Jose Dariel Abreu defected from his native Cuba in early August with the intention of signing a big contract with a Major League Baseball team.
That whole process is now well underway.
According to Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com, the powerful 26-year-old first base prospect has officially established residency in Haiti and has been cleared by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. Abreu has also petitioned MLB to grant him free agency and can begin negotiating with teams once that request is approved. There’s no reason to think it won’t be.
Abreu, a 6-foot-3, 250-pound slugger, batted .394/.542/.837 with 75 walks, 35 home runs, 71 runs scored and 99 RBI in 87 games for Cienfuegos, a Cuban Serie Nacional team, in 2011-2012. He hit .382/.535/.735 with 13 homers, 37 runs scored, 36 RBI and 37 walks in 42 games during a shortened 2012-2013 campaign.
He is thought to be seeking more than $50 million in guaranteed money. And he’ll probably get it.