Cuban players who took the hard road to make their mark on MLB

The 2022 season was great for Cuban players. With 33 players in the league, the season marked a new record for the number of Cubans in the MLB, breaking the 30-player mark of 1967 and 2019. More than 170 Cubans are working for the MLB, according to expert Francys Romero. This is an impressive number considering all a Cuban must go through to get there.

Cuban players flee the country and defect from the Cuban league to play in the MLB. When they do, they get banned from playing the sport on the island. They also lose their citizenship.

The Cuban Federation signed an agreement with the MLB in 2018 that Donald Trump deactivated. The two organizations reactivated conversations last year so players could legally switch. But the discussions have not been successful, and Cuban players defect by the hundreds each year.

"More than 100 players, former players, or trainers have left Cuba in 2022 looking for a better life", wrote expert Francys Romero on his website beisbolfr.com. In his book 'The Dream And The Reality,' Romero claims that more than 1.000 fled the island between 1960 and 2018.

Most Cuban players go through other countries, like Haiti and the Dominican Republic, before landing in the MLB. It can take years. Despite the difficulties, some of the greatest players this season and postseason are Cuban.

The Houston Astros have been in four of the last six American League (AL) championship series. The team had a spectacular year, with 106 games in their favor. This achievement would have been impossible without two Cuban powerhouses: Yordan Álvarez and Yuli Gurriel.

Yordan Álvarez is one of the favorites to win World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) this year. He has an On base plus Slugging (OPS) score of 1.019, the second-highest for the regular season. Álvarez, nicknamed 'Air Yordan,' hit 37 home runs this regular season, which landed him in sixth place.

'Air Yordan' won the American League MVP title last year. He was the first player to out-hit the entire opposing team over the final two games of a playoff series. In 2019, following his debut, Álvarez was named American League (AL) Rookie of the Year after posting the highest slugging percentage by a qualified rookie in history.

Álvarez debuted at 16 and played in the Cuban National League's Las Tunas for two seasons. He defected in 2016 and established residence in Haiti. Despite his successful early years, his family saw him for the first time playing in the Major Leagues this summer. "We've had to go through a lot of difficulties to get here today," his father told the Associated Press.

Álvarez and his teammate, Yulieski Gurriel, met in Haiti while looking for a residency. Gurriel debuted in the MLB in 2016 at 32 years old. With 76 hits and 36 runs batted in (RBI), he holds the number one position in both statistics for players over 33 in any postseason, according to the specialized site swingcompleto.com. His OPS score for the postseason is .934.

Gurriel, nicknamed 'La Piña,' was already a legend in the Cuban National Series, where he played for Sancti Spiritus and Havana. In 2006, he was close to the 28 home runs record. 'La Piña' hit 27 home runs that season. Gurriel was also part of Cuban's National Team when they won the Olympic gold medal in 2004.

Yulieski is the son of prominent baseball player Lourdes Gurriel, also an Olympic gold medalist. Gurriel's father won the Cuban National Series Rookie of the Year Award in 1976, playing for Azucareros. 'La Piña's brother, Lourdes Guriel Jr., is a player too. Both brothers defected during the Caribbean Series of 2016 in the Dominican Republic.

Following their defection, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., La Piña's younger brother, was ranked as one of the top international prospects available. He now plays for the Toronto Blue Jays and has an OPS score of .625. He is recovering from arm surgery this season.

Abreu had a somewhat disappointing 2022 season. However, the Cuban player has had a great MLB career since his defection in 2013. He has been one of the faces of the Chicago White Sox for the past nine seasons and "one of the top middle-of-the-order run producers in all of baseball," according to MLB expert Scott Merkin.

Abreu was named American League's Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 2020. That year, he slugged a home run in four straight at-bats, tying an MLB record. Abreu led almost every statistic for the AL: RBIs, games played, hits, and finished second in home runs with 19.

Abreu played for Cienfuegos in the Cuban National Series. He set the record for home runs in 2010 (82) and was named MVP. The player was also part of the National Team until defecting in 2013. Just like Álvarez and the Gurriel brothers, he established residency in Haiti. He then moved to the Dominican Republic, where his agent showcased him.

There are still a lot of young Cuban names to follow each year. Six Cubans appeared on MLB Pipeline's Top 50 International Prospects list for this year's singing period. According to an article by expert Francys Romero on MLB's website, three were among the top eight.

We're coming very close to the signing deadline for the 2023 season and we'll be keeping a close on which talents get a start in the top baseball league in the world.