The rights to an article in Los Angeles Magazine about Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig’s journey from Cuba to the major leagues was recently acquired and will be made into a movie, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Jesse Katz’s “Escape from Cuba: Yasiel Puig’s Untold Journey to the Dodgers,” which recently published, chronicles how Puig made it from Cuba to Mexico with the help of smugglers who worked for a Mexican drug cartel.
Puig signed a seven-year, $42 million contract with the Dodgers and finished second in the National League Rookie of the Year balloting in 2013. He batted .319 with 19 home runs and 42 RBIs in 104 games.
The film will be produced by Brett Ratner, who has directed several big-budget movies, including the “Rush Hour” trilogy, “X-Men: The Last Stand” and “Hercules,” which opens in July.