Defection: Yankee's Contreras Reunited with Family

[Drbio]

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- The wife and two daughters of New York Yankees pitcher Jose Contreras have escaped by boat from Cuba to the United States.

Miriam Murillo-Flores, 31, Naylan Contreras, 11, and Naylenis Contreras, 3, were aboard a boat that beached itself Monday south of Miami, a Coast Guard spokeswoman said.

The Yankees pitcher traveled to Miami to reunite with his wife and two daughters on Tuesday, The Associated Press reported.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Barbara Gonzalez said the vessel was a suspected smuggler's boat.

The boat carried 18 other migrants and two suspected smugglers, the Miami Herald reported.

Flores and her daughters were released by immigration officials Tuesday, Gonzalez said, adding the three could become legal U.S. residents in a year.

Contreras, a star pitcher on the Cuban National team, defected while playing in Mexico in 2002.

In published interviews, he has accused the Cuban government of punishing him by not allowing his family to emigrate.

[EricaLubarsky]

Best story of the day. Forget all the talking heads blathering on with the crap that gets them paid. This is the real story of the day.