Yadel Marti

The agent for Yadel Marti, Yasser Gomez and Juan Yasser tells ESPN.com's Jorge Arangure Jr. that the three Cubans have all been declared free agents. Marti and Gomez defected in December and a few weeks later their agent, Jaime Torres, said his clients were big-league ready. Now the bidding can begin…

Torres tells Arangure Jr. (via Twitter) that three NL teams and two AL teams have expressed interest in signing Gomez and Marti for the stretch run. As Arangure Jr. points out, potential suitors would have to activate either player by the end of the month for them to be playoff-eligible. Apparently Marti could boost any team's rotation.

A couple weeks ago, we covered Cuban stars Yadel Marti and Yasser Gomez defecting to the United States (by way of the Dominican Republic). Laura Albanese at Newsday has an update on the pair, and their hopes to make it to the big leagues.

The two hope to be represented by Jaime Torres, agent of Yuniesky Betancourt and Jose Contreras. Torres says they’re both Major League caliber and are capable of playing in the big leagues immediately. They’re currently working out in Melville, NY.

Marti, 29, is hailed as one of Cuba’s best pitchers. The righty was their ace in the 2006 World Baseball Classic, throwing 12.2 scoreless innings. Gomez, 28, is a speedy outfielder and career .331 hitter in Cuba. He hit .397 over a 66-game span in Cuba’s 2008 national series tournament.

In the video on the right side of the Newsday article, the two say they’re thankful to have a chance to play in the Majors, and are open to any teams because they’re playing to support their families. They do, however, specifically mention the Yankees, White Sox, and Red Sox by name.

According to ESPN’s Enrique Rojas, pitcher Yadel Marti and outfielder Yasser Gomez defected from Cuba to seek MLB careers.  They’ll need to get to the Dominican Republic first.  Rojas talked to a talent scout who considers both players MLB ready.