ESPN: Cuban baseball stars defected

According to ESPN a pair of highly touted Cuban baseball players has defected from the island.

Based on this article on ESPN’s website, Cuban pitcher Yadel Marti and outfielder Yasser Gomez fled the island and are in hiding on the Dominican Republic. The pair had already been booted from Cuba’s domestic baseball league after they tried to escape Cuba by boat.

Both players will reportedly be able to skip the Major League Baseball draft and can be contracted by the highest bidding team. (In other words, at least one of them will likely sign an overpaid contract with the Yankees).

Marti and Gomez will surely be sought after, especially when noting Marti’s stellar performance in the last World Baseball Classic (image):

Marti, 29, was the star pitcher in Cuba's runner-up showing at the 2006 World Baseball Classic, the first global event with Major League Baseball talent featuring players competing for their homelands.

Marti went 1-0 in the 2006 tournament with two saves and a 0.00 earned-run average while not allowing a run in 12 2.3 innings. The Cubans lost to Japan in the championship game while the US hosts could not even reach the semi-finals.

Image- BBC Mundo
Online Sources- AFP, ESPN, Deadspin, canada.com