With the World Baseball Classic Qualifiers in Taiwan kicking off tomorrow, some roster changes are taking place for the Qualifiers in Arizona in just a few more weeks. Colombia has announced that right-handed pitcher Nabil Crismatt and catcher Jorge Alfaro will miss out on the action but will be replaced by starting pitcher Guillermo Moscoso and catcher/first baseman Guillermo Quintana.
Moscoso, 41, is a former MLB veteran who pitched from 2009-13 in the Rangers, Athletics, Rockies, and Giants organizations. Although he was born in Maracay, Venezuela, Moscoso’s parents were born in Colombia, making him eligible for the team. He pitched with Colombia during their first appearance at the World Baseball Classic in 2017. Despite being out of the MLB since 2013, Moscoso has kept busy, pitching in Japan from 2014-16 and mainly pitching in Mexico from 2018-2022. Moscoso has pitched with the Tigres de Arauga in Liga Venezolana de Beisbol Profesional (LVBP) for the past two winters. This past winter, Moscoso made six starts, going 1-1 with a 1.01 ERA, striking out 11 batters and walking six in 26.2 innings of work.
Quintana, 23, was born in Cartagena, Colombia. He began his minor league career at 17 years old as a member of the Kansas City Royals organization. He would spend 2018-22 with the Royals organization, reaching the Low-A affiliate in 2022. After the 2022 season, Quintana joined the Cleburne Railroaders in the American Association for 2023. He hit for a .277 average in his first season, with ten home runs and 36 RBIs. Quintana then signed with the Gary SouthShore RailCats for 2024, playing in 81 games and hitting for a .239 average with three home runs and 23 RBIs. During the winter, he played in Colombia with the Caimanes de Barranquilla, where he hit four home runs and 19 RBIs, hitting for a .292 average.
Colombia’s first game for the World Baseball Classic Qualifiers will begin on March 2, where they are tasked with facing Brazil. The event will be held at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium in Tucson, Arizona, with all the action set to begin at 8 PM EST. All games can be streamed for free on Facebook, YouTube, MLB.TV, and worldbaseballclassic.com.
