Cuban pitcher Yariel Rodríguez broke his contract with the Dragones de Chunichi, in the Japan Professional League (NPB), and will seek to sign with an organization of the Major League Baseball (MLB)according to several independent media reports.
The news was given on her social media profiles by Francys Romero, a specialist in issues related to Cuban baseball players in the MLB, who also announced that the player is currently in the Dominican Republic.
Yariel was one of the most outstanding pitchers of the Cuban team that finished in fourth place in V World Baseball Classic (WBC)after losing in the semifinals to the representation of the United States in a match held at the LoanDepot in the city of Miami.
In this way, the player would be breaking his ties with the Cuban Baseball Federation (FCB), who represented him before the Dragons. At the moment, neither party has made an official statement on the situation.
According to Romero’s report, the player would not be subject to the restrictions on international signings regulated by the MLB due to his age (25 years) and his experience of six seasons in international baseball.
In six editions of the National Series he rounded out a balance of 32 wins and 30 losses with six saves, a 3.50 earned run average, a 1.42 WHIP and 395 strikeouts.
He worked with the Dragons for three tournaments and his record was 10-10 with 39 holds in 79 appearances, in which he accumulated 175.1 innings, a 3.03 PCL, struck out 188 batters and averaged just .186
The pitcher from Camagüey had recently been included in the list of the best 10 WBC prospects, made by the prestigious publication Baseball Americain which players like the Japanese Roki Sasaki and Yoshinobu Yamamoto appear, together with the Cubans Liván Moinelo and Raidel Martínez, who will remain in the next season of the NPB.
Yariel was selected by the leadership of the Cuban team as the starter for the opening duel of the recent WCB against the Netherlands team. According to the source, he could aspire to a multi-year contract “for a million-dollar figure.”
The information cites valuations of a scout of the American League of the MLB, for whom the value of Rodríguez in the market would be around 50 million for a contract of between 5 and 6 years, although he did not rule out that a team could offer a higher agreement.
It is not the first time that a Cuban player hired in the NPB under the protection of the island’s federation makes this decision.
Before that, pitcher Héctor Mendoza, Andy Rodríguez, also from the capital, and the impressive Oscar Luis Colás from Santiago, who has just joined the main roster of the Chicago White Sox for the imminent MLB season, did so.
Sizing up the prospect: Oscar Luis Colás is looking for a house in South Chicago
The report clarifies that none of these belonged to the Chunichi Dragons; Hence, until now the position that the Japanese club will adopt is unknown.
Yariel could be released by the team so that he does not occupy one of the places designated by regulation for foreign players or he would try to limit his chances of signing with an MLB team, as initially happened with Colás, waiting for the player to reconsider his decision. .
In any case, the man from Camagüey becomes, up to now, the only player on the official roster of the World Classic team, and linked to the FCB, who decides to embark on his own path towards the MLB.
After the tournament Iván Prieto decided not to return to the island, but he was serving as a receiver of bullpenrole outside the team’s roster.
