Jorge Despaigne

[tjfla]

http://www.baseballamerica.com/inter...e-leaves-cuba/


According to the BA article he is gone from Cuba and will count towards the IFA Pool.

We have 4.62 million in ours-maybe we make a splash this year? Teams can go over the amount to sign guys but if they do they get penalized.

[tjfla]

Another Cuban for us only issue is he is now 31 so no clue what he is gonna do for us?

Per BA

Signed SS Yosmany Guerra

[HUGG]

EL CONGO!!!!!!!
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"I came to play baseball, because that's what I love. We'll just have to see what happens in the future, but my life here is already better than it would be back there." -- Yosmany Guerra

Never in his wildest dreams did Guerra imagine that he would spend years toiling in a summer league made up of players released from big league organizations and can't-miss prospects who missed badly. It's inconceivable to him that he's been in the Dominican Republic for almost five years and has only recently established his residency there, a process that usually takes top Cuban players a few months to resolve.

There's still a part of Guerra that believes he should be a rich ballplayer living his American Dream in the United States. Then there's the reality: At this point, to make ends meet, he's willing to play in leagues and tournaments with anyone willing to sign him.

"I still want to make it to the Major Leagues. That's my dream," Guerra said. "I left Cuba for that. I didn't leave for this life. Imagine how I feel."

On Sept. 24, 2008, Guerra and 22 other people risked their lives on a four-day boat ride across the Caribbean from Cuba to Mexico. At the time, he was a spry 25-year-old infielder with power and enough tools to convince scouts that he could make it the big leagues. Standing at 5-foot-10 and weighing a solid 190 pounds, Guerra looked the part. He was a star in Cuba's Serie Nacional for five seasons, spending four seasons with the Metropolitanos in Havana and one with the Industriales, considered one of the strongest teams in the league.

Guerra was also naïve.

Upon arriving in Mexico, he spent a few weeks near the Yucatan Peninsula, while his handlers doctored his paperwork and brokered a deal with a contact in the Dominican Republic. Guerra landed in the Dominican city of Santiago on Oct. 23, 2008, with unauthorized residency papers from Costa Rica.

"It was a disaster," said Guerra, who still lives in Santiago. "The guy I was sold to didn't know baseball or the legalities of becoming eligible. He was a car dealer, and he didn't know what he was doing. He started the process, but it was all wrong and we wasted years trying to figure out his mistakes.

"We were doing tryouts at the time, and lots of scouts came to see me," he continued. "They all saw me, and the workouts went great, but they wanted to know about my documents, and the papers weren't there. My guy kept saying he was working on it, but eventually the teams stopped asking for me. Nobody looked for me anymore. I stopped working with the car dealer, but it was too late. He had taken all of my money and I was lost."

In August, Guerra will begin his fourth season as the starting shortstop and three-hole hitter with the Granjeros de Moca under the guidance of first-year manager Luis Polonia Jr., the son of former Major Leaguer Luis Polonia. The infielder has reached out to professional leagues in Nicaragua, Colombia and Mexico, but he's not sure if anything will come of it.

"I don't think there was ever any doubt he could have been a Major League player, but he made some tough decisions and he could never get cleared," Polonia Jr. said. "He has a lot of talent and he's a tremendous person, but it has not been easy for him. We would miss him here, but there's a part of me that hopes he makes his dreams come true."

Guerra played briefly for the Aguilas Cibaenas, one of the most famous Winter League teams in the Dominican Republic, but the experiment did not last. He said he has no regrets.

"I left Cuba for a better life, to help my family, and I would do it again. I came to play baseball, because that's what I love," Guerra said. "We'll just have to see what happens in the future, but my life here is already better than it would be back there."

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?...38212&c_id=mlb

[Big Z]

That's a good story. I hope he accomplishes his lifelong goal. How is he in terms of talent?