Robin Rombach, Post-Gazette photos Right-handed pitcher Yoslan Herrera, 25, defected from Cuba June 13, 2005.

By Dejan Kovacevic
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette There was no raft in tatters, no shark snapping its jaws, no crashing waves or any dramatic chase from a U.S. Coast Guard patrol.

As Yoslan Herrera tells it, there really was nothing all that harrowing about his 1 1/2-day boat trip to defect from Cuba to Miami, especially compared to what others from his country have endured.

But his next step?

Now, that could be different.

"I was a little bit scared when I left Cuba," Herrera said yesterday at PNC Park, meeting with the local media for the first time and speaking through an interpreter. "But now, maybe, it's even more challenging for me to adjust to a new life."

No kidding.

Herrera speaks only Spanish, knows no one in the United States other than Florida-based agent Jaime Torres and another friend in Miami with whom he is living, does not yet have a cell phone, has no independent way of getting around and, perhaps most intimidating of all, is beginning to absorb how hard it will be to join the Pirates' rotation next season.

"I know I have to prove a lot, and I know it won't be easy," Herrera said. "But I feel like I can be ready for spring training. Usually, I can adjust to situations very well. There's no problem."

	Because of his defection from Cuba, Yoslan Herrera has not pitched in 1 1/2 years. Click photo for larger image. More Coverage: Littlefield: Trade for bat still possible

Herrera has the pedigree, by all accounts, to be a sound starter in Major League Baseball. He has an exceptional curveball, a split-fingered fastball that is nearly as good, a slider and a changeup, all helped by crisp command and 92-mph velocity on his fastball. It was those traits that made him a rising star on Cuba's national team in 2001-04.

"He throws strikes," said Rene Gayo, the Pirates' director of Latin American scouting and the man who signed Herrera. "That's the big thing. He has a lot of good pitches, but he knows how to locate them."

Still, because of his defection, Herrera has not pitched a competitive game in 1 1/2 years, and that has the Pirates guarded about his near-term prospects.

"Extremely," manager Jim Tracy said.

Although no one is ruling out that Herrera could make the team out of spring training, he is expected to open with Class AAA Indianapolis and display some level of durability -- and performance -- before a promotion is seriously considered.

"Baby steps all the way," Tracy said. "We know his arm is sound, and we know the capabilities of the player. But we have to be careful."

Off the field, too.

"We have to be aware that a lot of his needs for now are not going to be baseball-related," Tracy added. "We need to take care of the person as well as the player."

But Gayo, who is of Cuban descent and knows the scenario well, has a view that Herrera will assimilate quickly.

"The kid's been through a lot, no question," Gayo said. "But I always say about the Cuban players, they're used to pitching to backstops with Fidel Castro's picture on them. They're not going to be afraid of some American guys with sticks."

Herrera's take?

"My goal, of course, is to pitch in the majors next season."

The goal has been a long time in the shaping.

Herrera spoke yesterday of watching ESPN's Spanish-language channel in Cuba that carried American games for his childhood inspiration. Of making a hero of Jose Contreras, a countryman who now stars for the Chicago White Sox. Of deciding he was willing to forfeit the comfort of family -- his father, mother and sister were left behind -- to join the elite of his sport.

"I wanted to pitch in the majors," he said. "That's my dream."

The most significant step in fulfilling that came late at night on June 11, 2005, when Herrera and 18 others filled a small boat, the kind that commonly functions as a ferry for defectors. Two days later, without incident, the party arrived on the shores of Miami, where he reported to U.S. authorities.

"It was June 13, 2005," Herrera said, not hesitating in recalling the date.

After seven months there, he traveled to the Dominican Republic. The reason: MLB does not permit teams to sign players with Cuban residency, so they must gain residency anywhere else. The process is faster in the Dominican than the United States.

It was in the Dominican capital, Santo Domingo, that Herrera performed well in tryouts for the Pirates' scouts eight months ago. The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox also showed interest, Herrera said, but he stuck with the Pirates in large part because of Gayo's persistence and because of a visit by general manager Dave Littlefield last summer.

"That really made a difference, having Dave come all the way out there to see him. He showed Yoslan we weren't kidding around," Gayo said. "I don't know what kind of pitcher he's going to be in the majors, but I can tell you this: We're really happy to have him."

No happier than Herrera, apparently.

"I just thank God I'm here," he said at a stall in the Pirates' clubhouse.

NOTES -- Tom Gorzelanny, another starter participating in the Pirates' ongoing checkups on pitchers and injured players, pronounced his left elbow "a non-issue." Gorzelanny missed a month near the end of last season because of tendinitis but returned without incident. ... The Pirates signed reliever Kevin Gryboski to a minor-league contract. Gryboski, a 33-year-old right-hander, had a 14.29 ERA in six appearances for Washington last season. In 52 appearances for the Nationals' Class AAA affiliate in New Orleans, he had a 3.71 ERA. ... Tracy, on the signing of utilityman Jose Hernandez that was announced yesterday: "That day last August when he was traded to Philadelphia was a tough day for a lot of us. He's loved around here." ... Victor Santos, 5-9 with a 5.70 ERA for the Pirates last season, yesterday signed a minor-league contract with the Cincinnati Reds.