By Tom Farrey. ESPN.com.
May 22, 2001.
Rolando Viera, a member of the same Havana Industriales pitching staff that
once heralded Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez and Adrian "Elduquecito"
Hernandez, has defected and is working out in anticipation of showcasing his
talents for major league scouts, his agent announced Monday.
Viera, 27, left Havana in late April on a U.S. visa. He had lost his job
with Industriales last year, before the recently completed 2000-01 season, when
Cuban baseball officials suspected him of a desire to defect.
Viera, 5-foot-10 and left-handed, is a lesser-known quantity outside Cuba
than either Hernandez, who both signed major league contracts with the New York
Yankees. Viera never traveled abroad with the Cuban national team, limiting his
exposure to major league scouts.
But his agent, Joe Kehoskie, said he expects Viera to draw interest from
scouts because of the need for quality left-handed pitching.
"He's a classic, crafty Cuban pitcher," Kehoskie said. "In
the current state of major league baseball, if you know how to keep the ball
down and prevent the home run, that's helpful."
Kehoskie said Viera is still getting back in shape after the year away from
baseball. But on game tapes from the 1999 season, radar guns used by Cuban
television show Viera throwing fastballs that were 89 to 92 mph -- respectable
for a left-handed control pitcher.
Viera joined the powerhouse Industriales team in 1993 at age 20, when he was
the youngest member on a staff that included El Duque and Lazaro Valle. He sat
out most the 1994 and '95 seasons due to a bout of hepatitis. He returned to the
team in 1996, pitching mostly out of the bullpen with mixed success.
In 1999, he moved to the starting rotation, where he thrived. He went 10-4
during that regular season with a 3.08 ERA. In 2000, his final season, he was
8-6 with a 3.16 ERA.
"He's 27, but that's not going to kill him," Kehoskie said. "Considering
that he took off a couple seasons (due to illness) and is coming off a year when
he was suspended, he's got more like a 23- to 24-year-old arm."
Kehoskie said Viera intends to seek free agency, rather than enter the June
5-6 draft.
Tom Farrey is a senior staff writer with ESPN.com. He can be reached at
tom.farrey@espn.com.
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