Ariel Pestano Jr., son of the legendary former catcher of the Cuban National Baseball Team, left the country this Monday, as reported by sports journalist Francys Romero.
Pestano Jr. boarded a flight to Managua, Nicaragua, so he will presumably make the journey through the Central American countries to reach the United States," Romero pointed out on his website citing sources familiar with the case.
Pestano Jr.'s departure from the country comes shortly after the baseball player requested to leave the national baseball league in the midst of the current National Series.
Previously, it was reported that the baseball player's plan was to meet up in the United States with his girlfriend, identified on Instagram as Mary Elizundia, who has been living in that country for some time and works as a model.
"At 26 years old, he still has the opportunity to at least try to continue in baseball," noted Francys Romero now, who pointed out that Pestano Jr. is a switch hitter with excellent defensive skills.
However, the journalist admits that Pestano Jr.'s continuity within baseball or his entry into professionalism seems complicated.
Having effective representation may allow you to enter a circuit or try out for MLB organizations. However, the opportunities in Independent Leagues baseball and other circuits are not what they used to be.
Francys Romero added that "spaces are scarce throughout the system and the compensation in these leagues indicates that a player will not be there for many years."
Ariel Pestano Jr. participated in six National Series between 2017 and 2024. In his career, he has an OBP of .382, with 41 doubles, four triples, 11 home runs, 83 RBIs, and 169 runs scored.
He played 66 games in the current 63rd National Series with Villa Clara, where he had a batting average of .276 with 8 home runs and an OBP of .392.
Pestano Jr. is another one of the sons of renowned players who leaves Cuba. The list that began around 2010 "is now almost infinite," concluded Romero.
It was Dairon Pérez Urbano, a journalist from the CMHW La Reina Radial del Centro station, who recently revealed that Ariel Pestano Jr. and Leandro Turiño (32 years old), both from the Villa Clara team, had officially requested their release to leave the country.
The information was later confirmed by Ramón Moré, director of the Leopardos team.
The exodus of Cuban baseball players shows no signs of stopping.
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