# Norge Carlos Vera and Yoelkis Céspedes sign with Chicago in the Major Leagues

**Date:** 01/16/2021

The Chicago White Sox continue adding Cuban talent to their roster, when on January 15 they signed two highly-regarded Caribbean prospects for million-dollar bonuses, at the beginning of the international signing period.

According to MLB.com, young Cuban baseball player Yoelkis Céspedes, half-brother of Yoenis and ranked as the best available international prospect in the 2021 draft, agreed this morning with the White Sox, who offered him a bonus of $2.05 million dollars. This agreement had previously been reported on the pages of SwingCompleto.

Yoelkis, born in the town of Yara, province of Granma, 23 years ago, is an outfielder 5'9" in height and 205 pounds who bats and throws right-handed. He possesses the five tools and demonstrated talent, above average in each aspect of the game, which is why a promising future in the Major Leagues is predicted for him.

While he was in Cuba, Céspedes participated in four National Series with his Granma team. He left an offensive line of .287/.352/.416/.769 (AVE/OBP/SLG/OPS) resulting from 202 hits in 704 at-bats, including 35 doubles, 10 triples and 12 home runs. He scored 114 runs and drove in 98.

Additionally, he made the Cuba team for the last World Baseball Classic in 2017 and for the Caribbean Series that same year. He deserted the Cuban national team in June 2019, while participating in the Can-Am League in New York.

That same day, the Chicago White Sox also signed young pitcher from Santiago Norge Carlos Vera, son of the stellar starter for Cuba teams, right-hander Norge Luis Vera.

Ranked 15th on the prospect list but positioned as the top pitcher, Vera received a $1.5 million dollar bonus for his signing with the Chicago team, an agreement that had previously been reported but was made official.

Norge Carlos was born in Santiago de Cuba 20 years ago and is a right-handed pitcher with a very good arm and great physique (6'4" in height and 185 pounds). He can be used as a starter, as he possesses an excellent repertoire of pitches and a fastball that maintains sustained speeds between 94 and 97 miles per hour throughout a baseball game. His repertoire also includes slider, curveballs and a changeup.

The young pitcher made his debut in the 58th edition of the National Series and this was his only season in Cuban baseball, standing out on the mound for his velocity. In 11 starts as a rookie, he obtained two wins and lost on three occasions, with one complete game and one shutout. He pitched 54.2 innings, allowing 30 runs, 23 of them earned, with an ERA of 3.79. He struck out 37, walked 32 and his opponents batted .263 against him.

Vera also left the Cuban team that participated in the Can-Am League in 2019, along with spiritano Orlando Acebey, days after Céspedes did.

Without a doubt, Yoelkis Céspedes and Norge Carlos Vera have sufficient talent to reach the White Sox main roster and debut in the Major Leagues in a short time. There they would join other Cubans already on the pale hose roster: José Abreu, Yasmani Grandal, Luis Robert and Yoan Moncada.