Royals Sign Arguelles

MLB.com is reporting that the Royals have signed 19-year-old righthanded pitcher Noel Arguelles to a five-year, $7M Major League contract.

Despite his young age, the Cuban defector has extensive international experience and is highly touted as.

According to Royals GM Dayton Moore:

“He’s 6-4, 225 and very athletic, very competitive,” Moore said. “He’s got an above-average fastball and changeup, a curveball and slider. He’s certainly a top pick if he was in the Draft this year.”

“We feel he’ll be a top-of-the-rotation pitcher at some point in his career,” Moore said.

It didn’t appear that the Mets were ever a major player in signing Arguelles, which is too bad considering the final price tag. The dollars seem relatively cheap for a young pitcher with his skill set, and the only downside is that KC will have to carry him on their 40-man roster regardless of whether he’s ready for the bigs (considering the Mets have wasted 40-man spots on people like Robinson Cancel in the past, that wouldn’t have been a major issue). Though, New York may not have been the best place for Arguelles to develop. The spotlight would be over him from his first pitch in A ball, and the pressure to promote him would have been incessant — similar to when Mike Pelfrey was drafted. With Kansas City Arguelles will have the time to develop at his pace, in a relaxed atmosphere.