The White Sox, who have always found a niche in signing Cuban players, have done it again. Chicago has agreed to terms on a deal with 19-year-old Infielder/outfielder Dayan Viciedo (pending a physical) who had 36 home runs and 162 RBI with a .287 batting average over four years (327 games) of play in Cuba’s best league.
Last season the White Sox signed infielder Alexei Ramirez who, not soon after, became their starting second basemen. Ramirez batted .290 with 21 home runs and 77 RBI. He finished runner up in the AL Rookie of the Year race.
Jaime Torres, Viciedo’s agent, was asked if he thinks his client could go right to the majors. Torres replied, “Personally, I think he can. I think I know the Cuban players and their talent.”
2 Comments
Any word on how Torres was able to get Viciedo through immigration? Did he defect Cuban soccer player style? It’s always interesting to hear how agents handle those situations. There are somewhat similar situations with getting Russian hockey players who under contract with Russian teams over to North America.
Ryan,
I checked out some websites in search of a response to your question. I stumbled upon a blog titled “Non Sequitur.” The blog stated that Viciedo left Cuba with his family on May 20th. He arrived in Mexico and then moved to Miami, FL to reunite with friends and family where he then declared that he was defecting to the United States.
Check out this link for further information. [http://folloder.wordpress.com/2008/06/09/legal-immigration/]