Cuban Norge Vera signs million-dollar contract with Chicago White Sox in MLB

March 1, 2021

Norge Vera, son of the stellar Cuban pitcher Norge Luis Vera, signed a multimillion-dollar contract with the Chicago White Sox in Major League Baseball (MLB) and joins in this way the long list of Cubans that make up the White Sox team.

According to a report from MLB.com, the young man of only 20 years old and who ranks 15th on the list of the 30 best international prospects in MLB, was awarded a signing bonus amounting to 1.5 million dollars out of the 2.05 million that in general he could earn upon fulfilling the performance clauses that the agreement has.

"It was something that made me feel comfortable," Vera commented on the decision by Chicago's front office to sign him. "I've been following the team for a couple of years because of all the Cuban players they have," confessed the young man from Santiago.

Just a few months ago, outfielder Yoelqui Céspedes, a Cuban teammate and younger half-brother of Yoenis Céspedes, also signed with Chicago to join current American League Most Valuable Player José Abreu, Gold Glove-winning center fielder Luis Robert, third baseman Yoán Moncada and catcher Yasmani Grandal on the current team.

"Having the amount of Cuban players in our system, not only at the Major League level, but at the Minor League level, creates more awareness and the kids are more inclined to like what we do and how we do it," said Marco Paddy, special assistant to the general manager.

"We've been able to evaluate them and make comparisons from day 1 with the current evaluation, and put it together. It helps tremendously to have that publicity of these kids and how well they've done with our Major League club."

The history of the south Chicago club with Cuban players dates back to 1951, when Minnie Miñoso was acquired from Cleveland and became the first Black player in the organization and, ultimately, a franchise legend.

Other Cubans who have also left their mark on the organization are Alexei Ramírez, Dayán Viciedo, José Contreras and Orlando "El Duque" Hernández, these last two were an integral part of the 2005 World Series championship won by the White Sox under the command of Venezuelan Ozzie Guillén.

Norge Vera defected from Cuba in the summer of 2019 and was declared a free agent by MLB in January 2020. In Cuba he only had one season (2018-19) playing for Santiago de Cuba in Cuba's National Series, with a record of 2-3 with an ERA of 3.79.