White Sox agree to commit $25 million to Cuban outfielder Luis Robert

The Chicago White Sox have reached a tentative agreement with Cuban teenager Luis Robert on a contract worth more than $25 milliion, according to a person with direct knowledge of the deal.

The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on condition of anonymity because the deal is not yet finalized.

Robert, 19, is a 6-foot-3 outfielder who was the finest talent left in a Cuban baseball pool thinned by a series of defections to the USA. The White Sox's financial commitment to him will put them over their international signing limit for the next two years.

And they've also banked much of their future on a pair of Cubans panning out.

They received slugging infielder Yoan Moncada as the centerpiece of the deal that shipped ace Chris Sale to the Boston Red Sox. The White Sox also have slugging Cuban first baseman Jose Abreu, though he could be traded to accelerate the club's rebuilding process.

Moncada, 21, is currently batting .321 with a .905 OPS at Class AAA Charlotte.