Baseball America is reporting the Major League Baseball is investigating the age of Cuban shortstop Aledmys Diaz. Diaz is stating that he was born on January 8, 1990, which would make him 23. A report on Cuba's official baseball website from December 2007 has him being born on August 1, 1990, while a roster from the Haarlem Baseball Week lists his birthdate as August 1, 1991.
The significance of all this is that, if Diaz is 23, as he says, he would be exempt from the 2012-2013 international bonus pools, which would make him more attractive to MLB teams. In addition, if MLB finds out that he has falsified his age, he could be subject to a penalty of being ineligible to sign for one year.
The Cardinals showed some interest in Diaz earlier this year, but given his age issues and the modest scouting reports on him, I think its best for the Cardinals to take a pass on him.
For their part, the Cardinals may already be showing signs of doing just that, as they have recently shown interest in Ronny Cedeno.
In any case, its obvious the Cardinals are still looking for infield depth, with questions surrounding Rafael Furcal's health to start the season.
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