I don’t know if he was the first to report it, but he was the first one that I saw report it:
Source: Cuban P Raciel Iglesias is nearing a deal with the #Reds worth over $15 million over 5/6 years
— Max Wildstein ?? (@MaxWildstein) June 16, 2014
The 23-year-old defected from Cuba in November and is now eligible to sign with Major League teams after establishing residency in another country. With his age, he doesn’t count towards the international budget teams are allotted, but I imagine that he would eat into money set aside for it.
Scouting Report
Iglesias is a bit undersized, just 5′ 11″ an 165 lbs. at this point in time, but the stuff isn’t small at all. He works in the 92-95 MPH range with his fastball and throws a breaking ball in the mid 70’s to low 80’s. He is expected to be a reliever.
Given that he hasn’t pitched yet this year, I would expect him to begin in the minors, likely in Double-A or Triple-A to get his feet under him and go from there.
Video