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First Mariners workout was worth the wait for Cuban outfielder Guillermo Heredia

After two years away from the game, a defection to the U.S., multiple showcases for professional teams, Heredia on Wednesday jogged onto fields at the Mariners’ spring-training complex as a member of a Major League Baseball organization.

PEORIA, Ariz. — He waited two years for the opportunity but had spent a lifetime dreaming of it.

Early Wednesday morning when many of his teammates were still wiping the sleep from their eyes, Guillermo Heredia already was in a Mariners uniform anxiously awaiting the start of their workout. He couldn’t put the uniform on fast enough.

After two years away from the game, a defection to the U.