Javier Mirabal was declared a free agent today by Major League Baseball making eligible to sign with any ballclub as per the report of the colleague Francys Romero. Mirabal is an intriguing prospect to many scouts outside of Cuba. Armed with a fastball that can touch the mid-90’s and a good array of breaking pitches Mirabal peeked the interest of some teams, mainly Asian ones during his inclusion with the Cuban World Baseball Classic squad in their preparation games in Japan and Chinese Taipei.
He impressed the Cuban brass some much during these preparation games that he was put on the WBC reserve list in case a pitcher on the staff suffered an injury or needed to be replaced for any other reason. After the tournament the right-hander from Villa Clara, Cuba was signed by the Olmecas de Tabasco.
10 Cuban players were declared free agents by the MLB Commissioner's Office, per sources:
RHP Yoennis Morales (19)
RHP Javier Mirabal (26)
OF Brayan Camacho (18)
OF Anthony Díaz (19)
OF Serguey Perez (18)
LHP Miguel Flores (18)
RHP Yulian Quintana (23)
OF Leandro Vasallo (16)… pic.twitter.com/zprrjin3pL— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) September 1, 2023
On a trip to México to incorporate himself with the ballclub he decided not to join the team or return to Cuba, instead opting to go in search of a future in professional baseball. In 75 innings pitched this season with the Azucareros de Villa Clara he sported a 6-5 record, 2.64 earned run average and two saves. He also fanned 54 batters over that stretch and has 1.36 WHIP, batters hit .271 on the season against the hurler.
Today his is training in Tijuana, México to showcase his talents for future MLB clubs. In his last live BP his fastball was at a sustained 94 mph, curve at 78 mph, slider at 83 mph and his changeup at 78. Mirabal is a pitcher physically similar to Bluejays prospect Yosver Zulueta, his ex-teammate in Cuba with Villa Clara. With a good showing at these future showcases the hard-throwing hurler could attract plenty of interest from MLB clubs.