South Side Sox: What Do We Know About the Impending Viciedo Signing?

The Cheat’s take on the Dayan Viciedo signing (ok, ok...not yet).

Dayan Viciedo was supposed to be introduced as the newest member of the White Sox in a press conference on Friday, but apparently visa issues--there’s always visa issues--may have derailed the event, though not the signing itself. The terms of the contract are as of yet unknown, but Phil Rogers put us in the $11M ballpark and you guys keep talking about 4-5 years (though I’m unsure where that info originated).

Until Viciedo is officially signed and plays a few spring training games all we’ll be able to do is speculate on his ability. Personally, I think the notion that he’ll compete for a job as the starting 3B this year is laughable, but I also thought that Alexei Ramirez should have gone to the minors out of camp last spring and thought he would probably end up in AA when the Sox signed him just before Christmas. So what do I know?

...So, is this a good signing?

The truth is, I don’t know. The Sox didn’t sign Viciedo looking to lock up some talent for a below market value. They signed him (or rather will sign him) to add more talent to their system. Period. The major league contract and the limitations that such a contract brings would seem to indicate their faith in Viciedo’s talent, but the contract’s overall value means Viciedo has to produce and produce relatively quickly to justify such a price. It’s a substantially riskier signing than your average top prospect.