Cuban left-hander gets $2-million bonus from Astros

A 20-year-old Cuban pitcher has agreed to a minor league contract with the Houston Astros that includes a $2 million signing bonus (David J. Phillip/AP)

HOUSTON — A 20-year-old Cuban pitcher has agreed to a minor league contract with the Houston Astros that includes a $2 million signing bonus.

The agreement involving left-hander Cionel Perez was announced Friday and is part of the last international signing period without a cap on bonuses. Starting July 2, teams will not be able to exceed set limits each year that start at $4.75 million for bonuses of more than $10,000 for amateurs residing outside the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada.

Cuban infielder Yuli Gurriel agreed to a $47.5 million, five-year contract with the Astros in July and made his major league debut the following month.

Perez led the Cuba National Series with a 2.06 ERA in 87 1/3 innings and 17 starts for Matanzas in 2014, when he was 7-2 with 75 strikeouts. Overall, he was 10-5 with a 2.20 ERA in 28 starts and two relief appearances in 2013 and ’14.

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.