The rumors of the departure increased after his absence in the team’s last four games.

Luis Robert is 19 years old and is a multi-player tool with above average range as a defender,  above average speed, and power that will develop with maturity. His batting line of .393/.519/.674 coupled with 12 homers and 39 RBI had him as the favorite to win the league’s most valuable player.

Following the  signings of Cuban prospects like Yusniel Diaz (15M for the Los Angeles Dodgers), Jorge Oña (7M San Diego Padres), Alfredo Rodriguez (7M Cincinnati Reds), and Adrián Morejón (11 M San Diego Padres), I think Luis Robert will be in the range of a 15-20 million dollar signing bonus. The young man will be under limitations of restricted international free agent  because his experience does not exceed 5 years of experience in Cuba nor the 23 years of age, requirements that the MLB mandates for an international free agents to sign a major league pact.

Despite this limitation, he will be subject to changes in the next bargain agreement between the MLB and MLBPA.

The mass exodus of cuban baseball players has amounted to more than 200 players in the last two years. This is based on the numbers that I have been able to personally confirm with all the players that have defected. These statistics will serve as material for a new book project that I am writing on the subject at hand in the near future.