Brewers Sign Highly Regarded Cuban Shortstop

[Mass Haas]

Baseball America --

 

Link, text follows:

 

www.baseballamerica.com/t...62734.html

 

Cuban Defectors Find New Homes

By John Manuel

 

Need evidence that Major League Baseball's revenue sharing is working and that the sport is healthy financially?

 

Agent Jaime Torres said that three of his most recent Cuban defector clients have reached agreement with major league organizations, and the two who received significant money--righthander Yuslan Herrera and shortstop Yohannis Perez--signed not with the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox or Dodgers, or any other large-revenue clubs.

 

Perez, 24, signed with the Brewers on a minor league contract. Herrera, 25, has finalized a deal on a major league contract with the Pirates, though the deal is not official pending Herrera passing a physical. A third defector, infielder Yunesky Sanchez, signed with the Diamondbacks on a minor league contract. Torres did not disclose financial terms.

 

Herrera has had success in Cuba, with a career 18-7, 3.72 record. Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield said nothing was official with Herrera, though Torres said the physical is the only legal obstacle to the signing. He confirmed the organization's interest in Herrera, saying the Pirates have "seen him a few times in the Dominican. I know there's interest from other clubs. I just don't want to comment until it's really official."

 

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound righthander, who is still working out in Santo Domingo in the Dominican, has shown command of a fringy fastball and what Torres termed an above-average curveball, and one scout liked him a lot.

 

"He's got an above-average split-finger (fastball) and was 88-92," the scout said after seeing Herrera pitch in a workout in August. "I could see his velocity jumping up to 90-94 once he gets into a system and he could very easily be a No. 4 starter in the big leagues."

 

Perez has earned comparisons to Mariners shorstop Yuniesky Betancourt for his speed and build. He's also an above-average runner. Because of his defection, he hasn't played in an organized league in two years.

 

Brewers assistant GM Gord Ash confirmed that Perez has agreed to terms with the organization, though he still has some red tape to get through. "We hope to have him in our winter program in Arizona and then in big league camp (in spring training)," Ash said.

 

Both players had trouble being "unblocked" by the U.S. Treasury Department (a process Cuban players must deal with due to cool American-Cuban relations and Cuba's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism), and neither was able to obtain a visa in time for instructional league. Torres said neither has plans to play winter ball either. They are expected to come to the U.S. and begin play in February in spring training.

[Cyanogen5]

Forgive my stupidity, but Perez isn't subject to the rule-V draft is he? Is he considered a free agent signee? How does it work with that? Does he get 4 years now before he is eligible, or is there some provission that allows players like him to sign minor league contracts and not be eligible? It would suck to sign him and then lose him to some other team because he is not on the 40-man.

[sbrylski]

I liked the "Weeks with less power" comparison better than the Yuniesky Betancourt one. Hopefully Perez can take walks.

[Mass Haas]

Perez is now entering his first year as a pro. Certainly he's not Rule 5 eligible.

[Cyanogen5]

I didn't figure that it was possible, but since he wasn't drafted I didn't know if he was considered a minor league free agent, or what. Well, he fills our AA/AAA SS vacancy quite nicely if he is what people expect him to be. Hopefully he turns into something special.

[bork]

Haudricourt finally picks up on the story.

 

JSOnline

[Mass Haas]

Haudricourt:

 

www.jsonline.com/story/in...?id=526197

 

Baseball America magazine, which first reported the signing

 

Just pointing out we contacted BA and directed them to our link. BA has the contacts and resources to get in touch with folks like the players' agent and those from the Brewer front office, and then post the requisite quotes, so we asked them to follow-up for us. We told BA staff there was no need to credit us, since it was their background story from August that led up to our posting.

 

The Journal's delay was justified in that there's virtually no one on the big league beat other than Haudricourt. Our posting came the morning after the World Series ended, on a Saturday yet, and TH was wrapping up his day-to-day coverage of all the postseason. Certainly there were some days off due after that. More telling is that there's nobody backing up at the JS that could have grabbed the news sooner.

 

But let's not make this a thread on news sources and such, but continue any focus on the Perez signing itself. Just glad we could "push" the news along to you.

[mothershipconnection]

Forgive my stupidity, but Perez isn't subject to the rule-V draft is he? Is he considered a free agent signee? How does it work with that? Does he get 4 years now before he is eligible, or is there some provission that allows players like him to sign minor league contracts and not be eligible? It would suck to sign him and then lose him to some other team because he is not on the 40-man.

He won't be eligible, as I'm pretty much positive he'll be just like Hernan Irribarren or any other Latin American FA signing who was not drafted (Hernan signed as a free agent fron Venezuela).

[TooLiveBrew]

Totally unrelated, whimsical post relating to the discussion of Betancourt/Crosby/Yohannis Perez near the top of this page (2)

 

Peter Gammons's preseason pick for AL MVP? You guessed it, superstar fans --- BOBBY CROSBY!!!

 

I threw up in my mouth when I heard him say it. I honestly thought he was (edited) - like he lost a bet or something. Then I went to the Mil-Oak game at Maryvale this spring, and knew that the nefarious BobbyCrosby crime syndicate threatened Gammons's family

 

-- edited language- See the BF.net FAQ here

[Tisko]

I wouldned worry about the language barrier. Tomo Ohka didnt speak english all that well and NO ONE on the Brewers I guaranteed knew Japanesse. I think he had a translator.

[thumperden]

Yo, just to keep which Yo is the Yo we're talking about Yo, couldn't we call the new Yo, YoYo? All this talk of Yo is breaking my brain cells down Yo.

 

I was thinking of Yo2, or Yo squared, but you can't type the little 2 on a computer. Dang the limitations of a computer. Dang youz to hell!

[thumperden]

Once again, I'm a thread killer...

[Baldkin]

but... but... you can make the small 2...

 

hold alt... then push 0178 on your numpad...

 

Yo²

[Mass Haas]

Well, that was certainly a unique thread bump after three months.

 

Guess I'll edit out the "Breaking News" from the subject heading...

[sbrylski]

Yo²

 

Sweet!

 

EDIT: Where did you learn that? Is there a list of keyboard shortcuts for ezboard somewhere? (The more keys you have to press, the more impressive)

[bretsky07]

That's just standard keyboard shortcuts using ASCII characters.

 

Microsoft Office ASCII Character Chart

 

You can pretty much type anything if you hold alt and put in the right sequence. I for one might call Yohannis

[berniebrewer4life]

YO²

 

Awesome. Thanks for the tip!

[Baldkin]

You can also find out what they are using character map under windows (for 2k its found under programs -> accessories -> system tools)

highlight what you want, and bottom right it shows the alt shortcut.

 

Ç®ªz¥!

[PeaveyFury]

To add some sort of breaking news to the thread, Gord Ash reported that Perez' wife successfully made it out of Cuba last week.

[TooLiveBrew]

That's huge news for that family -- good for her! http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[Mass Haas]

Journal-Sentinel Photographer Photographer Rick Scuteri with the first shot of Perez:

 

www.jsonline.com/site/pho...geNumber=0

 

http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/photographer/54/5436_large.jpg

[dadofandrew]

So, how old does he look to you? If i did not know, I'd say he was a 31 year-old utility guy whose played for many different teams.

[berniebrewer4life]

Dude looks like Ray Durham to me. After looking at Durham's stats, that wouldn't disappoint me either.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.fdlreporter.com/apps/...06002/1310

 

Brewers shortstop floating on air

Perez happy to be in America running down his dream

By COLIN FLY

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

 

PHOENIX ? Yohannis Perez smiles widely as he sits at his corner locker in the Milwaukee Brewers clubhouse.

 

It?s a star-crossed look, one that borders between being extremely happy and blissfully unaware of what?s going on around him.

 

He doesn?t know any English and is dependent on other players to translate for him to understand what?s going on. But he?s quick to name his favorite player ? Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter.

 

Perez, 24, defected from Cuba in July 2005 but had to wait to sign a minor league deal with Milwaukee until November.

 

In the meantime, he trained in Miami and the Dominican Republic while trying to sort out visa problems that came after he spent ?three or four? days on a raft with 31 other strangers floating in the Gulf of Mexico.

 

He was well-known in Cuba, where he played in the Cuban National League for Matanzas for six years and was twice named to the Super League, a postseason All-Star league featuring the top 100 Cuban players.

 

He also was caught once before trying to leave the country.

 

?They sent me back,? Perez said through a clubhouse translator. ?Then, a group of people found out about it after I got caught. They told me if I wanted to go again, they would take me.?

 

So Perez took up the offer, floating toward Florida and waiting to connect in Tampa with family that included cousins, an uncle and the girlfriend he had dated for eight years in Cuba.

 

Milwaukee became interested in Perez, who had strong defensive abilities as a shortstop, after he resolved the visa issues. The Brewers signed him to a minor league contract in the offseason that included a reported $450,000 bonus.

 

?I was really happy for the contract I received,? said Perez, who added he sent most of the money back to Cuba.

 

Perez has not stood out in camp, but general manager Doug Melvin said that it?s just a matter of time before Perez regains the form he had before his layoff.

 

?He?ll get stronger, arm strength-wise, and he?ll get stronger swinging the bat too, once he gets playing. He just hasn?t played in so long,? Melvin said. ?Players don?t actually lose it, but most of the time he?s just been in workouts.?

 

Perez, who came into Monday?s game in a double switch after third baseman Tony Graffanino fouled a ball off his toe, said he understands he has a lot of work to do before he?ll play on the same field as Jeter. He?s batted 2-for-9 in four spring training games.

 

?As a fielder, I?m ready,? Perez said. ?But to learn and get my swing ready, it?s going to take time. I need to go down to the minors for a little bit.?

 

It may be longer than that. As long as incumbent starter J.J. Hardy can stay healthy ? he only played in 35 games last season because of an ankle injury ? Perez may not get playing time in Milwaukee any time soon. But Melvin said Perez fits in the franchise?s big picture.

 

?Any time you get a chance to sign a middle infielder, they?re valuable commodities in the game,? Melvin said. ?He?s got good feet, he?s got quick hands, good release, good instincts, knows where to be. He knows how to play the game. He?s a player we think could play at the upper levels, Triple-A or Double-A, but we don?t know yet.?

 

Teammate Yovani Gallardo said everyone helps Perez out as he begins his new career.

 

?He hasn?t told me about his past,? Gallardo said. ?He?s kind of a quiet guy.?

 

But now that Perez is playing again, he?s already got another goal.

 

?I wanted to play baseball in the big leagues,? Perez said. ?Now, I want to get more playing time and be a starter.?

 

Milwaukee Brewers' Yohannis Perez tries to keep warm before a spring training baseball game against the San Francisco Giants, Saturday, March 3, 2007, in Phoenix.

(AP Photo/Morry Gash)

 

http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20070303/capt.azmg20503032354.giants_brewers_spring_baseball_azmg205.jpg

[Mass Haas]

Tom Haudricourt of the Journal-Sentinel with some new insights on Perez:

 

www.jsonline.com/story/in...?id=575884