At a news conference at Estadio Latino Americano in Havana on Monday, Juan Reynaldo Perez Pardo, the president of the Federacion Cubana Beisbol y Softbol, clarified where the Cuba national team would play in advance of the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
Perez announced that Cuba would skip the 2025 Caribbean Cup, which will be held in Dec. 3-8 in Nassau, Bahamas, citing expense and “infrastructure problems”, according to Pelota Cubana USA’s Yordano Carmona. The expense Perez cited was a $65 per player per day registration fee, which amounts to a total of just under $17,000 for the tournament, scheduled to be played over nine days in the Bahamian capital.
Because the Copa America de Beisbol, which was scheduled to be held this week in Panama, was postponed, the WBSC Americas named four countries – Mexico, Puerto Rico, Panama, Cuba and Colombia – as automatic qualifiers to the 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games, which will be played in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic next year. The lone remaining berth in the Central American and Caribbean Games will be awarded at the Caribbean Cup next month.
Perez said that because Nassau “has competitive infrastructure for only six teams, … those slots will be allocated to countries that still need to qualify for next year’s Central American and Caribbean Games” according to a report by Agencia Cubana de Noticias, a state-run news agency.
In addition, Perez announced that the Cuba national team will represent the country at the Serie de Las Americas in Panama City, Panama in late January, while last year’s Serie Nacional champion, the Tigres de Ciego de Avila, will represent Cuba at the 2026 Caribbean Series in Caracas, Venezuela in early February. The winner of the this year’s Serie Nacional championship will participate in the 2026 Baseball Champions League Americas, which is likely to be held in Mexico City in early April.
The team sent to the Serie de Las America will likely have a similar roster to the team Cuba will send to the 2026 World Baseball Classic, though it’s possible that some players from the Tigres de Ciego de Avila could play in both events, and that the team sent to the Caribbean Series is reinforced with players from around the Serie Nacional.
The Serie Nacional was represented at last year’s inaugural Serie de Las Americas by the Lenadores de Las Tunas, who went 2-3 in round robin play and advanced to the knockout stage, where they lost to Nicaragua’s Leones de Leon 5-4 in the semifinals. Las Tunas also went to the 2025 Baseball Champions League Americas in Mexico City, where they went 1-1 in Group B before advancing to the championship game, ultimately falling to the Diablos Rojos del Mexico 6-1.
Cuba last appeared at the Caribbean Series in 2023, coincidentally the last time the event was held in Caracas, when the Agricultores, who won the inaugural season of the Elite League, represented the FCBS at the annual winter ball tournament. The Agricultores went 1-6 in round robin play, with their lone win coming against Wildcats KJ74, representing Curacao, in their opener in Venezuela.
Photo: Juan Reynaldo Perez Pardo announced which teams would represent Cuba at the Serie de Las Americas and the Caribbean Series in 2026. (Photo Courtesy of the WBSC)
