Havana/Two of the players who left the Island achieved their dream of signing a contract with teams in the US Major Leagues. Rodelvis Santiesteban He signed with the Chicago Cubs, while Omar Elías Guerra reached an agreement with the San Diego Padres club. The agreements coincide with other departures of talents Alain Michel Rodríguez and Dainel Santos.
Santiesteban made his joining the Chicago club official, which also has other athletes from the Island among its ranks: Naikys Piedra, Darian Rivero, Eriandys Ramón, Félix Stevens and Frank Hernández. The Guantanamo native was given a bonus of $20,000 for signing, in addition to guaranteeing his studies.
The 17-year-old player left Cuba in June 2024. In Santo Domingo he was welcomed by Cuban Jorge Luis Toca’s GT Baseball Academy, where he perfected his qualities. Santiesteban clocks an average of 60 yards in 6.3 seconds, according to data provided by journalist Francys Romero.
The Toca academy is located in Punta Cana, where it trains talents from 14 years of age. Cubans William Alejandro Álvarez and Lázaro Herrera Jr. have also arrived at this site. All attracted by the history of a man who played national series with Villa Clara and who had a short-lived stint with the Mets. He was then sent to the Minor Leagues with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Montreal Expos, Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Cardinals.
last friday Omar Elías Guerra reached an agreement with the San Diego Padres to sign his contract in the coming days. He is one of the talents who was part of the Cuban U-15 team that participated in the Pan American Championship of the category in March 2024, in the Dominican Republic.
Last Friday Omar Elías Guerra reached an agreement with the San Diego Padres to sign his contract in the coming days.
Francys Romero specified that Guerra “combines contact ability and defensive versatility, characteristics that the Padres hope to develop so that he advances through the Minor League system.”
Guerra is part of the Yuan Pino Academy, which is dedicated to training and placing Cuban baseball players. Last July, this school already had 15 young people from the Island with agreements with clubs in the United States.
The Island continues to suffer the abandonment of its young baseball promises. This Saturday the arrival of Alain Michel Rodríguez to the Dominican Republic. The athlete “is the son of Yessander Rodríguez, who had experience in the National Series with Santiago and for many years has been a leading figure of the Cuba Softball team,” the communicator stressed.
Rodríguez will train at the Noni Sánchez Academy until January 2027, when he is eligible to sign with a Major League team.
On the last day of September it was announced that Dainel Santos, 18 years old, was in Santo Domingo. The player, a native of Villa Clara, was a member of the U-18 team at the World Cup held in September 2025 in Japan.
“Ten of the 20 players who made up the team for the U-18 World Cup are no longer in Cuba,” Romero said.
The communicator recalled that until August of this year there were “between 45 and 60 departures of players in different categories, many of them between the ages of 13 and 17, who are the players that interest the industry the most. Many of these boys already have pre-agreements.”
