When Orlando Hernandez defected from Cuba in 1997, he did not have a passport. Neither did his half-brother Livan two years earlier, nor did Jose Conteras in 2002. It took time for their agents to set everything up, and each debuted about a year after defecting. In the case of Aroldis Chapman, the left-handed flamethrower who defected earlier this season, it won’t be as tough. He already had a passport, and has established residency in Andorra, a small country in Europe. It should be a painless path to free agency from here, and his agents say that could be even before the playoffs. The Yanks will certainly be in on the 21-year-old, but at what cost? There’s a thin free agency pitching pool this year, and a young pitcher with Chapman’s stuff could get a behemoth deal.
River Ave. Blues ยป Passport helps Chapman speedily gain residency
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