Mariners News: M’s Sign Cuban Defector Dainer Moreira

The Seattle Mariners have signed 31 year old Cuban Defector and Free Agent Dainer Moreira to a Minor League deal with an invite to Spring Training.

The Mariners continue to sign players to fill their camp.  Last year during the Caribbean Series in early February, Dainer Moreira and Vladimir Guerrero from the Cuban team walked out of the hotel they were staying at in Puerto Rico to defect and establish residency so that they could join their countrymen like Leonys Martin in the Major Leagues.

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Cuban defectors usually try to seek residence in a third country to be able to make more money as free agents.  If they establish residence in the United States or Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, they are subject to a draft.  Once they establish residency in another country they can become free agents.

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Dainer Moreira is a right handed throwing and hitting short stop.  He stands at 5-foot-8 tall and 178 pounds.  In 9 seasons in Cuba he hit .316/.359/.376.  In his last year in Cuba with 277 plate appearances he hit .332/.397/.368 and had 11 strikeouts. His contact ratio over the 9 seasons he’s had a contact rate of 94.2%.  In his last season in Cuba he had a contact ratio of 95.5%.

This contact rate is most likely best reason that Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President and General Manager Jerry Dipoto has pursued and signed Moreira.  Not to mention that a short stop can usually be a versatile player and can play any position.

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Bob Dutton reports that Mariners vice president of player personnel, Tom Allison reports that Moreira can really, really run and that he has multi-positional flexibility.

Dainer Moreira will be an interesting story at camp.  He will most certainly be trying to make the Major League roster.  He will attend a mini-camp on February 21st before the rest of the positional players arrive.