2 Cuban baseball players don't defect despite reports

[Laura]

Apparently Cuban baseball players Yulieski Gourriel (2B-3B) and Eduardo Paret (SS-2B) defected while playing a tournament in Columbia. (Link in Spanish-Language paper) Both played for Cuba in the WBC.

 

The translated article says that Gourriel would like to play for the Yankees.

 

"One of the members of the Cuban novena that desertó sería stellar the second base Yulieski Gurriel considered like one of best of the world in his posición. Apparently, his próximo destiny sería the equipment of the Yankees, New York ", informó the newspaper the Time of BogotÃ.

Edited August 2, 2006 by Laura

[jjgman21]

Steinbrenner should just sign a player development deal with Castro. they seem to get all the Cubans worth a damn.

 

not sure where he would fit in with them though.

[texascub]

Wasn't Gourriel primarily their secondbaseman during the WBC and the one that said he'd never defect because both of his parents worked in the government?

[RonnieWooWooSanto]

They should want to play for the Red Sox to spite Castro.

[WindyCity]

Wow -- I'd love to see the Cubs throw a pile of cash @ Yulieski Gurriel. He is a stud.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

I would like to see us sign Gurriel. We'll be shopping for a second baseman this winter, so it could happen.

 

But if he wants to play for the Yankees...hmmm.

[CP_414]

I would like to see us sign Gurriel. We'll be shopping for a second baseman this winter, so it could happen.

 

But if he wants to play for the Yankees...hmmm.

 

The Yankees love Cano because he is the first productive hitter they have developed and not traded in a couple years (since Jeter?). I could see them sitting this one out.

 

I would love to see the Cubs focus on a couple international players this offseason: Gurriel and the pitcher coming over from Asia this winter. Then add a high OBP guy like Trot Nixon and we have something going.

[synergy]

anyone remember the name of that Korean slugger in the WBC? He was like the Asian David Ortiz......

[Wilmo]

anyone remember the name of that Korean slugger in the WBC? He was like the Asian David Ortiz......

 

 

Hee Seop Choi... Dohhhhh :shock:

[Mephistopheles]

Eduardo Paret would have been a great sign a decade ago or so, but now he is 33 and turns 34 this October. He used to be a stud at the top of the lineup and in the middle of the field. I guess he could be a decent one season stopgap at short or second if the Cubs need one, but that's doubtful.

 

Gourriel would be a nice sign on the other hand. His EqA translations the last three years range around .285 and he is young. Dunno how well he will actually translate. He'd be a bad fit for the Cubs. He's a hacker who cannot walk to save Castro's life.

 

That slugger in the WBC was Seung-Yeop Lee. He's currently hitting .325/.387/.644 for Yomiuri in the CL. Keep in mind that the Tokyo Dome is a 1100+ PF park most of the time. He's got 30 dingers in 93 games but has a terrible 82:23 SO:BB. He's a free agent after this season so he can come stateside if he wants too, but eh I'll pass. The low discipline will hurt his translation to the American game, I think. I will be fair, he was pretty weak in Japan last season and broke out this season - the second year in the League. Not only that he is the only player in Japan with more than twenty-two home runs.

 

If the Cubs want to make a foreign splash, they gotta bid high and often on Daisuke Matsuzaka. Dai-san is not a free agent after the season, but Seibu Railways is floundering as a company and will more than likely post Matsuzaka after the season. Matsuzaka is a work horse pitcher and is if he is on the market it's likely he'd be the number one pitcher - ahead of Zito. Currently he's sitting 11-3 with a 1.92 ERA and a 125:23 K:BB. He sits around 93 MPH with his fastball, touching mid to upper 90s and was the first Japan born player to hit 100 MPH which he did so in the Athens Olympics. He throws a slider/cutter 80-85 which grades as a well above average pitch. He throws a big overhand curve in the mid 70s which is an above average pitch and he throws a forkballs which is also an above average pitch. At the WBC against Mexico he sat 92-96 and liived off his fastball. He reminded me a lot of Prior in 2003 with his pinpoint 94 MPH FB with lots of life.

 

As you can probably tell, I like Matsuzaka a lot.

 

EDIT:

 

[Gourriel] was warmly welcomed upon arrival in this central Cuban province on Thursday and "received phone calls from all over Cuba, from his friends and relatives", according to her mother, Olga Castillo.

 

http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID={4642681D-0A3A-41EF-80DF-6D783F667500}&language=EN

 

Ooh conflicting reports! Castro could have easily shot that smoke from his bum.

[Fro]

I want Gourriel and Y-S Lee bad... they were amazing in the WBC.

 

It was just a pipe dream and now they're both available... they'd be way better values than a guy like Soriano or Carlos Lee.

[Mephistopheles]

Keep in mind that the WBC was only 3-8 games max for each player. It's hard to look at the statline. Shinnosuke Watanabe dominated in the WBC but has faltered this season in Japan. Hitoshi Tamura dominated for Japan and isn't great in Japan.

 

etc.

[1908]

I will be fair, he was pretty weak in Japan last season and broke out this season - the second year in the League. Not only that he is the only player in Japan with more than twenty-two home runs.

This is Lee's third season in Japan actually. He hit .240/.328/.450 in 2003 and .260/.315/.551 in 2004 for Bobby Valentine's Chiba Lotte Marines. Buyer beware.

 

Dai-san is not a free agent after the season, but Seibu Railways is floundering as a company and will more than likely post Matsuzaka after the season.

Likely? It could happen but Japanese teams have been very, very reluctant to post their superstars. Sasaki and Ichiro are it. I wouldn't count on it. And in the unlikely event it does happen, I can't see anyone outbidding the Yankees.

[Mephistopheles]

My mistake on Lee. I dunno Seibu is in bad shape right now. They need the money bad and 2007 would be Matsuzaka's last year, I believe. It seems to widely believed he's going to be out there. Yeah he'll be expensive, but I wonder if Steinbrenner will tempt his expectations after what happened to the Fat Toad.

[erik316wttn]

Eduardo Paret would have been a great sign a decade ago or so, but now he is 33 and turns 34 this October. He used to be a stud at the top of the lineup and in the middle of the field. I guess he could be a decent one season stopgap at short or second if the Cubs need one, but that's doubtful.

 

Gourriel would be a nice sign on the other hand. His EqA translations the last three years range around .285 and he is young. Dunno how well he will actually translate. He'd be a bad fit for the Cubs. He's a hacker who cannot walk to save Castro's life.

 

 

Actually from everything we've heard from Jim and Dusty, he'd be a good fit.

[1908]

I dunno Seibu is in bad shape right now. They need the money bad and 2007 would be Matsuzaka's last year, I believe. It seems to widely believed he's going to be out there.

Widely believed by whom? Free agent class rankers on this side of the Pacific? I'll believe it when it happens.

 

Yeah he'll be expensive, but I wonder if Steinbrenner will tempt his expectations after what happened to the Fat Toad.

I suspect Godzilla's play washed out that bad taste long ago, and he'd fill a big need in NY.

 

(Sorry to hijack this thread, Serena. I enjoy Cuban baseball, too. And I'd love to see the Cubs land Gourriel.)

[Laura]

Here's an ESPN link on the defection, which still seems pretty sketchy in terms of details.

 

Wasn't Gourriel primarily their secondbaseman during the WBC and the one that said he'd never defect because both of his parents worked in the government?

 

That's what I was thinking.

 

(Sorry to hijack this thread, Serena. I enjoy Cuban baseball, too. And I'd love to see the Cubs land Gourriel.)

 

No problem, I always like reading the Japanese discussions. :)

 

Landing Gourriel could open up a lot of possibilities for 2B or playing him at 3B and moving Aramis.

 

But I suppose the Cubs pursuing him is so unlikely that it's probably not worth wasting a whole of brainpower on.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

According to http://www.rotoworld.com Yuliesky Gourriel has not defected.

 

Yuliesky Gourriel, who was rumored to have defected, said he returned with the Cuban national team from a tournament in Colombia.

A report last week said Gourriel and shortstop Eduardo Paret had asked for asylum in Colombia. "I laughed when I saw those reports, because I was home as soon as we finished playing," Gourriel told ESPNdeportes.com. If the 22-year-old Gourriel were to defeat, he'd immediately become one of the game's most sought-after free agents. Gourriel, though, says he doesn't want to leave Cuba. "My commitment is to my family, which has guided me since I was little, and the revolution, which has guaranteed me everything I've needed to become a ballplayer," he said. "That's all I need as a person. ... I have definite convictions."

[UK1679666180]

http://globalbaseball.wordpress.com/2006/08/01/cuban-defectors-we-know-are-available/

 

The players´agent told me that at least 26 major-league teams had their scouts in attendance. No idea about the identity of the few teams who weren´t interested, but I was able to pick out reps from the Devil Rays, Yankees, Mets, Giants, Cubs, Mariners, Braves, Indians, Diamondbacks, Reds, Twins, Brewers, and Nationals.