Former Kansas City Royals and Chicago White Sox third baseman Cheslor Cuthbert will not play in the World Baseball Classic Qualifiers for Nicaragua at the Taipei Dome in Taipei, Taiwan, due to a torn Achilles tendon, reports Fernando Rayo on X.
Rayo reported Cuthbert’s injury on Monday and stated on X that 24-year-old first baseman Freddvil Chevez will take his place on the roster. There’s no indication that Cuthbert suffered the injury while playing in January’s Serie de Las Americas tournament.
Cuthbert played six seasons in Major League Baseball, 322 of his 323 career games from 2015-20 with the Kansas City Royals. He played 19 games in his rookie year in 2015 when the Royals defeated the New York Mets four games to one in the World Series, their first title since 1985. In limited playing time, the righty put together an underwhelming -1.3 WAR and a .678 OPS during his career in MLB.
The 32-year-old had an outstanding winter season in Nicaragua, playing for the Liga de Béisbol Profesional Nacional’s Gigantes de Rivas. In 32 games, Cuthbert hit .360 with four home runs, 26 RBI, and a .997 OPS. The 2024-25 LBPN season was his fourth with the Gigantes since the 2021-22 campaign.
Cuthbert remains very active in international tournaments for Nicaragua. Most recently, the Corn Island native represented his home country in the Serie de Las Americas and the 2024 Caribbean Series at loanDepotPark in Miami, Florida. The third baseman hit .235 with two RBI in the Caribbean Series, but Nicaragua finished 0-6 as one of the three invitees in last year’s tournament edition.
Nicaragua will be deprived of one of its more reliable and experienced players in Cuthbert for the WBC Qualifiers. He helped the Leones de León of the Liga de Béisbol Profesional Nacional finish 4-1 in the Serie de Las Americas, but they lost to the Águilas Metropolitanas of the Liga Profesional de Béisbol de Panama 3-1 in the championship game.
Nicaragua will play in the Taipei Qualification Pool from Feb. 21-25 at the Taipei Dome. They will compete with South Africa, Spain, and Chinese Taipei for one of two spots in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
The Tucson Qualification Pool will be held from March 2 to 6 at the Veterans Memorial Stadium at Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Arizona. Brazil, China, Colombia, and Germany will compete for the other two spots in the 2026 WBC.
On Tuesday, Nicaragua released its official World Baseball Classic Qualifiers roster.
Fans can watch the World Baseball Classic Qualifiers on YouTube, Facebook, and the WBC’s official website.
