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Maya is a 28-year old pitcher who the Nationals signed in July after winning a bidding war against the Phillies, Mets, Red Sox and Yankees.
The Nationals have not traditionally been big on signing international prospects, but that has apparently changed, as general manager Mike Rizzo has reportedly signed 28-year old Cuban pitcher Yuneski Maya, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.
The team will reportedly make his signing official once he completes his physical and obtains his work visa. ESPN Deportes was the first to report the news.
Rizzo, for his part, neither confirmed nor denied the news to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. However, he did have some good things to say about Maya's game.
"He is battle-tested and is seasoned," Rizzo said. "We have seen him play in many tournaments over the years, so we feel we know him as well as anybody. He is a guy who has pitched a lot and knows his craft.
"If we get him, we have to see where he is at. We have seen him pitch quite a bit in the Dominican. We had guys monitoring [him] quite closely. It will be like any new pitcher we acquire. He goes to [the team's Spring Training complex in] Viera, Fla., and we see where he is at."
The Yankees, Phillies, Mets and Red Sox were all reportedly interested in Maya, so this represents a major coup for the Nationals' international scouting department.
Here's some video of Maya in the 2009 World Baseball Classic against Ichiro.
For more, visit Federal Baseball.
Report: Nationals Will Call Up Yunesky Maya On Tuesday
The Nationals made some waves earlier this summer when they won a bidding war for Cuban pitcher Yunesky Maya. It was a crucial signing because it indicated the Nationals were a serious player in the international signings market. However, no fans really knew how good Maya actually was. Was the signing significant beyond it's symbolic value? Was Maya actually going to provide the team with a front-line starter for years to come?
This week, we should start to know the answers to those questions. Maya will be called up by the team to start Tuesday's game, according to Mark Zuckerman.
Maya had pitched in the minors this season, sporting a 1-2 record and a 3.38 ERA across several affiliates. To make room for him in the rotation, the team will likely move struggling Scott Olsen to the bullpen.
Sep 05 12:39p by Mike Prada - 0 comments