Cuban Prospect Defected

by Azmanz on Jun 8, 2008 4:04 PM PDT

MIAMI -- One of Cuba's top baseball prospects has defected and settled in South Florida in hopes of playing in the major leagues.

Dayan Viciedo arrived in the United States at the end of May and is now living with friends and family, his agent, Jaime Torres, said Sunday.

The 18-year-old Viciedo is from the central province of Villa Clara. He was a third baseman with the Villa Clara team, one of Cuba's major league teams.

He started playing baseball in the Cuban majors when he was 15 and was included on the roster for the 2006 World Baseball Classic.

"There's a lot of hard work ahead of him to accomplish what he needs to accomplish," Torres said.

Word of his defection spread quickly in Cuban baseball circles Sunday as the island's national team played an offseason exhibition with Puerto Rico. El Nuevo Herald was the first to report the defection.

"This was a very personal decision he made," Villa Clara coach Victor Mesa, who attended Sunday's game at Havana's Latin American Stadium, told The Associated Press. "It appears he had a change of heart and wanted to try his luck there."

Viciedo is the latest high-profile athlete to leave Cuba for the United States. In March, seven Cuban soccer players defected at the Olympic qualifying tournament in Tampa. Cuba called the act "dishonorable" and a "low blow." In May, 2004 Olympic bronze medalist Yurisel Laborde left Cuba's women's national judo team during a competition in Miami.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3432314

How does this work? Does highest bidder get him? Does he go into a draft or waivers?

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Comments

yeah, what a dishonorable low-blow, lol...

i think its the highest bidder, like Kendry Morales….

by slojoe on Jun 8, 2008 4:13 PM PDT reply actions

He should be draft eligible in 2009.

“Major League Baseball sends out an eligibles list to all the clubs, and if he was not on that list, then he could not be drafted,” the scout said. “It also happens with Cuban free agents. MLB informs all the clubs when a Cuban can be signed, and informs all the clubs when a player is eligible for the draft. So it seems unlikely he would be a free agent to me.”

by KCE on Jun 8, 2008 4:36 PM PDT up reply actions

Aalexi Ramirez

Aalexi Ramirez defected from Cuba during the last off season and signed directly with the White Sox without going through the draft. Why was he able to sign without being drafted? Could that situation occur with this guy?

by Scottsdale on Jun 8, 2008 6:15 PM PDT up reply actions

Aalexi Ramirez

Any foreign player who’s name begins with consecutive vowels is automatically granted free agent status, thus David Aardsma is not eligible as he is from Ceti Alpha VI, which is subject to the MLB summer amateur draft

Down in Front Meat!

by homerdrew415 on Jun 8, 2008 6:21 PM PDT up reply actions

THIS

is Ceti Alpha V!

FIRE BRIAN SABEAN

by zenbitz on Jun 9, 2008 10:01 AM PDT up reply actions

I’m gonna stick an eel in Doug Melvin’s ear now…then we’ll see what happens at the trading deadling.

by tyrannoman on Jun 9, 2008 1:43 PM PDT up reply actions

Ramirez was around 25 yrs old while Viciedo is a baby.

by wilriv21 on Jun 8, 2008 6:40 PM PDT up reply actions

Alexei Ramirez established residency in the Dominican Republic and thus was able to be a free agent rather than going through the draft.

by FluLikeSymptoms on Jun 8, 2008 6:48 PM PDT up reply actions

From BA

Viciedo, born in March 1989, is listed at 6-foot-1, 210 pounds, but reports are that he was bigger than that last year at the World Junior Championship in Mexico. Viciedo has excellent power and hitting ability, however, with one scout comparing him to Giants prospect Angel Villalona.
“His body could go the same route as Livan Hernandez, and when I saw him in Mexico, he wasn’t very good at third base anymore,” one international scouting director said. “But he can really hit; in fact, I think he’s probably a better hitter than Villalona.”

Villolona received a $2.1 million bonus from the Giants in 2006 and is currently playing for low Class A Augusta.

Another scout who had seen Viciedo was less enthused about him as a player, pegging him as a first baseman-only hitter with a bad body. “You know everybody liked Kendry Morales,” the scout said, referring to the Angels’ Cuban DH/first baseman, “and he had some other tools. But his body’s gone south and he’s pretty much just a DH. So I think it’s premature to get too excited about this guy.”

by KCE on Jun 8, 2008 4:34 PM PDT reply actions

good for this kid and fuck you Castro

as I understand it, if he comes to America he has to go into the draft, but if he established residence in another country he would be a free agent. For instance, Rolando Arrojo defected during the Olympics in Atlanta and then went into the draft the following year, whereas Orlando Hernandez established residence in Costa Rica and was a free agent. If he is going to live with his family in Florida it seems like he’ll be in the draft next year.

by FluLikeSymptoms on Jun 8, 2008 4:49 PM PDT reply actions

Cool... so...

The more top 5 talents in the draft next year, the more we don’t have to be in the top 5 to get one!

Not that we won’t be in the top 5, but… yeah….

Also, totally assuming he’s a top 5 player. Not because he’s been playing professional baseball since he was 15. Just because I like to make an ass out of us.

My Dave Righetti is better than your Dave Righetti.

by howtheyscored on Jun 8, 2008 6:11 PM PDT up reply actions

yeah, i think i remember something like that about Morales?

the sleazy agent tries to get him residence in another country first so the bidding war can start

by slojoe on Jun 9, 2008 12:46 AM PDT up reply actions

I doubt hes going to be in the draft, hes probably going to go to DR or Mexico and establish his residency for a couple months and get signed like everybody else

by i wish we were good on Jun 8, 2008 7:41 PM PDT reply actions

the giants should go get this guy?

does it seem fair to anyone else who knows more than i do that the giants are way behind most other teams in international scouting? of all the foreign players signed in the last year or so, it seems the giants got one (joseph) and weren’t able to seal the deal. is there a solid list of foreign prospects and their status out there?

Bengie Molina: stretching doubles into singles since 1998.

by jasomack on Jun 9, 2008 6:35 AM PDT reply actions

Isn’t this supposed to be the thing Felipe is working on? Obviously, the Giants did get Villalona, so they see themselves as players in this market.

2008 Giants: A steaming pile of scrap!

by Goofus on Jun 9, 2008 12:26 PM PDT up reply actions

are you going to make a cream of wheat reference?

Down in Front Meat!

by homerdrew415 on Jun 9, 2008 1:19 PM PDT up reply actions

I don't think that's really fair to say

the Giants have actually made quite a few good international signings lately (at least good from early indications) including Villalona, Henry Sosa for the DR, Pablo Sandoval from Venezuela, Sharlon Schoop from Curucao, and Julio Izturis (brother of Caesar and Macier) from the DR. I’m sure there are a bunch of other younger guys that we don’t know about yet. I couldn’t really say for sure how this compares with other teams, but I do remember reading a few years ago that they had increased their efforts in Latin American scouting and it seems to be paying some dividends. They worked hard on getting Villalona, more than just throwing money at him.

by FluLikeSymptoms on Jun 9, 2008 1:05 PM PDT up reply actions