Indians OF Puig turns into American citizen

Cleveland Indians outfielder Yasiel Puig, who defected from Cuba in 2010, grew to become an American citizen on Wednesday.

The 28-year-old posted a photograph on Twitter with American flag, saying, “Thanks God for this nice alternative to be an American citizen.”

Puig’s journey to the USA was lengthy, harmful and complex. A star on the Cuban nationwide group, he made 4 makes an attempt to defect from Cuba earlier than being efficiently transported in another country by an alien-smuggling-and-boat-theft ring with hyperlinks to the Mexican cartel Los Zetas. He subsequently confronted demise threats and extortion makes an attempt on account of his escape.

Thanks 🙏 God for this nice alternative to be an American citizen 👌🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/346P6g89LX

— Yasiel Puig (@YasielPuig) August 14, 2019

He went to Mexico first, as a result of if he had gone on to the U.S., he would have been subjected to the Main League Baseball draft. He established residency in Mexico, permitting himself to barter a profitable free-agent contract. Puig signed a $42 million, seven-year contract with the Dodgers in June 2012, a document for a Cuban defector. He was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in December 2018 and came to visit to the Indians on July 31.

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A profession .277 hitter with 131 dwelling runs and 398 RBIs over seven seasons, Puig has gotten off to a great begin with the Indians, hitting .357 with a house run and 6 RBIs in 11 video games. He’s at present serving a three-game suspension for his half in a brawl when he was with Cincinnati.

Puig is the fourth member of the Indians to change into an American citizen this 12 months, becoming a member of teammates Carlos Santana, Oliver Perez and Hanley Ramirez, who was waived in April.