Among the next wave of Cuban players that are defecting to play Major League Baseball is 23-year-old Lourdes Gurriel. He is the younger brother of Yulieski, who signed a five-year deal with the Astros in mid-July and then made his major league debut in late August. Lourdes, who is nine years younger than Yulieski, played left field for Industriales of Cuba last season. Both Gurriels defected from Cuba in February of this year.
Gurriel is a 6’4 shortstop who also has the ability to play third base and the outfield. As Jon Heyman reports, Gurriel is ready to start setting up private workouts with teams and will assumedly sign sometime early in the offseason.