Cuba punishes 6 baseball players for exit attempts

Cuba punishes 6 baseball players for exit attempts
AP 3:06 p.m. EDT June 25, 2014

HAVANA (AP) — Six more baseball players have been ruled out of the
current national squad for trying to defect, Cuban authorities said
Wednesday.

Government news website Cubadebate listed the players as Villa Clara
pitchers Diosdani Castillo and Yasmani Hernandez Romero; infielders
Gelkis Jimenez and Adriel Labrada; pitcher Carlos Manuel Portuondo of
Santiago, and Isle of Youth outfielder Alejandro Jaime Ortiz.

Cubadebate said they were implicated in "attempts to leave the country
illegally." It did not give details or say whether any were successful.

Cubadebate also named Yasmani Tomas, a hard-hitting outfielder formerly
with Havana ball club Industriales whose departure was acknowledged by
officials on Friday.

Cuban ballplayers who defect often have their sights set on Major League
Baseball, where many have signed multimillion-dollar contracts.

Last year Cuba began letting players compete in overseas leagues while
still in their prime for the first time in decades. Some have signed
lucrative deals in Japan.

The players named by Cubadebate will not figure in the squad selected to
face a U.S. collegian team in five games next month in Cuba.

Source: Cuba punishes 6 baseball players for exit attempts -
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2014/06/25/cuba-punishes-6-baseball-players-for-exit-attempts/11360367/