Texas Rangers rumors: Julio Pablo Martinez expected to sign with Texas today

Texas Rangers rumors: Julio Pablo Martinez, 21 year old Cuban centerfielder, and the Texas Rangers are meeting today, according to Ben Badler, and are expected to get a deal done, with Martinez signing for the $2.8 million the Rangers have available in their international bonus pool.

While I’ve said I thought Martinez fit into the Rangers’ prospect rankings in the 6-10 range, Badler says Martinez would be the #3 prospect in the Rangers’ system, and would be at #60 on the BA top 100 list, so BA has Martinez higher than I had expected.

Jon Heyman reported yesterday that Martinez was expected to sign soon, and that the Rangers were the favorite to land the small lefthander. Martinez doesn’t have one particularly loud tool, but is a solid all-around player who is seen as a legitimate defensive center fielder who should hit enough to be a major league regular.

Since Martinez subject to the international spending caps, teams are limited in what they can offer him to what they have available. The Rangers had hoarded money in an attempt to sign Shohei Ohtani, but even after missing out on Ohtani, they traded for additional bonus pool space, and appear poised to lock up Martinez shortly.

UPDATE — Badler says the Rangers and Martinez have a deal for $2.8 million.