2024-02-17 03:34:57
Text: Editorial Cuba Noticias 360
Photo: Yariel Rodriguez | Instagram
Since the new MLB international signing period opened on January 15, it was a matter of time before the fate of Cuban ace Yariel Rodríguez was known. Everything seems to indicate that the Toronto Blue Jays won the race for the right-hander from Camagüey who led Cuba’s rotation in the last World Classic.
Reporter Francys Romero was the first to report this Wednesday that both parties reached an agreement pending signature until the player performs the corresponding physical examination in the Canadian city in the coming days. The details of the contract are still unknown, but will be made public once the official signing is made.
Initially, interest in the pitcher who will turn 27 in March was led by teams with the Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, but as January approached the Blue Jays took the lead.
Media sources specialized in transfers recently pointed out that Toronto was optimistic but some immigration problems remained to be resolved and when they are resolved the player will be able to make the trip from the Dominican Republic, where he has been training for almost a year.
After impressing with his performance in the V Clásico, Rodríguez decided not to return to Japan to continue his contract with the Chunichi Dragons, an organization with which he left extraordinary numbers in the 2022 season. In his last year Or in the demanding Japanese ball, he posted a 1.15 ERA in 54 and two-thirds innings, striking out 27.5% of his opponents and walking only 8.3%.
In the Classic he made only two starts, where he compiled 7 and a third innings, with 10 strikeouts and 8 walks, but the thing that most impressed the scouts was the speed of his four-seam fastball, which reached the 97 miles, as well as the rotation of his slider, well above the MLB average.
“El Gallero de San Serapio†, as he was baptized when he debuted with Camagüey in the Cuban National Series almost a decade ago, was declared a free agent last September and from that moment on he began to be one of the most sounded in the offseason due to the possibility of receiving a multi-year contract of between 30 and 50 million dollars.
Some experts consider that his role in the Major Leagues will be as a reliever, as he had been playing in Japan, however, other sources indicate that the Blue Jays are considering giving him a spot in their starting rotation. In any case, the Cuban ace is expected to have an immediate impact in MLB so he should be incorporated into the Canadian team’s 40-player roster for the next preseason to begin in February.