Yoanys Quiala was coming off a pitcher of the year awardin the Mexican Winter League with the Cañeros de Los Mochis when he signed with the Fubon Guardians of the CPBL in 2020. In three starts with the Taiwanese ball club he posted an 0-1 record and a 2.76 earned run average before being shut because of arm trouble.
Quiala gave it another try with the Águilas Cibaeñas of the Dominican Winter later that year, but had to be shutdown once and submitted himself for Tommy John surgery after tossing a ⅓ off an inning with Saltillo to start the 2021 season in the Mexican League.
Quiala signed as a free agent out of Cuba with the Houston Astros in 2015. In his five seasons in the Astros and Giants minor league systems he posted a 25-30 record, a 4.53 ERA and 328 strikeouts in 403 ⅓ innings pitched. He returned to the mound this year with Algodoneros de Unión Laguna, but was released after posting and 0-2 record and 19.89 ERA in three games.
You suffered the injury in Taiwan so you didn’t pitch much. Would you have liked to have shown your talent more in the CPBL?
Sure, things were going well for me, the only negative in Taiwan were the walks, but that’s because I hadn’t pitched due to the pandemic. I was really feeling good, I was reaching getting the hang of the league and at that moment the injury came. But, I wanted to continue contributing so I kept pitching.
You have pitched in Asia, in Caribbean leagues, and now in the Mexican Baseball League. What differences do you notice in this league compared to the others in which you have pitched in ?
There are always differences between leagues. In Taiwan the fastball is used more, here you have to combine the pitches more. Right now I’m struggling a bit with speed, which is normal after coming back from surgery like the one I had. I’m working harder to get my breaking pitches under control, because I know the speed is going to come, too. But going back to the aforementioned, all leagues are different. In the Dominican Republic, for example, you have to throw more off-speed pitches, sometimes the fans don’t understand but yes, they are all different in their own way.
It is becoming fashionable for Cuban players to return to the National Series to play with their teams. At some point in your career, would you be interested in pitching again with Holguín ?
I would give you an answer that many people may not like. I think a little differently from everyone else, I have nothing against my province, but I do have anything against the politics that exist in Cuba. Right now I’m not interested in playing there, although I would like to play for the Holguín fans who saw me come up, but as of right now I don’t have any desire to pitch there.
Do you have any plans to play ball this winter?
Until now my plan is to play with the Sultanes de Monterrey, we are ironing out the details to the contract as we speak. That is where we are and I hope we can come to an agreement soon.
Do you have any goals with the Algodoneros for this season.
Firstly, to help the team in any capacity possible and give the fans my best, they deserve it.