Commentary

Cuban brothers defecting to U.S.

ST. LOUIS -- The "if" that hovers around the best Cuban baseball players has now become a "when," so when Cuban infielder Lourdes Gourriel Jr. scores his dramatic offer let it be remembered that one of the first Major League Baseball representatives to scout him in Cuba was a pitcher, Clayton Kershaw.

"Wow," the lefty said. "Tall."

Lourdes and his brother Yulieski Gourriel left the Cuban national team after this past weekend's Caribbean Series and have defected, according to reports. MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez cited sources and suggested that the brothers "are not expected to return to the island." Miami's El Nuevo Herald was the first to report of the brothers' defections.

Their talent is only part of what makes this newsworthy.

Their last name adds to it.

During MLB's goodwill tour to Cuba this past December, the young Gourriel visited with big leaguers at a clinic they hosted Estadio Latinoamericano, Havana's largest stadium. He walked through a tunnel behind home plate, hugged current Cardinals catcher Brayan Pena and followed former Cardinals outfielder Jon Jay to meet Kershaw. Near him at every step was Lourdes Gourriel Sr. He was a former player and manager, and he won a gold medal in the Summer Games. Two of his older sons were fixtures for the Industriales and the national team. Lourdes Jr. had an uncle, a great uncle, and a cousin who also have starred as ballplayers. To some of the big leaguers who didn't know the family history, the Cuban players explained that the Gourriel family was like the Boones or Alomars.

They are a royal family of Cuban baseball, and that, according to observers at the ballpark that afternoon in December, applies some pressure on the brothers to stay even as their contemporaries have defected by the dozens.

Lourdes did not hide his dream of playing in the majors.

But he always included home as part of the equation.

"A lot of things have to happen, but I hope to someday be a part of something like this -- coming back to Cuba," Gourriel told a few reporters at the ballpark that day, including MLB.com's Sanchez and myself. "It's one of my dreams. ... I've always had that dream since I was a little kid. To get this close and to possibly live this dream is really emotional."

Lourdes Jr. is an up-and-coming talent. At 22, he's hit .321 with a .924 OPS in 43 games for the Industriales this season. Yulieski, 31, has played for Cuba in the Olympics and three different World Baseball Classic tournaments. He has won championships in multiple international tournaments with Cuba. It is at these tournaments that scouts from Major League Baseball can scout the Gourriels and other Cuban players because they not permitted, by law, to conduct their business in Cuba. (Kershaw, notwithstanding.) If he's able to establish residency in the Dominican Republic or elsewhere -- and official told me in Cuba that Haiti is a current preference for defecting players -- Yulieski would be permitted to sign as a free agent with a major-league team. Lourdes could take longer.

Not yet 23, Lourdes would now fall under international spending limits. If he waits until he turns 23 then he has the chance to be declared a free agent and pursue a richer contract.

The Gourriel brothers join the wave of Cuban players that are becoming available to major-league teams. Some estimates have put the number at more than 100, though not all are believed to be ready for professional baseball or the majors. Lourdes came to his home ballpark in December to see what he hoped would be his future. Officials talked at the time about how his generation could be the first to leave the island for the majors and return without the limits imposed on the previous generation, the one that includes Pena, Jose Abreu, Yasiel Puig, and other familiar names.

Less than two months later, Lourdes Jr. has leaped.

In that tunnel, as Pena told Lourdes Jr. how much he's grown and Kershaw did a double-take on his size, I asked the young infielder if he felt because of his name or because of his place on Industriales there was pressure to stay in Cuba, to remain home.

"We play for the fans here," the young Gourriel brother said, pivoting on the question. "We play for the fans. They're the ones who say, 'Yeah, they're playing great.' Or, 'No, they're not playing, they're playing horribly.' Our satisfaction comes from playing for these guys. There's not a whole lot of pressure."

And with that he was off to join some big leaguers, for pictures.

Now he's off to join some big leaguers, for good.

Sports on 02/09/2016

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