Cubs sign Cuban pitcher Gerardo Concepcion to 5-year, $6M deal

By Matt Snyder | Baseball Blogger/

The Chicago Cubs have officially signed Cuban pitcher Gerardo Concepcion to a five-year, $6 million major-league contract, the club announced Sunday. Reports of his signing broke in early February, but the deal just now has come to fruition.

Concepcion, a 20-year-old left-hander, won Rookie of the Year in the Cuban National League last season, when he went 10-3 with a 3.36 ERA. He then defected from Cuba and became a free agent for this offseason.

“He's a 20-year-old left-hander, a really good feel for pitching, a three pitch mix,” Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer said (Chicago Tribune). “He's had success at a young age in Cuba and a guy we're excited to bring over here and work with.”

Baseball Prospectus' Kevin Goldstein tweeted that he'd rank Concepcion as the Cubs' 8th best prospect at this point.

The Cubs will add Concepcion to the 40-man roster but send him to minor-league camp. He's more a long-term project than a short-term solution, which is the same direction the new Cubs administration has taken the entire offseason. The Cubs have also reportedly been closing in on Cuban outfielder Jorge Soler, but nothing is done yet.