Back in February, infielder Yulieski Gurriel and his younger brother Lourdes Jr. defected from Cuba while in the Dominican Republic for the Caribbean Series. Along with Japanese righty Shohei Otani, the Gurriels are widely considered two of the best players in the world not under contract with an MLB team.

The Gurriels are still going through the process of being declared free agents by MLB, and that can take an awfully long time. They have to first establish residency outside Cuba, then get cleared by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, and then be given the thumbs up by MLB. That process can take months and months.

Aroldis Chapman, who played with Yulieski on the Cuban National Team back in the today, recently told Brendan Kuty that Gurriel would be “super happy” to play for the Yankees. Yulieski has said in the past his favorite player in Alex Rodriguez, which is pretty cool. Here’s what Chapman told Kuty:

“He has asked me many questions,” Chapman said. “But that’s normal because, Cuban people, they always want to ask you how’s the baseball at this level, what’s the organization and all that. It’s typical for Cuban people to ask questions about the Yankees.”

…

“He was a good teammate,” Chapman said. “Besides being a good player, he’s a good person. He would share moments with us. He would hang out outside of baseball and he was just a good teammate.”

The two Gurriels are at very different points in their career. Yulieki, the older brother, will turn 32 in three weeks and is ready to jump right into a big league lineup. He’s been a star in Cuba for more than a decade — the Cuban government allowed him to play in Japan in 2014, and he raked there too — and most believe Gurriel could be an impact hitter in MLB right now.

Lourdes is only 22, however. His career is just getting started. In fact, once he is declared a free agent, he will still be subject to the international spending rules. He’s not going to sign this summer though. Lourdes will wait until he turns 23 in October so he will be exempt from the spending restrictions and free to sign a contract of any size. Waiting a few extra weeks means millions and millions more.

The Yankees haven’t been connected to the Gurriels at all, but no team has at this point, so that doesn’t mean much. Every team has a place in their organization for Lourdes given his age and what is considered high-end upside on the middle infield. Yulieski is a bit trickier because he’s a second and third baseman who is MLB ready. The Yankees are contractually locked into Starlin Castro at second and Chase Headley at third.

Castro has been more than fine in his first few weeks as a Yankee. Headley has been mostly awful despite his recent extra-base hits. I’ve been wondering if the Yankees will move Headley in an A.J. Burnett style salary dump after the season even though they lack a ready made replacement. (Sorry, I’m not buying Rob Refsnyder at third.) Dumping Headley would clear a spot for Yulieski.

Of course, it’s all going to come down to money. Hector Olivera signed six-year deal worth $62.5M with the Dodgers last year. He was 30 and two years younger than Yulieski, but also a much inferior player with a much scarier injury history. It’s not unreasonable to think Gurriel will command more. Lourdes is tougher to pin down. Yasmany Tomas got six years and $68.5M at age 24 a year ago.

I wonder if Lourdes, who is expected to need time in the minors, will end up getting offers like the deal Jorge Soler signed with the Cubs years ago. Soler received a nine-year deal worth $30M at age 20 — this was before the spending restrictions became a thing — though the contract allows him to void his salaries and opt into arbitration. So if he becomes a star, Soler has the ability to go through arbitration to make more money.

Perhaps the younger Gurriel brother will go for something like eight years and $40M with a similar arbitration opt-in clause. Chances are he will take the largest guarantee offered, so if someone puts Tomas money on the table, they’ll probably get him. But if not, a structure like Soler’s could work. And yes, such a deal would count against the luxury tax. That’s not insignificant for the Yankees and Hal Steinbrenner even with all the money they have coming off the books the next two years.

The idea of a package deal is very intriguing and I feel like a rebuilding team like the Braves or Phillies should be all over the Gurriels. It’s a great opportunity to get two talented players. It really seems like Yulieski wants to play for the Yankees though, so maybe that gives New York an edge come free agency time. Remember though, A-Rod will be gone after next season and chances are Chapman will be gone after this season. Gurriel may not be too keen on coming to the Yankees if his favorite player and long-time friend won’t be around for the long haul.

Brothers Yulieski Gurriel and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. have defected from Cuba and are looking to sign with MLB teams, reports Jesse Sanchez. They’ve gone by Gourriel in the past but dropped the “o” a few years back. Along with Japanese right-hander Shohei Otani, the Gurriel brothers are arguably two of the three best players in the world not under contract with an MLB team.

The Gurriels defected Sunday while in the Dominican Republic for the Caribbean Series. Both have expressed interest in coming to MLB over the years but did not want to betray the Cuban government. So either the Gurriels changed their minds and left, or the government let them leave a la Yoan Moncada. Either way, both have to go through the process of establishing residency in another country, being cleared by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, and then being declared a free agent by MLB before they can sign. The whole process could take months.

Lourdes, 22, is the more significant player of the two because of his age, and the timing of the unblocking process and declaration of free agency could be crucial for him. He is subject to MLB’s spending restrictions, so if he is cleared soon, he can be signed as part of the 2015-16 international period. That means big spenders like the Dodgers, Giants, Blue Jays, and Cubs can still bid since they are already over their bonus pools for the current signing period.

But, if Gurriel is not cleared until after July 1st, those clubs as well as the Yankees, Angels, and Red Sox would be out on him because they’re limited to bonuses of no more than $300,000 as a result of the penalties for exceeding their signing pools in recent years. Lourdes could wait until his birthday in October to sign and probably will, now that I think about it. Once he turns 23 he will no longer be subject to the spending pools. Any team could pay him whatever they want at that point.

Lourdes is considered capable of playing shortstop, though he has played mostly first and second base in Cuba in deference to veteran players. He was hitting .321/.387/.537 with eight homers in 43 games during the Cuban season prior to defecting. Here are his career stats via Baseball Reference:

Back in April, Ben Badler (subs. req’d) ranked Lourdes as the fourth best player in Cuba, saying his “game is comparable to a young Ryan Zimmerman.” Here’s a snippet of Badler’s scouting report:

Gourriel has plenty of bat speed to catch up to good fastballs and the plate coverage to make frequent contact. He can have trouble at times against slow breaking balls, but he has good strike-zone discipline and a patient approach, giving him a chance to be a plus hitter with a high OBP. Gourriel flashes above-average raw power with the swing path to generate backspin and leverage the ball for loft in games, making him a 20-homer threat.

Yulieski, 31, is a second and third baseman and has been the best player in Cuba for several years now. He was hitting .535/.604/1.012 with ten homers, 15 walks, and one strikeout in 23 games for Industriales before defecting. He spent the 2014 season with the Yokohama Bay Stars in Japan — the Cuban government allows players to play overseas in Asia — and hit .305/.349/.536 with eleven homers in 63 games. Here’s some video:

You can see Yulieski’s career stats at Baseball Reference. Badler ranked him as the top player in Cuba last April, saying he “would have similar value to Hanley Ramirez and David Wright in terms of age and offensive performance if he were to leave Cuba to pursue a major league contract.” Being comped to Hanley and Wright sounded better last April than it does right now. Here’s a little more from Badler:

He has plus bat speed and squares up all types of pitches with good hand-eye coordination and barrel control. He wraps his barrel behind his head, angling the bat toward the pitcher, but he gets the barrel into the hitting zone quickly and has good plate coverage. He stays within the strike zone and uses the whole field, and with plus raw power on the 20-80 scale, he offers a balance of being able to hit for average, get on base and hit for power.

Last year Yulieski said he wants to play for the Yankees because his favorite player is Alex Rodriguez, which is neat. The elder Gurriel will be a true free agent free to sign with any team for any amount once he’s given the thumbs up. Hector Olivera, who signed with the Dodgers at age 30 last year, received a six-year contract worth $62.5M. Yulieski figures to receive more because he’s a better player and doesn’t have Olivera’s injury history.

Lourdes is the big one though. If he decides to sign before his 23rd birthday, he’s looking at Moncada’s bonus ($31.5M) plus more due to inflation and the fact he’s closer to MLB ready. If he waits until his 23rd birthday, Lourdes could receive a contract in line with the six-year, $68.5M deal Yasmany Tomas took with the D’Backs. Tomas signed that deal at 24 but was also an inferior player, so adjust up some amount. He’s going to wait until his birthday in October so he’s not subject to the spending pools, right? Makes too much sense.

The Yankees would have use for both Gurriel brothers, especially Lourdes because he’s so young. They’d have to hope he waits until October to sign, in which case he’d get a big league contract that would screw up their luxury tax plan, but that should be a minor consideration. If you can get a potential star caliber up-the-middle player in his early-20s for nothing but money, you do it. Surely they have some level of Moncada regret, which could be a factor in their pursuit of the younger Gurriel brother.

Yulieski would be interesting too. He could potentially fill a Ben Zobrist-esque supersub role — he has experience in the outfield as well as second and third bases — or even take over as a starter at second or third. Who knows what the roster will look like in a few months? The Yankees are not going to want to pay huge money for a player who will be 32 in June, especially since he’s unproven at the MLB level. Does he want to play with A-Rod bad enough to take a discount? Developing!