Cuba to warm up in Korea ahead of WBSC Premier12

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Cuba to warm up in Korea ahead of WBSC Premier12
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22 October 2024
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Manager Armando Johnson opened camp in Ulsan in south-east Korea. On October 23, Cuba will face the LG Twins of KBO for the first of six warm-up games. The final 28-man roster will be announced after the delegation reaches Taipei City on November 3.

World No. 9 Cuba will prepare in Korea ahead of the WBSC Premier12 presented by RAXUS.
Manager Armando Johnson opened camp in the south-eastern city of Ulsan on October 20 and has scheduled two games against Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) league clubs. Cuba will face the 2023 Korean Series champions LG Twins on Wednesday, October 23, and the NC Dinos on Thursday, October 24

Johnson has scheduled four more warm-up games for October 25, 26, 28 and 29 in Ulsan, but the opponents are yet to be determined. Cuba will travel to Seoul on October 31 and face world No. 6 Korea on November 1 and 2. The delegation will then travel to Taipei City on November 3 ahead of their first Premier12 game on November 13.

Cuba won't announce their final 28-man roster before getting to Taipei.

"We chose a group of 28 and eight reserves on October 10 to comply with the Premier12 rules," commented Johnson.

The Cubam manager and his staff, which includes former international baseball giants such as German Mesa, Pedro Lazo and Orestes Kindelan and seasoned Cuban National League coaches such as Rafael Munoz, Juan Manrique, Humberto Guevara, Armando Ferrer and Jose Elosegui, have picked right-hander Yusniel Padron as their starter for the games against the LG Twins.

The 27-year-old former Boston Red Sox minor leaguer spent the 2024 season with the Quebec Capitales in the independent Frontier League.

"It is a very good opportunity for me and a real honour to share the field with players I took as my role models growing up such as [Alfredo] Despaigne," commented Padron.

Johnson has already decided on the starters for the other warm-up games. They are all pitchers who spent time overseas during the 2024 season. Raymond Figueredo helped Parma win the Italian Baseball League, veteran left-hander Yeoennis Yera played for Olmecas de Tabasco in the Mexican League, 18-year-old left-handed prospect Dario Sarduy is in the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) farm system and Pavel Hernandez split time between the Cuban National League and Aguascalientes in the Mexican League.

Livan Moinelo, possibly the most talented Cuban pitcher, will compete in the Japan Series with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks. Game 7 is scheduled for November 3. Other pitchers under contract with NPB clubs are Raidel Martinez, Frank Alvarez (Chunichi Dragons) and Ariel Martinez (Nippon Ham Fighters).

Alfredo Despaigne will captain the team. The former Fukuoka Softbank Hawks slugger is one of the international baseball veterans on the roster; he led the WBSC Baseball World Cup 2009 in home runs. Shortstop Erisbel Arruebaruena, a Premier12 alum, debuted internationally as a 21-year-old in 2011 and reached Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2014.

Other veterans Johnson is considering for the final roster are Mexican League slugger Yadir Drake, NPB's Chunichi Dragons outfielder Dayan Viciedo and former MLB All-Star Yoan Moncada.

"We are working to have a roster up to the level of a tournament like the Premier12 requires," added Johnson. "We looked for strength, speed, versatility, arm power and power at bat. We also looked for players committed to teamwork, who have discipline on the field and outside the field."

WBSC Premier12 presented by RAXUS

Cuba will compete in Group B and face No.1 Japan, No. 2 (tied with Mexico) Chinese Taipei, No. 6 Korea, No. 12 Dominican Republic and No. 15 Australia.

Group A will open on November 9 in Guadalajara and Tepic, Mexico. The hosts and world No. 2 Mexico will face No. 4 Venezuela, No. 5 USA, No. 7 Netherlands, No. 8 Puerto Rico and No. 10 Panama.

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