There was a legend that Fidel Castro was scouted by the Washington Senators (Snopes) but didn’t make the cut, leading to countless “what if” scenarios. It didn’t happen of course, but I seem to recall The Simpsons mentioning it once.

While Castro failing in his bid to play for a D.C. team would have made the signing of Cuban defector Yuneski Maya (ESPN) that much more enjoyable, this is probably still really good news for the Nationals. International signings have been few and far between, despite claims it would be an important factor in the Nats talent acquisition. Stan Kasten has said numerous times that being the nation’s capital and having access to embassies and such would helpful. Of course, since the U.S. doesn’t have diplomatic relations with Cuba it is a moot point here.

What probably is not a moot point is that Maya is the third pitcher in the Nats system that defected from Cuba. Beloved slop-tosser Livan Hernandez ditched the national team in 1995. His half-brother Orlando Hernandez, better known as “El Duque” followed him in 1997. El Duque is officially a Nats minor leaguer right now and I don’t know that we will ever see him in a Nats uniform.

I am eager to see what Nationals Farm Authority has to say over the next few days. I’ll update this post on Wednesday morning with more links.

I need to mention that I have seen this pitcher’s name spelled as Yunesky Maya and Yuniesky Maya. I don’t know which one is correct, but I guess that will get cleared up soon.

UPDATED WEDNESDAY JULY 21, 2010 at 6:40 a.m.

In addition to leading the league in pitchers who will be ready in a month or so (Jordan Zimmermann, Jason Marquis, Cheing Ming Wang, Ross Detwiler) they now also lead the league in pitchers who defected from Cuba (¡LIVAN!, El Duque, and now Maya).

Cuban pitcher Yuniesky Maya agrees to terms with Nationals – Nationals Journal, The Post

Maya, a veteran of the Cuban National Series, was named the best right-handed pitcher in Cuba after the 2008-2009 season – “their Cy Young,” Rizzo said. Maya throws four pitches — a curveball, a slider, a changeup and a fastball that zips between 89 and 92 miles per hour. Before defecting in September 2009, Maya was the ace of the Cuban National team, ahead of even Reds prospect Aroldis Chapman.

Zuckerman: Nats To Sign Top Cuban Pitcher – CSN Washington

Oh and the Nats kept digging holes for themselves that they could not overcome, falling 8-7 to the Cincinnati Reds in a game that had a couple of rain delays and took 5 1/2 hours to finish. P Luis Atilano was not any good and may be done in the majors. The Nats did get a six run sixth inning though, but it was not enough. Adam Dunn struck out looking to end the game.