Cuba Loses Slugger Yoennis Cespedes

HAVANA TIMES, July 23 — The silence over the whereabouts of Cuban star outfielder Yoennis Cespedes took a new turn this week when he was reported to have left the island in search of a big Major League Baseball contract.

One report has Cespedes in the Dominican Republic speeding up the residency process so he can then be signed by a MLB team.

Ray Otero of Baseballdecuba.com noted Thursday that baseball officials from Cespedes’ home province of Granma had made public the outfielder’s absence.

Cespedes set a Cuban Baseball League record last season for homers in the 90-game regular season, smashing 33, the same as Cienfuegos First Baseman Jose D. Abreu (who won the crown because of less at-bats).

Yoennis, 25, has been on the Cuban national team for several years now and is considered to be in the prime of his career, which could land him a hefty multi-million dollar contract.