First it was Franky Quintana, next it was Osday Silva earlier today and finally hours ago it was Yeudis Reyes. The colleague Francys Romero was once again the first to report this happening. Of the three defections this player is probably the most coveted, because of his electric repertoire.
Reyes was part of the Cuban team at the Central American Games this July. He is the fifth player after Ivan Prieto, Yobanis Millán and his aforementioned teammates to abandon a Cuban delegation this year. Yeudis was a member of the Cuban team that participated in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
Sources: Cuban RHP Yeudis Reyes (28) has just left the Cuba team at the airport before returning from Puerto Rico.
Reyes participated with Cuba in the V World Baseball Classic.
With this departures there are now 53 Cuban athletes who have abandoned teams or contracts during… pic.twitter.com/qWFmYypiKy
— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) October 9, 2023
In that tournament he worked an inning in which he did not allow hits. He participated in this year’s National Series with his native Guantánamo and posted a 2.78 ERA in 35.2 innings of work (11 ER). He also had a record of 5-4 record with five saves, struck out 31 and was hit .281. Last season in the Liga Élite Reyes was unhittable in 13 games with a 0.53 earned run average and nine saves.
The 28-year-old Reyes has a fastball well above the 90 MPH threshold and array of breaking pitches. There might be some interest in the right-hander from major league organizations, but his path looks more conducive to a Caribbean League or maybe even an Asian minor league club for now and his age being the biggest detractor on why some MLB clubs might not bite on the talented hurler.