Fan Dayan Viera was born in Cuba and currently lives in Miami, Florida. He emailed to say, "As a Cuban, I wonder if Japanese teams will be taking advantage of the new policy change where Cuban players are going to be allowed to play in foreign leagues without needing to defect from Cuba."
As we head into December, the 12 Japan pro baseball teams are busy compiling their rosters for the 2014 season. They are re-signing players they want to keep, hiring free agents, making trades, welcoming rookie draft choices and reassessing which foreign players are to be retained and what new foreign imports might have the potential for success during their first season here.
The emphasis so far where the foreigners are concerned is on acquiring Latin players, including Cubans, who seem to be coming with more talent and are proving to be more economical where salaries are concerned. Names such as Mendoza, Canizares, Gomez, Cruz and Miranda will add a more distinct Hispanic flavor to Japanese baseball.