Wilfredo Aroche, 37, accumulated 13 seasons with Industriales and was one of the most important figures in the Havana team.
Photo: Radio Coco Twitter
A player from the Industriales de La Habana team left Cuba by surprise to play in Italy after apparently managing his contract without the government’s endorsement and just a few days before the start of the season, independent media reported Wednesday.
Wilfredo Aroche, 37, accumulated 13 seasons with the capital squad and was one of the most important figures in the Havana team.
The flight of baseball talent, unable to play abroad, is a sensitive issue that has been on the rise for years in Cuba.
The news came out just four days after the start of the new campaign of the National Baseball Series, which this year turned six decades old.
Aroche had already participated in the Italian league in recent years, however this time it seems that he left the island without the permission of the country’s sports authorities.
The former Industriales player is the third defection so far in 2022.
Just like him, two players from the Camagüey team, Yosimar Cousín and Yunior Tur, were discharged for “not showing up at the concentration.”
These latest marches have drawn attention in the independent local press after the escape of half of the U-23 team, a total of twelve young people, last October during the World Cup in Mexico.
The president of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), Riccardo Fraccari, stated on January 17 during a visit to Cuba that progress is being made on a plan so that Cuban players can legally go out to play in foreign leagues.
This story was originally published on January 19, 2022 8:07 p.m.
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One of the most important players of Industriales leaves Cuba, days before the start of the league