List of baseball players who defected from Cuba

Orlando "El Duque" Hernández defected from Cuba in 1997

This is a list of notable Cuban baseball players who have defected since the beginning of Fidel Castro's presidency. Prior to the Cuban Revolution, which saw Castro rise to power in 1959, Cuban-born players often played in the American Negro Leagues and in Major League Baseball (MLB). Following the revolution, U.S.-Cuba relations became strained, and Castro ended professional baseball in Cuba^[1] and forbade Cuban players to play abroad.^[2]

Some players defected during the Cold War. Rogelio Álvarez, who debuted in MLB in 1960, was barred from continuing his professional career in the United States, and defected from Cuba through Mexico in 1963.^[3] Bárbaro Garbey left Cuba in the Mariel boatlift in 1980.^[1] After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Cuba's economy struggled sternly and faced severer repercussions originated from the Embargo.^[2] Baseball players began to seek careers in MLB due to the high salaries. In 1991, René Arocha defected. He was followed by Rey Ordóñez in 1993. Rolando Arrojo defected during the 1996 Summer Olympics, which were held in the United States.^[4] The Cuban government treats attempted defectors as disloyal, which led to increased defections. Orlando Hernández was loyal to Cuba, until they banned him from the national team following the defection of his half-brother, Liván.^[5]

Players attempting to play in MLB often choose not to defect to the United States, because establishing residency in the United States means they must enter the MLB Draft. If they defect to another nation, they can become free agents, allowing them to choose their offer.^[6] The largest contract given to a Cuban defector is outfielder Rusney Castillo's seven-year contract with the Boston Red Sox, signed in 2014, worth $72.5 million.^[7] First baseman José Dariel Abreu signed a six-year contract worth $68 million with the Chicago White Sox in 2013.^[8] The largest contract given to a pitcher was the $32 million the New York Yankees gave to José Contreras in 2002,^[9] while the Cincinnati Reds signed Aroldis Chapman for $30.25 million in 2010.^[10]

While some players who defect succeed in obtaining multimillion-dollar contracts to play in MLB, many receive only minor league contracts and do not reach MLB.^[2] Players are often separated from their families,^[11] as Cuba often denies exit visas to the families of players who defected. This can lead to severed relationships, such as between Jorge Toca and the mother of his son.^[5]

List

José Abreu

Yoenis Céspedes

Aroldis Chapman

Adeiny Hechavarria

Leonys Martín

Kendrys Morales

Rey Ordóñez

Victor Rivas

Yasmany Tomas

Dayán Viciedo

Key

	MLB All-Star
	Denotes player who is still active

Defectors

Player	Position	Year defected	MLB debut	MLB seasons	Ref
Abreu, JoséJosé Abreu	First baseman	2013	March 31, 2014	1	[12]
Abreu, MichelMichel Abreu	Outfielder	2004	—	—	[13]
Álvarez, DarielDariel Álvarez	Outfielder	2012	September 12, 2015	—	[14]
Álvarez, RogelioRogelio Álvarez	First baseman	1963	September 18, 1960	2	[3]
Ametller, JesúsJesús Ametller	Second baseman	1996	—	—	[15]
Anderson, LeslieLeslie Anderson	Outfielder	2010	—	—	[16]
Arocha, RenéRené Arocha	Pitcher	1991	April 9, 1993	4	[5]
Argüelles, NoelNoel Argüelles	Pitcher	2008	—	—	[17]
Arruebarrena, ErisbelErisbel Arruebarrena	Shortstop	2013	May 23, 2014	1	[18]
Arrojo, RolandoRolando Arrojo	Pitcher	1996	April 1, 1998	5	[4]
Báez, DanysDanys Báez	Pitcher	1999	May 13, 2001	10	[19]
Baldoquin, RobertoRoberto Baldoquin	Second baseman	2014	—	—	[20]
Bello, YenierYenier Bello	Catcher	2013	—	—	[21]
Betancourt, YunieskyYuniesky Betancourt	Shortstop	2003	July 28, 2005	9	[22]
Bueno, FrancisleyFrancisley Bueno	Pitcher	2004	August 13, 2008	2	[2]
Cañizares, BárbaroBárbaro Cañizares	First baseman	2004	June 11, 2009	1	[23]
Carbonell, DanielDaniel Carbonell	Outfielder	2013	—	—	[24]
Castillo, AlbertoAlberto Castillo	Pitcher	1993	July 8, 2008	4	[25]
Castillo, DiosdanyDiosdany Castillo	Pitcher	2014	—	—	[26]
Castillo, RusneyRusney Castillo	Outfielder	2013	September 17, 2014	1	[27]
Cazana, AmauryAmaury Cazana	Outfielder	2005	—	—	[28]
Céspedes, YoenisYoenis Céspedes	Outfielder	2011	March 28, 2012	3	[29]
Chapman, AroldisAroldis Chapman	Pitcher	2009	August 31, 2010	5	[11]
Colina, RobertoRoberto Colina	First baseman	1996	—	—	[5]
Concepción, GerardoGerardo Concepción	Pitcher	2011	—	—	[30]
Contreras, JoséJosé Contreras	Pitcher	2002	March 31, 2003	11	[9]
Cuesta, JozzenJozzen Cuesta	First baseman	2013	—	—	[31]
Despaigne, OdrisamerOdrisamer Despaigne	Pitcher	2013	June 23, 2014	1	[32]
Díaz, JuanJuan Díaz	First baseman	1995	June 12, 2002	1	[33]
Díaz, AledmysAledmys Díaz	Shortstop	2012	April 5, 2016	—	[14]
Elías, RoenisRoenis Elías	Pitcher	2010	April 3, 2014	1	[34]
Escobar, YunelYunel Escobar	Shortstop	2004	June 2, 2007	8	[35]
Fernández, JoséJosé Fernández	Pitcher	2008	April 7, 2013	2	[36]
Fernández, OsvaldoOsvaldo Fernández	Pitcher	1995	April 5, 1996	4	[37]
Garbey, BárbaroBárbaro Garbey	First baseman	1980	April 3, 1984	3	[1]
García, AdonisAdonis García	Outfielder	2011	—	—	[38]
Gómez, YasserYasser Gómez	Outfielder	2008	—	—	[39]
González, Miguel AlfredoMiguel Alfredo González	Pitcher	2013	September 3, 2014	1	[40]
Guerrero, AlexanderAlexander Guerrero	Shortstop	2013	March 22, 2014	1	[41]
Hechavarria, AdeinyAdeiny Hechavarria	Shortstop	2009	August 4, 2012	3	[42]
Hernández, AdriánAdrián Hernández	Pitcher	2000	April 21, 2001	3	[43]
Hernández, LivánLiván Hernández	Pitcher	1995	September 24, 1996	17	[44]
Hernández, MichelMichel Hernández	Catcher	1996	September 6, 2003	3	[15]
Hernández, OrlandoOrlando Hernández	Pitcher	1997	June 3, 1998	9	[45]
Herrera, YoslanYoslan Herrera	Pitcher	2005	July 12, 2008	2	[46]
Hinojosa, DalierDalier Hinojosa	Pitcher	2013	May 3, 2015	—	[47]
Ibañez, AndyAndy Ibañez	Second baseman	2014	—	—	[48]
Iglesias, JoséJosé Iglesias	Shortstop	2008	May 8, 2011	4	[17]
Iglesias, RaiselRaisel Iglesias	Pitcher	2013	April 12, 2015	—	[49]
Izquierdo, HanselHansel Izquierdo	Pitcher	1994	April 21, 2002	1	[50]
Lazo, RaudelRaudel Lazo	Pitcher	2011	September 5, 2015	—	[51]
Martí, YadelYadel Martí	Pitcher	2008	—	—	[39]
Martín, LeonysLeonys Martín	Outfielder	2010	September 2, 2011	4	[52]
Maya, YuneskyYunesky Maya	Pitcher	2009	September 7, 2010	4	[53]
Miranda, JuanJuan Miranda	First baseman	2005	September 18, 2008	4	[54]
Moncada, YoanYoan Moncada	Infielder	2014	—	—	[55]
Morales, AndyAndy Morales	Third baseman	2000	—	—	[56]
Morales, KendrysKendrys Morales	First baseman	2004	May 23, 2006	7	[57]
Mujica, YadilYadil Mujica	Shortstop	2009	—	—	[58]
Núñez, VladimirVladimir Núñez	Pitcher	1995	September 11, 1998	9	[59]
Olivera, HéctorHéctor Olivera	Second baseman	2014	September 1, 2015	—	[60][61]
Ordóñez, ReyRey Ordóñez	Shortstop	1993	April 1, 1996	9	[5]
Oropesa, EddieEddie Oropesa	Pitcher	1993	April 2, 2001	4	[62]
Ortega, BillBill Ortega	Outfielder	1996	September 7, 2001	1	[15]
Peña, BrayanBrayan Peña	Catcher	1999	May 23, 2005	10	[35]
Peña, HassanHassan Peña	Pitcher	2005	—	—	[63]
Pérez, OrlandoOrlando Pérez	Infielder	2013	—	—	[24]
Prieto, ArielAriel Prieto	Pitcher	1995	July 2, 1995	7	[64]
Puig, YasielYasiel Puig	Outfielder	2012	June 3, 2013	2	[65]
Ramírez, AlexeiAlexei Ramírez	Shortstop	2007	March 31, 2008	6	[66]
Ramírez, Roberto CarlosRoberto Carlos Ramírez	Shortstop	2011	—	—	[66]
Rivas, VictorVictor Rivas	First baseman	2013	—	—	[67]
Rodríguez, EddyEddy Rodríguez	Catcher	1993	August 2, 2012	1	[68]
Rodríguez, LarryLarry Rodríguez	Pitcher	1995	—	—	[59]
Rodriguez, Omar LuisOmar Luis Rodriguez	Pitcher	2012	—	—	[69]
Rojas, EuclidesEuclides Rojas	Pitcher	1994	—	—	[64]
Ruiz, José JulioJosé Julio Ruiz	First baseman	2009	—	—	[70]
Sánchez, AlexAlex Sánchez	Outfielder	1994	June 15, 2001	7	[71]
Sanit, AmauriAmauri Sanit	Pitcher	2006	May 12, 2011	1	[72]
Serrano, Juan YasserJuan Yasser Serrano	Pitcher	2009	—	—	[73]
Siverio, MisaelMisael Siverio	Pitcher	2013	—	—	[74]
Soler, AlayAlay Soler	Pitcher	2003	May 24, 2006	1	[75]
Soler, JorgeJorge Soler	Outfielder	2011	August 27, 2014	1	[76]
Suárez, DeinisDeinis Suárez	Pitcher	2009	—	—	[77]
Tejera, MichaelMichael Tejera	Pitcher	1994	September 8, 1999	5	[50]
Toca, JorgeJorge Toca	First baseman	1998	September 12, 1999	3	[5][78]
Tomás, YasmanyYasmany Tomás	Outfielder	2014	April 4, 2015	—	[79]
Urrutia, HenryHenry Urrutia	Outfielder	2011	July 20, 2013	2	[80]
Valdés, RaúlRaúl Valdés	Pitcher	2003	April 11, 2010	4	[81]
Viciedo, DayánDayán Viciedo	Outfielder	2008	June 20, 2010	5	[82]

See also

• List of Cuban soccer players who have defected to the United States
• List of Major League Baseball players from Cuba

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