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Top Cuban player slips away with brother to join US majors

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — Star Cuban infielder Yulieski Gourriel and his younger brother slipped away from their hotel in the Dominican Republic early Monday in an apparent effort to launch careers in Major League Baseball.

The departure of Yulieski and his brother Loudes was confirmed by Granma, the Communist Party newspaper in Cuba that serves as an outlet for official government statements.

The paper said on its website Monday morning that the Gourriel brothers had "abandoned" their hotel in "an open attitude of surrender to the merchants of professional baseball for profit."

The elder Yulieski has been one of the Cuban players most highly praised by MLB scouts since he played in his first World Baseball Classic in 2006.