• Submitted by: admin
• Sports
• 04 / 08 / 2010

---

ARLINGTON, TEXAS – Blue Jays prospect Adeiny Hechavarria has secured a U.S. visa and will report to the Blue Jays’ Florida training complex by week’s end, his agent says.

Bart Hernandez, who represents Hechavarria and several other Cuban defectors, says the highly-touted shortstop is still in Cancun, Mexico but will soon depart for Dunedin, where he will undergo a physical exam before officially joining the Jays.

Hechavarria agreed to a four-year, $10 million (U.S.) contract with the Jays in mid-March but the team still hasn’t officially announced his signing, remaining silent while the former star of Cuba’s junior national team waited for his visa.

The 21-year-old is considered one of the top pro prospects among more than 20 players who defected from Cuba last year but figures to start his Blue Jays career in the minor leagues.

Obtaining a visa is the last of several bureaucratic hurdles Cuban defectors must clear before they can play in the majors, and sometimes the process moves slowly.

The week before Hechavarria’s deal, fellow Cuban defector and Cancun resident Leslie Anderson signed a four-year contract with the Tampa Bay Rays but is awaiting his visa and still hasn’t joined the club.

So while fans and media wondered exactly what happened to Hechavarria in the weeks since he agreed to join the Jays, Hernandez says the wait for a visa was relatively stress-free.

“It’s not a delay. It’s just a normal process,” he said. “It normally takes about two weeks and that’s just how long it’s been taking.”

When Hechavarria left the island in 2009 he was Cuba’s top young shortstop, a prospect on par with Red Sox shortstop-of-the-future Jose Iglesias, who had defected a year earlier.

He batted just .247 over his two seasons with Santiago of Cuba’s National Series, but has impressed big league scouts with his glove, his vast range and his physique.

At 6-foot-1 and 170 pounds, and with room to fill out, Hechavarria has drawn comparisons to Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano.

When the U.S. Treasury Department “unblocked” Hechavarria earlier this year, freeing him to sign with any major league team, most observers expected him to join the New York Yankees, the team best equipped to win a bidding war.

But when the Yankees began discussing a contract extension with shortstop Derek Jeter, Hechavarria reportedly lost interest in the club, allowing the Blue Jays to scoop him with a four-year, $10 million offer.

Along with confirming Hechavarria’s visa status, Hernandez also confirmed the spelling (commonly misspelled as “Adeinis” or “Adeinys”) and the pronunciation (ah-THEY-nee eh-CHA-ba-ree-ah) of his client’s name.

By Morgan Campbell Sports Reporter

Source: www.thestar.com