Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times
The Dodgers' Yasiel Puig tapes his wrists before a game. His journey to Los Angeles is a serpentine tale of drug cartels, nighttime escapes and international human smuggling.
The Dodgers' Yasiel Puig tapes his wrists before a game. His journey to Los Angeles is a serpentine tale of drug cartels, nighttime escapes and international human smuggling. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Paul Sancya / AP
Cincinnati's Aroldis Chapman, here pitching against Seattle in an exhibition game, defected in 2009 during a tournament in the Netherlands and signed a six-year, $30.25-million contract with the Reds.
Cincinnati's Aroldis Chapman, here pitching against Seattle in an exhibition game, defected in 2009 during a tournament in the Netherlands and signed a six-year, $30.25-million contract with the Reds. (Paul Sancya / AP)
The smuggling of Cuban baseball players has been the subject of federal investigations for years, resulting in a handful of prosecutions. Still, the flood of risky defections has continued.