The Orioles signed Cuban defector Henry Urrutia to a minor league contract with a $778,500 signing bonus back in July and were hoping that he’d arrive in the United States in time to get a feel for Double-A ball.
But the Double-A season has been over for seven weeks and Urrutia has yet to step foot on U.S. soil.
According to Eduardo Encina of the Baltimore Sun, the 25-year-old Urrutia has set up residency in the Dominican Republic but “continues to have difficulty obtaining a visa.” It’s not clear what might be holding up the approval and a resolution is not currently in sight.
Urrutia, who projects a corner outfielder or first baseman, batted .397/.461/.597 with 12 home runs in 305 at-bats for Las Tunas in 2010. He was barred from playing in 2011 after a failed defection attempt.
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- historiophiliac - Nov 6, 2012 at 10:18 PM
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How hard is it to come up with a baseball story tonight?
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- Drew Silva - Nov 6, 2012 at 10:19 PM
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Hard.
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- historiophiliac - Nov 6, 2012 at 10:34 PM
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Hmmm, based on TV projections, it looks like the election will come down to Rockies & Marlins/Rays fans and non-baseball states.
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- dondada10 - Nov 6, 2012 at 10:38 PM
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My map has Rays fans already reporting. Only Marlins fans are left to be counted.
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- mottershead1972 - Nov 6, 2012 at 10:20 PM
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Slow baseball night… This just in… Astros still bad…
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- magnusmagnolius - Nov 6, 2012 at 10:25 PM
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But at least their uniforms are nice now.
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- mottershead1972 - Nov 6, 2012 at 10:39 PM
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Yeah, the new stros unis are sweet!
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- kkolchak - Nov 7, 2012 at 9:59 AM
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Hmmm…visa problems. Altered birth certificate maybe?
