Cuban player who stayed with the Sub 23 team in Mexico already has a free hand to seek a Major League pact

Loidel Chapellí, one of the players with the greatest projection among those who remained in the Under 23 squad in Mexico, is already a free agent and will be able to negotiate with one of the 30 Major League teams with the right to sign as of January 15.

According to reports by Francys Romero and Pelota Cubana, the prospect is one of the first of that group of 12 to leave the Cuban national team of that category that receives the documentation, after having settled in Mexico.

Chapellí finished the event held in Aztec lands with an offensive average of .304 as a result of seven undisputed appearances in 23 appearances to the batting box, because he was one of the last to make the decision not to return to Cuba to the National Series.

The son of a well-known player from Agramón in the 1980s, Chapellí had been in the sights of scouts for a long time, especially since he was named Most Valuable Player at the U-15 World Championship in 2016.

In two National Series with Camagüey Chapellí hit .305 with 144 hits, seven homers, 32 doubles, four triples and 67 RBIs. “El Torito,” as some call him, was on the list of 34 players that the Cuban Baseball Federation had sent to the MLB in 2019.

The 19-year-old Chapellí also saw action last season in the Mexican Baseball League with the Campeche Pirates, where he played in three games with a .143 average.