As we had previously reported, the SoftBank Hawks were the favorites to acquire the services of shortstop Jonathan Moreno, and this Monday, at the Latinoamericano Stadium, the player from Villa Clara,Cuba officially signed his contract with the current champions of Japanese baseball.
Moreno, the captain of the Cuban Under-18 team, will begin his career in the minor leagues of Japanese baseball. Depending on his progress and development, he could move up to the highest level in the future. At the Youth World Championship with the Cuban National Team, he made several outstanding defensive plays and hit .348 (23 AB; 8 H), with a triple, four RBIs, and nine runs scored.
Moreno becomes another top Cuban prospect to enter the SoftBank Hawks development program. The talented shortstop from Villa Clara, Cuba led the Cuban National Youth Championship in hits. Moreno debuted in the National Series with Villa Clara last season (63 SNB) and expected to be a future star with the defending NPB Champions. The infielder joins countrymen Liván Moinelo and Dario Sarduy in the SoftBank Hawks organization.
Cuban players signed by NPB:
Liván Moinelo LHP (SoftBank Hawks)
Darío Sarduy LHP (SoftBank Hawks)
Jonathan Moreno SS (SoftBank Hawks)
Raidel Martínez RHP (Yomiuri Giants)
Randy Martínez LHP (Chunichi Dragons)
Christian Rodríguez SS (Chunichi Dragons)
Omar Linares (Coach) (Chunichi Dragons)
Ariel Martínez IF-DH (Nippon Ham Fighters)
Dayán Viciedo IF (DeNa Baystars)