New Mariner Heredia has no regrets leaving Cuba

PEORIA, Ariz. — Seattle Mariners center fielder Guillermo Heredia said he never regretted his decision to defect from Cuba even though it effectively robbed him of two years in his playing career.

“I knew it was a process,” he said. “I was focused on the future and getting here. It’s difficult being away, but it’s not impossible.

“Obviously, it’s hard being away from the game. It’s two years but, sometimes, there are things that happen where you just have to step away from the game. That’s what happened here.

“But now that I’m here with this organization, I’m going to give my entire heart to them and work hard to have success.”

The Mariners reached agreement with Heredia on Feb. 22, but it took until Tuesday for all paperwork to be completed. He took part in Wednesday’s workouts.

Heredia’s contract is a split deal of $507,500 in the majors and $82,700 is he plays in the minors with pro-rated portions for time at the two levels. He also received a $400,000 signing bonus.

“I’m looking for forward to seeing him,” manager Scott Servais said. “We’ll get to look at (him in) BP today and moving around in the outfield. Obviously, he’s a speed and defense-type player in center field. We’ll get a feel for the bat.”

Heredia, 25, played six years for Matanzas in the Cuban league and played for the national team in the 2013 World Baseball Classic. But he played only one game in 2014 before defecting to Mexico.

“There was a lot of sacrifice,” Heredia said. “There have been a lot of things that happened between then and getting here. But this is a new opportunity, and I see this as a new phase in my life. I’ll work hard to reach my objectives.”

Heredia characterized himself as “a contact hitter who has some speed and some defense. An agile player.” He batted .285 in his Cuban career with a .376 on-base percentage in 374 games.

“Our scouting staff was really (high) on him,” Servais said. “I had been involved in signing international players before, so I do know the anxiety level and the nervousness for that young player.”

While Heredia agreed to a major-league contract, which means he’s on the 40-man roster, he is almost certain to open the season in the minors — most likely at Double-A Jackson.

“We’ll give him some time and break him in easily,” Servais said. “I don’t know where our minor-league people see him going. … He just needs to play. It doesn’t really matter where. Just play.”

Narraro signed

The Mariners bolstered their organization depth by reaching agreement with first baseman/left fielder Efren Navarro on a minor-league deal that includes an invitation to big-league camp.

Navarro, 29, joined the roster in time for Wednesday’s workout. He became a free agent Feb. 28 when he rejected an outright assignment to the minors by Baltimore after clearing waivers.

Prior to joining the Orioles in a Jan. 26 cash transaction, Navarro spent nine years in the Los Angeles Angels’ organization. He played parts of four seasons in the big leagues.

While Navarro excelled at Triple-A over the last five seasons — batting .316 with a .378 on-base percentage and a .449 slugging percentage in 552 games — that success hasn’t yet continued into the majors.

Navarro has a .246/.303/.324 slash in 256 at-bats over 130 big-league games with one homer and 20 RBI.

Short hops

Designated hitter Nelson Cruz could make his spring debut as soon as Thursday, depending on the outcome of some base-running drills to test what the Mariners characterize as a “sore leg.” … While Servais is open to the possibility of having Franklin Gutierrez play occasionally in center field “if he’s comfortable doing it,” that seems unlikely. Servais also emphasized the need to ensure Gutierrez is “a good spot, health-wise” when the season opens. “Then we can utilize him for the whole year,” Servais said. “We face a lot of left-handed pitching.” … The Mariners have 60 players on their camp roster after signing Navarro and Heredia. That includes 31 who were not in the organization when last season ended.