Catching up with Henry Urrutia

Not long ago, I wrote how the 2015 season is extremely important for the professional future of Cuban outfielder Henry Urrutia. He turns 28 in February, was limited to 51 games at Triple-A Norfolk last year due to a sports hernia that required surgery, and the Orioles may hold open tryouts in the outfield if they can't sign or trade for anyone. Urrutia's work ethic isn't an issue, as I was reminded during a text exchange Wednesday night that resumed yesterday morning. He's hitting the weights hard down in Sarasota, posting the occasional photo on Twitter, and only recently taking a short break to rest his body and spend time with his wife and 8-month-old son, Henry Alexander. "Thank God I do not feel any kind of pain," Urrutia wrote. "Maybe you do not know much about me but I had surgery and it prevented me from achieving my goal this year and I felt very bad about my results this season. Since I had my first AB with this team being there is what I most desire so I'll keep fighting to earn my position. I am very hard on myself and have worked on each of the shortcomings that I had and that I continue to work on especially with my character. "I have to work more with my emotions and let go (things) I can not control." I should point out here that I'm amazed at Urrutia's command of the English language, considering he arrived in the United States from Haiti in February 2013. "Roch, sorry for my English, OK," he wrote. "The problem is I need the translate sometimes. But the team it has helped me a lot." I told Urrutia that his English is better than mine. "I'm living here. I need to speak English," he wrote. "I also understand that the team helped me a lot and I even spoke in Spanish sometimes but it is my duty to learn English to communicate with my teammates. I also believe that I will have more opportunities in this country if I can speak perfect the English." How can you not root for this guy? Urrutia went 16-for-58 (.276) with a triple and two RBIs as a rookie with the Orioles in 2013. He was challenged to get around on fastballs and needed work on his defense and baserunning. He also failed to draw any walks. Manager Buck Showalter was impressed with Urrutia's conditioning the following spring - the added muscle was noticeable - and determination to improve all facets of his game. He'd stay back after workouts and take fly balls and grounders in the outfield. "When in spring training Buck said he was proud of the work I was doing on defense I felt that my work was paying off," Urrutia wrote. "I also learned that Buck is a great manager and person more than I imagined." Urrutia joked that Showalter, with facial expressions that aren't easily deciphered, "still scares me when I see him walking towards me." It takes a lot to frighten Urrutia, who defected three years ago after a failed attempt that led to his suspension and inability to play in the Cuban League during the 2011 season. Urrutia, who received a $778,500 bonus from the Orioles, batted .397/.461/.597 with 12 homers, 32 walks and 23 strikeouts in 305 at-bats in his final season in Cuba. He played for Las Tunas in the Cuban League from 2006-10 and batted .350 with 72 doubles, nine triples, 33 home runs, 219 RBIs and 209 runs. He also represented the island country in the 2010 World Championships. The announcement Wednesday from President Barack Obama that the United States will restore full diplomatic relations with Cuba and open an embassy in Havana was celebrated by Urrutia, who hasn't seen his parents and other family members since defecting. When I wrote to Urrutia about the importance of family, he replied, "Yeah, took several years without seeing my mother and my brothers so my only family here is my wife and children. Need to be with them for a while. Our life is very difficult. "I hope this decision will serve to soon be able to see my family again. My perfect dream would be that my parents could see me play baseball one day from the steps of Camden." Urrutia sent me a photo of his father's baseball card. He bears a striking resemblance to Ermidelio, a career .315 hitter with Las Tunas. "We are a very large family and close family," Urrutia wrote. "My mom has 8 brothers but only 6 live very close to us. All my aunts and uncles have children." Urrutia also is excited by the prospect of having his former teammates in Cuba get a chance to play in the United States and experience a better way of life. "I have many teammates who have talent to be in this baseball but the fear of not seeing their families is greater than the desire to be here and I respect that," he wrote. "It is a fact that this approach gives me and many others hope and that makes me happy." NOTES: I wrote a few days ago that former Oriole Howie Clark is returning to the organization as a minor league field coach, but he's now being assigned to low Single-A Delmarva. A decision is pending on the field coach position at Single-A Frederick. Former Delmarva field coach Paco Figueroa is replacing Butch Davis at Double-A Bowie. The Twins hired Davis as first base coach. The Rangers granted the Orioles permission this week to interview Scott Coolbaugh for the hitting coach job. They denied permission earlier even though Coolbaugh could earn a promotion, but they finally gave the Orioles a 24-hour window to meet with him. As I wrote last night while updating my entry, there was no misunderstanding between the teams. The Orioles were turned down initially, according to multiple sources, before the Rangers consented to it. The interview is being held in Dallas. I'm told that vice president of baseball operations Brady Anderson was making flight arrangements last night so he could join manager Buck Showalter. Though it wasn't his intention, Showalter created a stir Tuesday night after telling the crowd at the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore's annual meeting that catcher Matt Wieters may not be ready on opening day. Meanwhile, he's been saying the same thing all along, which is why the Orioles are searching for another catcher. How many times has Showalter said that he's got to approach it as though Wieters won't be ready? Showalter basically said that if a gun were held to his head, he'd rate third baseman Manny Machado as being ready for the opener and Wieters would be very close behind him. He can't give exact dates in December. Maybe it's a slower news week than I realized.