After the contract signing of slugger Alfredo Despaigne with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, from the Japanese Baseball League (NPB by its Spanish acronym), Higinio Vélez, president of the Cuban Federation, told JIT sports publication that pitcher Raidel Martinez and outfielder Leonardo Urgellés will do the same soon with the Chunichi Dragons.
After the contract signing of slugger Alfredo Despaigne with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, from the Japanese Baseball League (NPB by its Spanish acronym), Higinio Vélez, president of the Cuban Federation, told JIT sports publication that pitcher Raidel Martinez and outfielder Leonardo Urgellés will do the same soon with the Chunichi Dragons.
Martinez, 20, exhibits a sustained fastball over 90 miles, with "rare" moves on the box that makes his opponents to fail; while Urgellés, 19, owns a powerful arm, runs bases like a cheetah and is an excellent batter.
The first of them is part of the pitching staff of the Cuba team to the 4th World Baseball Classic (WBC), scheduled from March 6 to 22 in various stadiums of the planet.
"They are guys of great perspectives", reiterated who as manager of the Cuban squad won the silver medal in the first edition of that contest in 2006.
Martínez and Urgellés will join the Japanese franchise with the mythical Omar Linares, who has been working there for a few months as batting coach and has the task of contributing to a better result for the Dragons, which ranked last in the league last season, with balance of 58 wins and 82 losses.
Linares played in that squad some 15 years ago, and in July he was hired to train Latin batters.
In three seasons he played 132 games with BA of .246, with 11 home runs and 61 RBIs.
Source: Radio Rebelde