Late Tuesday afternoon, the Indians signed Hector Caro, a 16-year-old kid out of the Dominican Republic who projects to be a right-handed hitting outfielder with raw power.

While response to this news included the requisite jab at the current situation near the mini-green monster of Progressive Field — can he play now!? — the overwhelming majority of the replies I received upon dissemination were regarding Caro’s alleged age. Certainly, in the wake of the Fausto Carmona/Roberto Hernandez situation, this is to be expected. The Indians signed and extended a kid who wasn’t a kid at all — their current starting rotation falls vicitm during a season wherein the contention window is officially open.

The Indians themselves tread lightly in this same pool, though it may be more protocol than the reactive measures of the once spurned. Though Caro has been handed a seven-figure signing bonus, a sizable portion of the $2.9 million allowed by the newly minted collective bargaining agreement, the team will not pen an official announcement until Caro is run through a litany of examinations to confirm that the team is in fact getting what they believe to be a 16-year-old kid with incredible potential. [Read more...]