Dodgers eyeing Cuban pitching sensation Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez

While Yasiel Puig’s major league career with the Dodgers is just starting, the team is said to be looking to add another Cuban prospect.

The Dodgers are one of several clubs interested in 26-year-old right-hander Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez, according to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.

The #Dodgers are eyeing another Cuban defector: 26-year-old pitcher Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez http://t.co/hH7AI2OBGn

— Dylan Hernandez (@dylanohernandez) June 6, 2013

A former national team pitcher, Gonzalez fled Cuba and reached El Salvador earlier this year. He has since taken up residency in Mexico and is working out in Tijuana. He has been throwing bullpen sessions in front of scouts twice a week for the past two months and expects to face hitters sometime this week.

Gonzalez could be declared a free agent by MLB as early as this week. Once Gonzalez becomes a free agent and is cleared by the U.S. Treasury Department, he will be allowed to sign with a major league team. He will be holding a showcase for major league scouts around June 20.

Gonzalez missed most of the last two seasons of Cuba’s top baseball league. Reason being he missed so much time was because he was suspended by the Cuban league for attempting to flee the Communist nation. During his time away from the Cuban league, he had bone spurs removed from his elbow but is said to be fully recovered from the injury.

At least one major league scout went on record saying he believes Gonzalez can pitch in the major leagues sometime this season. He is said to be 6-foot-3 with a fastball in the mid-90s, a changeup, forkball and curveball.

Unlike his former Cuban national teammate and current Dodgers outfielder Puig who rarely played outside of Cuba before signing with the Dodgers, Gonzalez has pitched in several high-profile international tournaments as well as the World Cup of Baseball in both 2009 and 2011.

Since Gonzalez is in the age range of 23 years or older and has played in Cuba’s top league for three or more seasons, whatever a team spends to sign him won’t count against its limit for international signings.