported that the Mets and the White Sox were the front runners for Yunieski Maya ( source Globedia). Since then Maya has been unable to get his paper work in order to become a free agent, for about two weeks now, it has been reported that any day he could become available.

NY Hot Corner has a great article on Maya in which they found in their research that there are at least seven teams interested in the pitcher and he has pitched for scouts in the D.R. as recent as January 21st.

Also My World of Baseball has a great chart comparing this years two Cuban pitchers ( Chapman & Maya) in which it looks like Maya is the better option.

Peter Bjarkman considered the foremost authority on Cuban baseball gave an interview to Cincinnati.com primarily about Chapman but had the following to say about Maya.


So once Lackey and Pineiro were gone was the sudden lack of urgency to find starting pitching because the Mets are going to be the team patient enough to wait for Maya...

RLD: If you only had one Cuban pitcher to sign, and that pitcher was Chapman, is he a good risk?

Bjarkman: Is he a good risk in the abstract? Certainly, because he can throw 100 mph. But if you are comparing the risk to the $30 million he received, or to Stephen Strasburg, the No. 1 overall pick of the Nationals in last year’s draft, then no. I don’t think you want to risk that kind of money on any pitcher who hasn’t thrown a single inning in professional baseball and who could blow his arm out tomorrow.

If I had one Cuban pitcher to sign it would NOT be Chapman. It would be Yunieski Maya, who may be a few years older (27) but who has all the pitches and makeup of a big-league starter and could move into the Reds starting rotation tomorrow. The real winner in all this will be the team that grabs Maya, who is now in the Dominican Republic and carries a much lower price tag. source Cincinnati.com

Hat tip to my friends at my favorite message board NYFS.