For the most part, when Cuban baseball players defect from their country in the hopes of one day playing Major League Baseball, they usually end up in one of the many nations surrounding Cuba. That is not the case for recent defector Aroldis Chapman. After leaving Cuba's national team while they were in Holland on July 1 this year, Chapman has moved a bit further east to find his new home.It's a long way from the island of Cuba to the tiny nation of Andorra, but the little European nation tucked between the borders of France and Spain is the new home of Chapman. He's established residency there already, which is a big first step towards getting to the United States. Even if it is a circuitous route.
Chapman's Andorran residency clears the first and most difficult of the three major hurdles to becoming a major league free agent. Because Chapman had his passport -- an almost unheard of occurrence for a Cuban defector -- establishing residency took a fraction of the time needed for most defectors and may make him available for free agency before the playoffs begin, his agents say.
Edwin Leonel Mejia of Athletes Premier International, Chapman's agent, says his client's Andorran papers "creates a new channel for players to establish residency."
Major League Baseball is probably rather pleased with this development as well as they've made a push to expand the game of baseball into Europe this year, and now having Chapman there could help that cause as well.As for Chapman's future, scouts differ on what the Cuban will do once he gets to the States. Some have him pegged as a starting pitcher while others say he'll be better served as a middle reliever. Though odds are that wherever he ends up, he'll be rich as both the Yankees and Red Sox are expected to show interest in him.
