The 10 best Cuban-born players in Major League Baseball

Despite having tenuous foreign relations for well over 50 years now, there is one aspect of both American and Cuban culture that binds the two countries: baseball. We’re all aware of the massive differences in the political systems of two countries, but the people of the United States of America and Cuba both have a love for baseball that is ingrained into fabric of their respective nations.

With the Tampa Bay Rays playing the first exhibition game between a Cuban team and an MLB team in Havana Thursday, let’s take a look at the 10 best Cuban-born players in Major League Baseball today.

1) Jose Fernandez

Possessing one of the most electrifying arms in the Majors, Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez is one the best starting pitchers in all of baseball. After an historic rookie campaign in 2013, in which Fernandez was an All-Star and named Rookie of the Year, the Cuban-born pitcher experienced injury troubles and eventually needed Tommy John surgery.

That being said, Fernandez is expected to be fully healthy by the start of the 2016 MLB season, and if he truly is, look out. The 23-year-old could easily run away with the NL Cy Young Award this upcoming season.

2) Jose Abreu

Chicago White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu is one the top sluggers in the AL. The 2014 AL Rookie of the Year, Abreu has a .303 batting average, 66 home runs and 208 runs batted in since joining the baseball club on the south side of Chicago two years ago. Abreu, 29, is your prototypical power-hitting corner infielder. White Sox fans can pencil him in for another 30 home runs and 100-RBI season again for 2016.

3) Aroldis Chapman

With a fastball that has topped out at 105 miles per hour (an MLB record), New York Yankees relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman is the hardest-throwing pitcher on the planet. After defecting from Cuba in 2008, Chapman signed with the Cincinnati Reds and quickly became their best pitcher out the bullpen.

A four-time All-Star, “The Cuban Flamethrower” also owns the MLB record for most consecutive relief appearances with a strikeout (49). While there have been some questions about Chapman’s character in the past year, on the mound, there is no doubting he is one of the, if not the, best relief pitcher in baseball.

4) Yoenis Cespedes

Although he has had trouble sticking with a club, New York Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes is one of the top outfielders in the Majors. After being acquired at the trade deadline last season, Cespedes helped ignite the Mets' World Series run.

A power hitter, he also has one of the most lethal arms in the outfield in baseball, evident by the fact he has 26 outfield assists over the past two seasons. Simply put, Cespedes has an arm base runners are wise not to test. Cespedes, 30, finished the 2015 season with a WAR of 6.3, 11th best in all of Major League Baseball.

5) Yasiel Puig

After a blistering start to his MLB career in 2013, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig has cooled off a bit in the last year or so. Still, there is no doubting the immense talent that Puig is. A five-tool player, Puig is a career .294 hitter for the Dodgers and has one of the strongest arms for an outfielder in the Majors — and at only 25 years old, he still has a tremendous amount of room to grow.

The Dodgers invested heavily in Puig and are banking on him to have bounce-back year in 2016 if the boys in blue hope to repeat as NL West Division Champions.

6) Kendrys Morales

Perhaps known best for breaking his leg celebrating a walk-off home run with the Angels in 2010, designated hitter and first baseman Kendrys Morales revived his career with the Kansas City Royals after he signed with the club in December 2014. A key cog in the Royals lineup, Morales hit .290 with 22 home runs and 106 runs batted in this past year, and helped propel the Royals to their first World Series title in 30 years.

Morales and his powerful bat will be relied upon heavily by K.C. once again in 2016.

7) Jorge Soler

When you have a lineup that includes Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Jason Heyward and Kyle Schwarber, it’s easy to overlook a player like Jorge Soler. That being said, the Chicago Cubs' Cuban-born outfielder shouldn’t be flying so low under the radar. Despite the Cubs having re-signed Dexter Fowler, the 24-year-old Soler could easily play his way into an everyday spot in the outfield.

Soler has all the physical tools necessary to succeed at the plate and in the outfield, and after a dynamite postseason in which he posted an incredible OPS of 1.705, Soler appears to be on the cusp of having a breakout season. For a lineup that already trots out so much talent on an everyday basis, that should be a scary thought for opposing teams in the NL Central.

8) Yasmani Grandal

Acquired by the Dodgers from the Padres in the Matt Kemp trade, catcher Yasmani Grandal made an immediate impact for L.A. in 2015. After a blistering first half of the season at the plate, Grandal was named an All-Star, but his production fell off in the second half of the season.

Despite ending the 2015 season with a batting average of just .234 and OPS of .756, Grandal still projects to be one baseball’s better catchers in 2016. The 27-year-old knows how to frame a pitch extremely well and threw out 29.1 percent of all attempted base stealers. Expect Grandal to have big year for the blue crew.

9) Yasmany Tomas

After defecting from Cuba in 2014, the Arizona Diamondbacks made a major investment in outfielder Yasmany Tomas, signing him to a six-year, $68.5 million contract. After a successful rookie campaign in 2015, the signing appears to be an investment that is paying dividends already.

In 118 games last year, Tomas hit .273 with eight home runs and 49 runs batted in. He will need to learn to have more discipline at the plate (he struck out 110 times last season), but the makings of a star in the Arizona outfield are there when it comes the 25-year-old Cuban.

10) Alexei Ramirez

A starter for the White Sox since 2008, Alexei Ramirez is about as solid as it gets when it comes to playing shortstop. An All-Star in 2014, Ramirez has a career fielding percentage of .975 and is able to contribute at the plate as well — he is a career .273 hitter.

Although he certainly isn’t the type of player who will blow you away with his talent, most MLB teams would kill to have a shortstop as reliable as Ramirez on their rosters. The 34-year-old was acquired by the San Diego Padres this offseason to be their everyday shortstop.