Milwaukee Brewers: Could They Sign Victor Victor Mesa?

Recently, MLB ruled that Cuban prospect Victor Victor Mesa is now eligible to sign with teams as a free agent. Who is he and could the Milwaukee Brewers sign him?

For a quick primer on the international free agent market, Victor Victor Mesa and his brother Victor Mesa Jr. are now free agents after defecting from Cuba. Teams are restricted on what they can spend on these players by what they have in their international bonus pools.

Since both Mesa brothers are under 25 years old, they are subject to those spending restrictions.

Who Is Victor Victor Mesa?

Mesa is a MLB Pipeline’s top international prospect. He’s just 22 years old and has dominated the Cuban baseball league since he was 16. Mesa is a great defender in the outfield and carries upside as a potential top of the order hitter.

While the Milwaukee Brewers already have a pair of those in the big leagues and a bunch more in the minor leagues already, when GM David Stearns hears there’s a toolsy outfielder available on the open market, his ears perk up quicker than a golden retriever hearing the phrase “wanna go for a walk?”.

In the 2016-17 Cuban baseball season, Victor Victor Mesa hit .354/.399/.539 with 14 doubles, six triples, seven homers, 40! stolen bases, and just 19 strikeouts. This was all in about 250 at-bats. This dude has a ton of talent.

Victor Victor and Victor Jr will reportedly be hosting a showcase for all 30 teams in about a month or so.

Could The Brewers Sign Victor Victor Mesa?

If there’s anything Milwaukee Brewers fans have learned since David Stearns took the job, it’s to never count him out of anything. That being said, it’ll be an uphill climb.

Plenty of other teams have much more money available to give to Mesa, who would likely go in the first round of the MLB Draft were he eligible. The Orioles, Marlins, Rays, and Dodgers all have several million dollars left in their bonus pools.

The Milwaukee Brewers exhausted most of their pool money and, unofficially, have less than $1 million to work with. That likely won’t get it done to sign Victor Victor Mesa.

He’s an intriguing talent to be sure. There have been a lot of recent Cuban success stories in the big leagues including Jose Abreu, Yoenis Cespedes, Yasiel Puig, and Yoan Moncada to name a few. Mesa figures to be the next in that line.

But he likely won’t be doing it in a Brewers uniform.

The Brewers do have plenty of toolsy outfielders in their system, and adding one more would only increase that depth, but this may be one outfielder that Stearns can’t get on his team.