Marlins show off their triumph: Cuban stars Victor Victor Mesa and Victor Jr. in Miami

After a long recruitment process, what was once considered a dream is now a reality — the top-ranked international free agent is a Miami Marlin.

On Monday, the team officially introduced Cuban star outfielder Victor Victor Mesa and his younger brother, Victor Jr., as the newest members of the organization. Flanked by CEO Derek Jeter and president of baseball operations Michael Hill, the brothers donned white Marlins jerseys and posed for pictures in front of a packed media room.

“This was a big day for us as an organization,” Jeter said. “Our objective is to increase the level of talent and here’s another example of us doing it. Victor Victor has a track record of a lot of success, so we’re pretty high on him. Our scouts are extremely high on him.

“I think you talk to all 30 MLB teams and Victor Victor was very high on their list.”

Victor Victor, 22, and Victor Jr., 17, held a private workout for MLB teams at Marlins Park on Oct. 5 as Jeter and a number of other Marlins officials watched the brothers perform. Following the workout, Miami made a series of trades to acquire more international bonus pool money in hopes of strengthening their position in landing the brothers. The Marlins trailed the Baltimore Orioles in bonus pool money two weeks ago, but reportedly surpassed them following the deals.

“Both are five-tool players,” Hill said. “When you think out what Victor Victor represents, it’s what we’ve done through our trades, our draft picks — athletic and above average bat, runner, defender, throwing arm and fits very well with the type of player we like.

“We had a little less history with Victor Jr. [ because of his age], but tremendous talent when he was thrown into the showcase and facing a lot older, experienced players. He held his own and did a great job.”

While Hill didn’t have a timeline for when he expects either player in the majors, he said both will take part in spring training in Jupiter. The Marlins will determine what minor league affiliates the players were be placed in after spring training. Hill added that Victor Victor may take part in Dominican winter ball, while Victor Jr. may participate in Dominican Instructional League.

While Victor Victor weighed his decision, Marlins fans amped up their recruitment efforts on social media. Victor Victor said he and his brother noticed the outpouring of support from the Miami community throughout the process.

“A lot of influence happened on social media,” Victor Victor said. “Seeing the fans and everybody — they were very excited for us to sign with the Marlins. One of the examples — people were actually changing their user name and including their first name twice. Like if the name was Mike, they’d have Mike Mike as the name.”

In addition to the players’ talent, they figure to be a prominent marketing draw considering Miami’s large Cuban population. While Jeter noted that connection, he said the signing was about landing two of the elite international prospects.

“Obviously it makes the business idea lot easier,” Jeter said. “Bottom line is we feel we got two of the top players in the market. I’ve said from Day One, we’re going to invest in the international market. We’re not just doing it to appease fans; we’re doing it because we actually want these players to come up here and perform and win on a daily basis.”

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