Roberto Hernandez Heredia's -- formerly Fausto Carmona's -- strange saga of identity theft in his home country of the Dominican Republic could be coming to something of a close by baseball's All-Star Break if all goes well with a lobbyist that Hernandez has hired to try and get him back on the Cleveland Indians.
Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer reports:
A lobbyist working on behalf of Roberto Hernandez, the Indians pitcher formerly known as Fausto Carmona, said he could be back in the United States by the All-Star break.
"I think there is a good chance Roberto could be in Cleveland by the All-Star break," said Stephen Payne, a visa expert and lobbyist hired by Hernandez’s agents.
A possible suspension of Hernandez thanks to the incident doesn't appear to be in the cards, with the Indians saying that the fact that he was given a sizable pay cut -- in part due to the fact that he lied about his age and claimed he was three years younger than he actually is -- should be a suitable punishment.
The Indians have petitioned the U.S. State Department that the salary cut should serve as punishment enough. It’s believed MLB and the players association feels the same.
It's not really a necessity for the Indians to get Hernandez back as he was never one of their top players, but as they look to make a run for the AL Central title this year they can use all the help they can get.
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