MLB Trade Rumors: St. Louis Cardinals Prepare Offer For Cuban Aledmys Diaz; Yankees Engage In Talks With Youngster

Hoping to land one of the most coveted young players in baseball, multiple teams in Major League Baseball continue to monitor the situation hovering around Cuban shortstop Aledmys Diaz. A 23-year-old talent with well-rounded offensive skills and improving defensive ability, the former Villa Clara starting shortstop – who defected from Cuba over the summer – is now awaiting an official offer from one or more MLB clubs, with the potential for that proposal to be as steep as $30 million dollars over four seasons.

According to multiple sources, the first team to make an official offer for the Cuban youngster could be the St. Louis Cardinals. The 2011 World Series champions have been interested in Diaz for some time and after General Manager John Mozeliak, manager Mike Matheny and other front office higher-ups had the chance to view Diaz in person through a private workout earlier this week, the thought is that St. Louis could have an offer tabled in the coming days. “He's a player we've had interest in for a while,” GM John Mozeliak said. “The next natural step in the process was to put him in front of our people in this setting.”

Represented by agent Jaime Torres – who also works with Los Angeles Dodgers star Yasiel Puig and Chicago White Sox shortstop Alexei Ramirez – Aledmys Diaz is expected to continue his personal workouts while awaiting the offer(s) he hopes to receive in relatively quick fashion. Eligible to sign with any team after serving a one-year suspension for falsifying his age, the rising talent will continue to be pursued by highly interested clubs other than St. Louis. The New York Yankees – looking to the future with the retirement announcement of Derek Jeter – have reportedly entered talks with Diaz while the San Francisco Giants, Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners, Oakland A’s and San Diego Padres have shown interest as well.

Diaz batted a crisp .308 in the Serie Nacional de Béisbol from 2008 through 2012, slugging 12 home runs in 270 at-bats during the 2011-2012 seasons. Despite a negative number of errors in 2009 (24 in 90 games), the 23-year-old remains a hot figure in free agency with many clubs potentially eying him as a second baseman.