Jonathan Lintner, jlintner@courier-journal.com

Greg Galiette doesn't yet know the Cincinnati Reds' plans for their next highly paid Cuban pitcher, but the Louisville Bats' general manager raised an eyebrow this week when he saw that Raisel Iglesias had been optioned to the Triple-A level.

Iglesias, a Cuban defector, signed a seven-year, $27 million deal with the Reds last week. Cincinnati.com reportedat the time of the signing that Iglesias had yet to obtain a U.S. work visa and remained in Haiti, where he's a citizen.

Once that issue is cleared, "We might have a mini Cuban missile, ala Aroldis Chapman, maybe rolling through here to play for the Bats pretty soon," Galiette told ESPN 680's Deener Show on Thursday morning. "I can't guarantee he's going to be playing for us very soon, but he's at least been optioned to us. ... That's pretty exciting news and gives fans something really to focus on as far as an up-and-coming star for the Reds to come out to the ball park and watch."

Iglesias pitched for Cuba in the 2013 World Baseball Classic and again last year when the Cuban national team played the United States' college national team. He throws in the low-to-mid 90s and was scouted by the same group that watched Chapman before he signed a lucrative deal with the Reds.

"They felt as much as they'd seen him, he has four quality pitches," Reds general manager Walt Jocketty told reporters last week. "They felt he could be a starter and be a starter very soon. They've seen him pitch three innings of relief several times and felt he was capable of starting when he gets to the United States to get him stronger.

"We feel he'll be a starter in the next year or so, hopefully."

The Reds traded Bats starter Jair Jurrjens this week to the Colorado Rockies for a minor league first baseman, a move that would seem to clear space for another pitcher on the Triple-A roster. If Iglesias follows the same path as Chapman, he may spend time at the Reds' training complex in Arizona before assignment to a minor league team.

Cincinnati has plenty of pitching depth in its system — five of its top 10 prospects by Baseball America are right-handed pitchers — though the move to option Iglesias to Louisville puts the Cuban on a fast track to the majors.

"We'll let the Reds decide where his path starts," Galiette told The Courier-Journal. "Hopefully we'll see him sometime this year."

Jonathan Lintner can be reached at (502) 582-4199. Follow him on Twitter@JonathanLintner.