MIAMI -- Jose Contreras, the star pitcher of the Cuban national team who recently defected to the United States, will be placed in Major League Baseball's amateur draft next June unless he can arrange paperwork as a legal resident of another foreign country, said baseball's chief lawyer.

Frank Coonelly, Major League Baseball's top litigator who has defended the league's policy on Cuban players in federal court, told ESPN.com that contrary to the impression given in recent news reports, Contreras is not automatically a free agent available to the highest bidder.

	Jose Contreras told ESPN.com last year that he remained in Cuba because 'I'm not treated like merchandise, like I was something that they can buy today and sell tomorrow.'

"If he's in the U.S. and plans to become a resident of the U.S, he's eligible for the draft," Coonelly said.

That scenario would put teams such as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who could end up with the top pick in the draft, at the forefront of the Contreras sweepstakes, leaving such wealthy teams as the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers well back.

Jaime Torres, Contreras' Miami-based agent, said he believes baseball's draft policy is wrong.

"My position right now is that he's a free agent," Torres said. "I disagree with baseball's policy about making Cubans gain residency in another country."

Contreras, a 6-foot-4, 224-pound right-hander, will turn 31 years old on Dec. 12. He is widely considered the best pitcher in Cuba, where he has dominated the past seven years. His profile with U.S. scouts was raised in 1999 when he pitched eight scoreless innings during an exhibition game against the Baltimore Orioles, yielding two hits and striking out 10 in a 3-2 loss.

Boston Red Sox president Larry Lucchino told the Washington Post that Contreras would be "a number two or number three starter in the big leagues." Joe Kehoskie, an agent who specializes in Cuban players, said Contreras likely would go straight to the majors.

"This is where they play the best baseball," Contreras said Thursday in answer to a reporter's question as to why he defected. Contreras admitted he was nervous with a dozen TV cameras trained on him during a morning news conference in Miami but expressed confidence in his ability to perform well in the majors.

But to sign with the team of his choice, Contreras might first have to go to some other country. Unlike players from the Dominican Republic and other foreign countries, Major League Baseball regards Cuban players in the same manner as those from the U.S. and Canada, and forces them into the draft unless they can establish legal residency in another country.

The policy has been criticized by Cuban players and some agents as an unfair way to keep the wealthiest teams from signing the best prospects, and a recipe for immigration fraud. In the most widely publicized case, the agent for Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez flew the pitcher from the Bahamas, where he had been picked up at sea, to Costa Rica, where he quickly acquired residency papers. As a free agent, Hernandez signed a $6.6 million contract with the New York Yankees, who went on to win three World Series titles with him on their staff.

Major League Baseball was sued over the policy last year when Rolando Viera, a Cuban left-hander who had legally won a U.S. visa, was placed into the draft. Although still considered by the U.S. and Cuban governments as a Cuban citizen, Viera was denied his request to become a free agent because it appeared he intended to become a U.S. resident.

Major undertaking

If Jose Contreras enters the draft, he could join a short list of players who have gone straight to the majors since the draft began in 1965 (not including Japanese major leaguers): Mike Adamson, RHP, 1967, Orioles Steve Dunning, RHP, 1970, Indians Burt Hooton, RHP, 1971, Cubs Rob Ellis, OF, 1971, Brewers Pete Broberg, RHP, 1971, Senators Dave Roberts, 3B, 1972, Padres Dick Ruthven, RHP, 1973, Phillies Dave Winfield, OF, 1973, Padres David Clyde, LHP, 1973, Rangers * Eddie Bane, LHP, 1973, Twins Mike Morgan, RHP, 1978, A's * Bob Horner, 3B, 1978, Braves Brian Milner, C, 1978, Blue Jays * Tim Conroy, LHP, 1978, A's * Pete Incaviglia, OF, 1986, Rangers Jim Abbott, LHP, 1989, Angels John Olerud, 1B, 1989, Blue Jays * high school player Note: Winfield, Olerud and Horner never played in minors. Abbott and Incaviglia did so only late in their careers

After losing a couple of preliminary rulings, Viera, who was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the seventh round, abandoned the lawsuit. He pitched for the club's Class AA and AAA farm teams this season.

Torres said he is "keeping the option open" and may sue baseball to get Contreras declared a free agent, although he admitted that route is not appealing. "Takes too long to resolve," he said. "I don't want him sitting out for one year, two years."

Torres declined to say if he has been able to find a country willing to sponsor Contreras. Although Torres currently represents three other Cuban defectors who signed with him after dumping other agents -- none currently on major-league rosters -- Contreras, the agent said, is the first Cuban whose defection he was involved in orchestrating.

"I'm going to do everything possible to ensure that he'll be a free agent available to all teams," said Torres, who claims to have been in contact with Contreras for six years.

Finding countries willing to accommodate Cuban baseball defectors has become more difficult in recent years, Kehoskie said. As more Central and South American countries have opened up relationships with Cuba, they have less incentive to anger the communist government of Fidel Castro, a former baseball player who takes great pride in the achievements of the national team.

For Contreras, there's also no guarantee that Major League Baseball will accept any third-country paperwork he is able to acquire. Last year, the commissioner's office rejected claims by two defectors, pitcher Mayque Quintero and Evel Bastida, that they had become citizens of the Dominican Republic. Baseball officials took the posture that the color copies of the passports that were submitted could not be verified as legitimate, although they later conceded they could not confirm them as phonies, either.

Torres said Contreras, who is staying in the Miami area, is in good shape and is not bothered by injuries. He said the hard-throwing pitcher was clocked at 98 mph last week in a game against Nicaragua at the tournament in Mexico where he deserted the Cuban national team.

Miguel Valdez, general manager and coach of Cuba's national team, and Valdez's 19-year-old son crossed into the U.S. with Contreras at a border entry point south of San Diego. Torres said he got Contreras, who is now paroled into the U.S. and awaiting an immigration hearing, out of an Immigration and Naturalization Service detention facility on Monday.

Word of Contreras' defection spread rapidly within baseball circles. Before he ever got Contreras out of the detention facility, Torres said he had received calls from the Yankees, among other teams. "Even before I was able to get him released from INS, I got calls from general managers," he said.

In his home province of Pinar del Rio last year, Contreras told ESPN.com that during the Sydney Olympics he received an offer of $50 million from the Yankees. Curiously, he also said the offer was made by then-U.S. team manager Tommy Lasorda, who is the vice president of the Dodgers. He declined to discuss any offers, insisting at that time he had no desire to defect. Cleveland Indians pitcher Danys Baez, Contreras' former temmate at Pinar, signed a four-year, $14.5 million contract in 1999, the largest deal given to a Cuban defector.

If Contreras must enter the draft, he would have little leverage to land a similar contract. The team that drafts and signs him will also hold his rights for six seasons. If he chooses not to sign with that team, he must enter the draft again the next year -- not likely to be an attractive option for a pitcher of his age.

The draft order will be determined at the start of next season. Tampa Bay is likely to be near or at the top, by virtue of the Devil Rays' record, the worst in the majors this season.

Tom Farrey is a senior writer with ESPN.com. He can be reached at tom.farrey@espn3.com.