Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Dozens of major league baseball scouts are in Puerto Rico to get a look at Cuban talent at the Caribbean Series being played in the U.S. territory.
It is the first time that top Cuban players are competing in Puerto Rico since Cuba and the United States moved to normalize relations, opening up the possibility that a greater number could eventually reach the big leagues.
Cuba returned to the round-robin tournament last year for the first time in 53 years, when it was held in Venezuela. Cuban players were barred in 1961 from playing professionally overseas.
Scouts on Tuesday steadied their radar guns and trained their video cameras as Cuba prepared to play the Dominican Republic.
Among the players that scouts observed was star second baseman Yulieski Gourriel, who said he would like to play in the U.S.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
