Introducing Dayan Viciedo and the Cuban Trifectors – Three Keys for White Sox Success in 2009

One of the most intriguing names reporting to the White Sox Spring Training facility at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona is Dayan Viciedo. If you are just a general baseball fan, you may never have heard of Dayan Viciedo before. Even some White Sox fans might not be very familiar with the name yet.

But from what I am reading, we should all probably get very familiar with the name Dayan Viciedo; and if he is as good as advertised, the entire baseball world may be familiar with him soon.

The 19-year old Dayan Viciedo, a third baseman, is the latest Cuban defector to join the Chicago White Sox after signing a 4-year, $10 million deal this offseason. Jose Contreras, who came over earlier this decade from the New York Yankees, helped the White Sox win the 2005 World Series and has become a fixture in the White Sox rotation. Alexei Ramirez, dubbed “The Cuban Missile” by Ozzie Guillen during Spring Training last year, finished as the runner-up for the AL Rookie of the Year award in 2008.

Together, they form the trio of White Sox that I am now going to refer to as the Cuban Trifectors, and their play in 2009 will go a long way towards deciding whether or not the White Sox can repeat as AL Central champions.

So who is this Dayan Viciedo that, according to the Chicago Tribune, led one AL scout to say that “he has more hitting ability than Alexei”?

Dayan Viciedo, as mentioned, is a native Cuban who entered the National Series of Cuba at the ripe old age of 15. He only hit .243 that first season, but found his footing as a 16-year old and hit .337 with 14 home runs. And anyone who says, “well he was only playing in Cuba” obviously does not know much about international baseball.

Cuba always fielded a very competitive baseball team in the Olympics, and finished as the runner-up to Japan in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. Cuba is very serious about their baseball, and that same Chicago Tribune article cited earlier quotes an AL scout as saying “You don’t see a 16-year-old play on a national team [as he did].” Dayan Viciedo actually made the provisional 60-man roster for the World Baseball Classic but did not make the final cut.

Viciedo’s greatest strength appears to be significant raw power. I have read in more than one place that Viciedo projects to be a 35-40 home run guy. His .337 average as a 16-year old also shows that he is not a McGwire-esque one trick pony either. He will obviously have to prove, however, that he can make adjustments at the Major League level and provide consistent production against higher quality pitching.

The primary weakness that has been cited is Viciedo’s weight. He apparently ballooned up to 260 pounds at one point after reaching the U.S. following his defection. The White Sox instructed him to report to camp at 230 pounds, and he had already trimmed his weight to 246 pounds by the time of his tryout in November, according to the Chicago Tribune.

And Ozzie Guillen certainly seems encouraged, as this report at SunTimes.com from January 30, 2009 shows:

Guillen has gotten promising reports from bench coach Joey Cora regarding power-hitting third baseman Dayan Viciedo, 19, who defected from Cuba last year. There had been concerns that Viciedo’s weight would hurt his chances in the majors.

”I got great news about the former fat guy,” Guillen said with a laugh. ”Now he’s a big man. He’s a strong, big kid. When I saw him the first time, he was overweight, there’s no doubt.

”I talked to Joey Cora, and this kid is going to come to spring training having the big-league club on his mind, and that’s good. He says he wants to be on the big-league club. He is going to have all of the opportunities to make the ballclub.”

Viciedo will be competing with Josh Fields at 3B this spring. Joe Crede, the longtime fixture at the hot corner for the White Sox, will probably be in San Francisco or Minnesota. Juan Uribe will not be with team either. And while there is understandable excitement about Dayan Viciedo’s potential, it is important to point out that while Josh Fields struggled last year, this is still a guy who hit 23 home runs in only 373 ABs in 2007. He only had 20 ABs at the Major League level last year, but at 27 should be ready to hit his stride.

What will be interesting to see is whether the White Sox keep Viciedo at the big league level if he does not unseat Josh Fields as the starter, but shows enough pop in his bat to be a DH fill-in for Jim Thome and power bat off the bench. I would think that the White Sox want Viciedo playing every day, so if he is not starting on the big league club they will probably have him in AAA.

One thing is for sure: whether or not Viciedo breaks camp on the South Side, he could still play an integral role in the White Sox quest to defend their AL Central title. Alexei Ramirez played sparingly through the first few months of 2008, but came on strong during the final few months to become one of the offensive leaders for the White Sox. We will see how quickly Viciedo can adjust during Spring Training; but regardless, his name will be on all Sox fans minds all season, especially if Fields struggles or if the White Sox offense as a whole sputters like it did at the start of last season.

Either way, Dayan Viciedo is another solid building block for the future that Ken Williams has assembled. With respect to the immediate future, the other two members of the Cuban Trifectors are two of the most important keys for the White Sox success in 2009.

Jose Contreras is still recovering from the ruptured Achilles that ended his 2008 season. Most projections have him returning to the rotations around the All-Star break, and the early reports from Glendale are glowing:

Guillen presented rave reviews for Camelback Ranch, comments echoed by White Sox pitchers and catchers. He called Jose Contreras “the biggest surprise of camp,” even with just one day elapsed, as the right-hander showed up 30 pounds lighter than the end of the 2008 season and well on his way to coming back early from a ruptured left Achilles tendon suffered last August.

With the 4th and 5th slots in the rotation still up in the air, the healthy and effective return of Contreras could be a tremendous mid-season lift for the White Sox. Everyone hopes that Bartolo Colon and either Aaron Poreda or Clayton Richard can solidify the back end of the rotation, but there is no replacement for the big game experience that Jose Contreras possesses. He was up and down at times last season, but I firmly believe that the White Sox are a better team with him taking the bump every fifth day.

The other Cuban Trifector, Alexei Ramirez, is being counted upon heavily to not only deal with adjustments that AL pitchers will most likely throw his way during his second year in the big leagues, but also with playing a new position. Alexei is sliding over to SS from 2B to make way for Chris Getz (or perhaps Brett Lillibridge). Moving over to SS should not be too much of an adjustment for Alexei, as he played mostly shortstop and center field in Cuba. The move could certainly boost the White Sox offense, assuming that whoever is playing 2B can replace the modest production of Juan Uribe.

With inexperienced players like Jerry Owens, Getz, and Fields projected to be starters in 2009, and aging veterans like AJ Pierzynski, Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, and Jermaine Dye trying to prove that they can still produce at above-average levels, a lot of pressure will be on Alexei Ramirez and Carlos Quentin to provide consistent offensive production. Alexei, who will be 27 on opening day, was very consistent as a player in Cuba and is at the age where most players enter their prime years. For the White Sox to succeed in 2009, Alexei needs to build upon his solid rookie year and be the player throughout 2009 that he was during the final few months in 2008.

I am a huge proponent of Ken Williams’ willingness to bring in Cuban players, and the White Sox are in a unique situation to help Cuban players succeed. When Alexei joined the team last year, he had the veteran Contreras to lean on and fellow Latino Ozzie Guillen as his manager. Alexei was also 26, so he had seven years of maturity on the young Dayan Viciedo. But Viciedo will have both Contreras and Ramirez to help guide him, and a manager in Ozzie Guillen who has proven his willingness to give young players a chance.

Jose Contreras and Alexei Ramirez are both proven commodities who have experienced great success already at the Major League level. Dayan Viciedo is a raw 19-year old who possesses immense talent but still needs to prove that he has the skills and mental makeup to compete and produce consistently at the Major League level. Together, the Cuban Trifectors form a huge piece of the 2009 puzzle that the White Sox and their fans are hoping can result in another AL Central title and a return trip to the playoffs.