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Dayan Viciedo hasn't even taken his first professional cut at the plate, and already his first autographed rookie card has reached $200-plus in online auction.
Viciedo, a 19-year-old third baseman who defected to the U.S. from Cuba last year and in December signed a four-year, $30 million deal with the White Sox, has received an invitation to the club's big-league spring training camp. He's expected to compete with Josh Fields for the starting third base job left open when the club did not bring back free agent Joe Crede. Although he ultimately might open the season in the minors, the White Sox believe Viciedo could be pushing for a big-league job by mid-season.
Viciedo and Donruss came to an autograph agreement shortly after he signed with Chicago, and his only card to date appears in 2008 Playoff Contenders Baseball. Realized prices for those autographed rookie cards have been steadily climbing the past several days with one eBay sale at $202.50 after attracting 18 bidders. In the last day, two other copies of the card sold online for more than $192 each.
"We knew he would make a mark on the trading card industry, and do so pretty quickly," says Donruss-Playoff Brand Manager David Porter. "We had to scramble to get any kind of photo because the kid hadn't even stepped onto a field in the U.S. at the time of our production deadline. But we were able to get it done and it's great to see the collector interest in the card."
Contenders Baseball released Feb. 4.
