Newly acquired Cuban infielder Yulieski Gourriel will make his debut with the Yokohama BayStars this week, manager Kiyoshi Nakahata revealed on Monday.

Nakahata appears set to start Gourriel at third base and have him bat third in the starting lineup on Friday in the first game of the team's interleague series against the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters at Yokohama Stadium.

Gourriel is the second star to move directly from Cuba to Nippon Professional Baseball since the Cuban government relaxed its ban on playing in overseas leagues in January. On Monday, he took part in his first practice with the first team at Seibu Dome in Saitama Prefecture.