Cuba’s Arruebarrena Gets Big Bucks Contract with L.A. Dodgers
HAVANA TIMES — Cuban baseball’s top shortstop only months ago, Erisbel Arruebarrena, has signed a $25 million dollar five-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, reports MLB.com on Saturday.
The 23-year-old with a tongue twister last name that will cause baseball announcers headaches, will join two other Cubans in L.A., last season’s outfield sensation Yasiel Puig, and rookie infielder Alexander Guerrero.
A spectacular fielder and modest hitter in the Cuban league with the Cienfuegos team, Arruebarrena is still waiting for his work visa to be able to play in the United States.
He is currently training in the Dominican Republic and is expected to start with a short lived stint in the minor leagues, to give him time to adjust to baseball and life in the USA.
It was Puig, also from Cienfuegos, whose spirited playing, hot bat and outfield antics led the Dodgers from a last place team to a playoff spot.