With the independent baseball leagues of North America right around the corner two Cubans have inked contracts with the American Association in order to showcase their talents for teams in México, Asia and also MiLB clubs. Outfielder Yusniel Díaz has signed with the Lincoln Saltdogs and Rogelio Quesada has reached an agreement with Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks.
Díaz who signed as an international free agent by the Los Angeles Dodgers for a 15 million dollar bonus in 2015 was also the key piece in the Manny Machado trade with the Orioles in 2018. In August of 2022 the Cuban outfielder made his MLB debut in 2022, but did not collect a hit on the grand stage in five official at-bats with the O’s. In 2024 Díaz played with the Sacramento Rivercats, the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. In 20 games he hit .177 with three longballs and five RBIs.
Quesada comes from pitching in the Liga Nicaragüense de Béisbol Profesional (LBPN) this winter with the Tren del Norte, a team with which finished second in the circuit after losing in the final against the Leones de León in seven games. During the Nicaraguan winter, the Cuban pitched in eight games (six as a starter), notching two wins and lost two games, with 18 earned runs allowed in 27.2 innings of work for a 5.86 ERA. He also struck out just 16 opponents and surrendered 12 walks and had a WHIP of 1.81.
Cubans in Independent leagues:
American Association:
Yusniel Díaz OF Lincoln Saltdogs
Rogelio Quesada RHP Fargo-Moorhead
Frontier League:
Heisell Baro LHP New England*
Yusniel Padrón RHP Québec*
Atlantic League:
No Cubans on roster
Intercounty League of Canada:
Yadian Martínez RHP (Kitchener)
Yankiel Mauri RHP (Kitchener)
Yosvani Peñalver OF (Kitchener)
Yordan Manduley IF (Kitchener)
*Team contract option