Vegueros of Pinar del Río still doesn’t see the light in the Caribbean Series. Now, to its two consecutive defeats in as many outings, it has to add another torment: shortstop Dainer Moreira and pitcher Vladimir Gutierrez have left the campus.
Early last night information began to surface, but it was not until today that OnCuba wasable to confirm the fact. Through the social network Facebook, pitcher Hector Mendoza told us that: “It is true, both Moreira and Vladimir are no longer with the team, but do not know how it went, when they left, from where they did it, it’s hard, it is a difficult time for us, we lost two games and now face the final stretch with two players less.”
Meanwhile, fellow pitcher Livan Moinelo added: “I do not know if I should tell you, but that happened, not that this only affects us now in the Caribbean Series but when we return to the National Series, the absence of Vladimir Gutiérrez’s going to be felt in Pinar del Rio, he is one of our best pitchers. “The infielder David Castillo, one of 12 Pinar del Rio players to integrate the team, briefly clarifies us something: “It happened, period. Still, we will qualify”.
Vladimir Gutierrez, just 19, is one of the most promising pitchers in Cuban baseball. With a safe place in the pitching rotation of the Cuba and Pinar del Río team in the role of reliever, he has a sharp slider and a good fastball that ranges between 92-93 miles, speed he could raise if he puts some weight to the 1.85 meters stature.
Dainer Moreira, 30 years old, is a quintessential leadoff hitter, a contact hitter that has seen how his career took a gigantic leap once he moved from Guantanamo to Matanzas in the National Series. He is not spectacular at defense although has good hands.
The dream of the MLB: closer
The defections of these players are produced in a context where the Bureau of the Treasury of the United States Foreign Assets (OFAC) has issued a statement which states that: “It has been eliminated the requirement of specific license for Cuban players living in US territory or a third country.”
This implies that access procedures for Cuban players to Major League Baseball (MLB) will be easier now just enough for them to file an affidavit of residence abroad with any major league organization to sign contracts.
Just a few hours ago, the Office of the Commissioner of MLB announced that it confirms the decision of the OFAC and thus already several Cuban players are willing to sit down and negotiate with the MLB teams.
