Julio Pablo Martinez to Texas Rangers now official, team announces

Julio Pablo Martinez is a Texas Rangers, as the team announced the 22 year old Cuban outfielder has officially been signed, through a tweet on the team account. I guess John Blake has the afternoon off.

Back in March, it was reported that the Rangers and Martinez had a deal for a minor league contract with a $2.8 million signing bonus. Martinez had been cleared earlier this year to sign with a major league team, but due to his age, he was subject to the international bonus pool rules. Most teams had already spent the bulk of their 2017-18 J-2 funds, but the Rangers, having accumulating pool money as part of their unsuccessful effort to land Shohei Ohtani, were in position to give him the largest signing bonus.

Martinez checks in at #60 on the updated Baseball America top 100 prospect rankings, with BA describing him as a solid all around player who, despite his small size, has speed, power, and an average arm that will play in center, comparing him to Curtis Granderson.

Martinez is expected to spend some time in the Dominican Summer League, then move over to the United States towards the middle of the minor league season. Martinez is seen as being a high-A or AA level talent, which means we could see him in Arlington in 2019 or 2020, if things go well.