Most of the Cuban pre-selection baseball team is already training at Latinoamericano stadium for the Premier 12 tournament, the most important one organized exclusively by the World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC), because let’s remember that in the Classics the Major Leagues (MLB) has more muscle.

The event will take place between November 10-24 in Japan, Taiwan and Mexico, but our players are already getting in shape, taking into account that they have been inactive for a couple of months after the ending of the National Series, and that’s why it does not seem exaggerated to start from now with physical work above all.

Most of those called up come from the domestic event, led by Alexei Ramírez, who after shining in MLB for a decade returned to play with Pinar del Río and left impressive figures : .357 average, with 14 homers, 18 doubles, 70 RBIs and 59 runs scored.

Roberto Baldaquín, Erisbel Aruebarrena and Yadir Drake are others with experience in professional circuits who took part in our competition and are included in the list, as well as almost everyone who stood out in the last National Series.
The only hint of controversy was the exclusion of former big leaguer Yasmany Tomás, but more for the way his case was handled than for his performance, which was below expectations.

They could be joined by several players who play in the professional circuits, both in the United States and in Leagues in Asia and the Caribbean and of course, those who play in the Japanese League under the auspices of the Cuban Federation.

New faces will be Yoan López, who played in five Major League seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Mets and was on the pre-roster of the previous Classic but in the end did not join the team, Darien Núñez, who worked one season with Los Angeles Dodgers in 2022, Lázaro Armenteros, Omar Estévez, Julio Robaina and Yusnier Padrón, all of them pitchers with participation at least in the Minor Leagues.

Also nominated are Milwaukee Brewers first base prospect Ernesto Martínez, pitcher Ronald Bolaños, infielder Jean Walter Valdés and Yoan Moncada, who was already with the team in the 2023 Classic. The non-call-up of others who were there a year ago, such as Luis Robert Moirán and pitchers Roenis Elías, Onelki García, Elián Leyva and Miguel Romero, was striking, but both them and those mentioned above depend on their teams and in some cases will probably not receive the corresponding permits.

As the name indicates, the 12 best teams in the world baseball rankings participate in this event, where the Cuban delegation occupies position 8, and the best place in two previous participations was the sixth in 2015.

Team Cuba is in Group B, along with Japan (Home), Taiwan (Home), South Korea, Australia and the Dominican Republic, and the objective is to be among the first two to advance to the semifinal round.

Translated by Amilkal Labañino / CubaSí Translation Staff