In the next few months, the Federacion Cubana de Beisbol national team will participate in two key international events from the World Baseball Softball Confederation.
Cuba will play in the 2024 Caribbean Cup at Andre Rodgers Stadium in Nassau, Bahamas, from October 23 to 28. The country will also play in the 2024 Premier12, which will be from November 9 to 24.
Armando Johnson will return as the manager for the Cuban national team at the 2024 Premier12 tournament.
Alexander Urquiola was named the manager for Cuba at the 6th Caribbean Cup from FCB Juan Reinaldo Perez on Thursday, September 12.
Urquiola returns to the Cuban national team after managing their U-15 team to the silver medal in the 2022 World Cup.
The Cuban national team will be made up of young players from Cuba who have played in prior age group events and have also played in the Serie Nacional and Elite League.
The FCB has not yet announced when the third season of the Elite League will start for 2024-25. The Serie Nacional was the island’s only winter and higher-up league, beginning during the United States Trade Embargo in 1960. The Elite League will be in its third season of operation if it resumes in 2024-25.
The Confederación del Caribe de Béisbol is part of the World Baseball Softball Confederation Americas sector and operates the Caribbean Cup annually.
COCABE announced the schedule on September 11 for the 2024 Caribbean Cup.
The Bahamas last hosted the 2022 Caribbean Cup in December, the first event at Andre Rodgers Stadium.
Bahamas Baseball Association President Samuel E. Rodgers Sr., Vice President Joseph Moss, and Secretary General Theodore Sweeting played significant parts in organizing the event, negotiating its location, and finalizing the process for the 2024 Caribbean Cup, which will be held under the approval of the Secretary-General of COCABE, Manuel Frias.
Sint Maarten Baseball-Softball Federation will participate in an international senior event for the first time at the 2024 Caribbean Cup.
The SMBSF is a WBSC Provisional Member, the governing body of the sports Americas sector, in its first year as an operating federation under President Austin Helliger. St. Maarten is not ranked in the World Baseball Rankings from the WBSC.
The 2024 Caribbean Cup will have all games at Andre Rodgers Stadium. The opening ceremony will be held on October 23 at 7:00 p.m. EDT after the Dominican Republic plays Curacao at 3 p.m. EDT.
There are 15 games scheduled during the seven days at the 2024 Caribbean at Andre Rodgers Stadium.
Cuba is ranked No. 8 in the WBSC rankings, and in the WBSC Americas, they are No. 4.
2024 Caribbean Cup Schedule
All game start times are Eastern Daylight Time
(WBSC Ranking)(WBSC Americas Ranking)
Wednesday, October 23
(8)(4) Cuba vs. St. Maarten – 11:00 a.m. EDT
(12)(8) Dominican Republic vs. (28)(12) Curacao – 3:00 p.m. EDT
Opening Ceremony – 7:00 p.m. EDT
(65)(20) U.S. Virgin Islands vs. Bahamas – 7:30 p.m. EDT
Thursday, October 24
(12)(8) Dominican Republic vs. (8)(4) Cuba – 11:00 a.m. EDT
(65)(20)U.S. Virgin Islands vs. (28)(12) Curacao – 3:00 p.m. EDT
St. Maarten vs. (47)(15) Bahamas – 7:00 p.m. EDT
Friday, October 25
(8)(4) Cuba vs. (65)(20) United States Virgin Islands – 11:00 a.m. EDT
St. Maarten vs. (12)(8) Dominican Republic – 3:00 p.m. EDT
(47)(15) Bahamas vs. (28)(12) Curacao – 7:00 p.m. EDT
Saturday, October 26
(65)(20) U.S. Virgin Islands vs. (12)(8) Dominican Republic – 11:00 a.m. EDT
(28)(12) Curacao vs. St. Maarten – 3:00 p.m. EDT
(47)(15) Bahamas vs. (8)(4) Cuba – 7:00 p.m. EDT
Sunday, October 27
St. Maarten vs. (65)(20) U.S. Virgin Islands – 11:00 a.m. EDT
(28)(12) Curacao vs. (8)(4) Cuba – 3:00 p.m. EDT
(12)(8) Dominican Republic vs. (47)(15) Bahamas – 7:00 p.m. EDT
Monday, October 28
Bronze Medal Game – 3:00 p.m. EDT
Gold Medal Game – 7:00 p.m. EDT
Cuba 60-man Selection Roster Information For Premier12 Tournament
The 60-man selection roster for the Premier12 tournament was announced on September 12, with players that are playing in the Elite League in the winter and the spring-summer leagues in Serie Nacional, Nippon Professional Baseball, Liga Mexicana de Beisbol, Liga Mayor de Beisbol Professional in Venezuela and the European Spring-Summer Leagues.
All of the 60-man selection players who play in other countries’ professional leagues are negotiated by the FCB to play in different leagues with professional organizations.
According to Francys Romero of beisbolfr.com, the Cuban national team will begin practicing in Havana on September 17 at Estadio Latinoamericano before heading to South Korea to play a series of eight exhibition games against KBO Development Teams during the middle of October. The team will also travel to Taiwan to play warm-up games prior to the start of the Premier12 tournament.
The Cuban National Team will start training in Havana on September 17. In mid-October, they will head to South Korea to play approximately eight games, and then they will travel to Taiwan in early November to play friendly games before the start of the Premier 12.
— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) September 3, 2024
The several summer meetings between the FCB and the league organized the exhibition games that Cuba will play against the KBO development teams.
According to Yusseff Diaz of Cuban Baseball Digest on September 11, minor league pitchers Jorge Marcheco of the Los Angeles Angels and Lázaro Estrada and Rafael Sanchez of the Toronto Blue Jays drew interest in playing for the national, but their immigration processes have barred them from leaving the country until receiving the proper documents”.
Milwaukee Brewers prospect Ernesto Martínez is the only active Major League Baseball organization player listed on Cuba’s 60-man Premier12 selection roster.
Cuban Baseball Digest also reported on September 11 that Yoan Moncada will play with Cuba at the 2024 Premier12 tournament since he will be a free agent after the 2024 MLB regular season.
In a surprise development @ymoncada19 will play with Cuba in the @Premier12 .#Cubanbaseballdigest #FCB #Premier12 pic.twitter.com/U62LYzswsU
— Cuban Baseball Digest (@CBaseballDigest) September 11, 2024
According to Francys Romero on September 3, the final announcement for each country’s roster for the Premier12 event cannot have players on the 40-man roster of MLB clubs.
Premier 12 news: Players on 40-man roster are not allowed to be placed on final roster for Premier 12.
Contrary to the information I posted yesterday where there might be a possibility of call-up through teams. My apologies.
— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) September 3, 2024
Former Cuban National Team Infielder Guillermo Garcia Seeks To Sign With An MLB After Arriving in The Dominican Republic:
Romero reported on September 10 that Garcia left Cuba and arrived in the Dominican Republic after his 2024 Frontier League regular season with the Capitales de Quebec.
Sources: Cuban 1B/LF Guillermo Garcia (24) arrived in the Dominican Republic to sign with an MLB team.
He has NPB experience with the Chunichi Dragons and was currently in the Frontier League.
Full story at Beisbol FR: https://t.co/DHPYBvRkjq
— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) September 10, 2024
García is the grandson of Cuban General and Commander of the Revolution Guillermo García Frías.
Garcia played in 39 games with the Capitales de Quebec and batted .299 with 160 plate appearances, smacking 41 hits, seven doubles, four home runs, 29 RBI, 19 walks, and 35 strikeouts.
He also played in NPB with the Chunichi Dragons for two seasons and in their farm from 2022-23.
Garcia made his NPB debut last season and played in two games with nine plate appearances, hitting .111 with one hit and five strikeouts.
In the 2023 regular season with the Chunichi Dragons farm team, Garcia played 35 games and batted .235 in 113 plate appearances, dialing 23 hits, five doubles, two home runs, 10 RBI, 15 walks, and 27 strikeouts.
During his first season on the farm team and playing in Japan, he hit .262 in 26 games with 87 plate appearances, roping 22 hits, nine doubles, one home run, eight RBI, three walks, and 28 strikeouts.
According to Baseball Reference, Garcia played three seasons with the Alazanes de Granma in Serie Nacional in 2019-21 and 2022-23. He hit .178 with 129 plate appearances and played in 65 games, recording 19 hits, six doubles, 16 RBI, 19 walks, 27 strikeouts, and a .531 OPS.
Diaz reported on September 11 that Garcia was on the list to MLB during the vetoed agreement with the FCB in 2018.
WBSC 2024 Premier12 Information:
Group A of the Premier12 will be played at Estadio Panamericano in Zapopan, in the greater Guadalajara metropolitan area, and at a new Santa Teresita de Tepic stadium from Nov. 10-14. Estadio Panamericano is the home of the Charros de Jalisco in both the Liga Mexicana de Béisbol and the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico and hosted group play during the 2019 WBSC Premier12.
Group B will be played at the Nagoya Dome in Nagoya, Japan, and Taipei City, Taiwan, from Nov. 14-18 at the Taipei Dome. The Super Round, featuring the top two teams from each group, will be played at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan from Nov. 21-24.
Tianmu Baseball Stadium in Shilin District, Taipei, Taiwan, and the Taipei Dome in Xinyi, Taipei, Taiwan, will host Group B games during the 2024 Premier12 tournament.
Tianmu Baseball Stadium is home to the CPBL franchise, the Wei-Chuan Dragons.
The Taipei Dome opened last December for the WBSC Asia sector event of the Asia Baseball Championship. The venue also hosted exhibition games with the Yomiuri Giants of NPB and the CTBC Brothers of the CPBL during March 2-3 and a pair of preseason games before the 2024 CPBL regular season.
The Wei Chuan Dragons played the Rakuten Monkeys on March 30, Opening Day of the 2024 CPBL regular season. A total of 28,618 fans attended, which is the CPBL’s all-time single-game record.
Group A will include Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, the United States and the Netherlands. Group B will feature Australia, Cuba, Japan, South Korea, the Netherlands, Chinese Taipei, and the Dominican Republic.
The Premier12 was supposed to be scheduled for 2023 but was moved to 2024 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and aligning the Tokyo Olympics to be moved from 2020 to 2021 and the World Baseball Classic from 2021 to 2023.
The new WBR rankings were released on September 3. Australia is currently ranked No. 15 and is participating in the WBSC Premier12 Tournament since the previous ranking was released when the nation was ranked No. 11 before the recent release of the updated rankings. Colombia moved from No. 14 to No. 11 and will not participate in the 2024 Premier12 Tournament.
Italy is ranked No. 13, and the Czech Republic is ranked No. 14 in front of Australia.
The WBSC website will soon have information on what streaming platform will televise the 2024 Premier12 tournament.
WBSC Premier 12 Tournament Group A & B Schedule:
All Games Start Times Are Eastern Standard Time
Group A: No. 2 Mexico, No. 4 USA, No. 5 Venezuela, No. 7 Netherlands, No. 9 Panama, & No. 10 Puerto Rico
Saturday, November 9
2 p.m. – Panama vs. Netherlands – Estadio Panamericano – Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico
6 p.m. – Puerto Rico vs. USA – Estadio Santa Teresita – Santa Teresita, Tepic, Mexico
9 p.m. – Venezuela vs. Mexico – Estadio Panamericano – Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico
Sunday, November 10
2 p.m. – Venezuela vs. Panamá – Estadio Panamericano – Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico
6 p.m. – Netherlands vs. USA – Estadio Santa Teresita – Santa Teresita, Tepic, Mexico
9 p.m. – Mexico vs. Puerto Rico – Estadio Panamericano – Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico
Monday, November 11
9 p.m. – USA vs. Venezuela – Estadio Santa Teresita – Santa Teresita, Tepic, Mexico
9 p.m. – Panama vs. Mexico – Estadio Panamericano – Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico
Tuesday, November 12
9 p.m. – Panama vs. USA – Estadio Santa Teresita – Santa Teresita, Tepic, Mexico
9 p.m. – Netherlands vs. Puerto Rico – Estadio Panamericano – Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico
Wednesday, November 13
2 p.m. – Puerto Rico vs. Venezuela – Estadio Panamericano – Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico
11 p.m. – Mexico vs. Netherlands – Estadio Panamericano – Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico
Thursday, November 14
2 p.m. – Netherlands vs. Venezuela – Estadio Panamericano – Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico
9 p.m. – Puerto Rico vs. Panama – Estadio Santa Teresita – Santa Teresita, Tepic, Mexico
9 p.m. – USA vs. Mexico – Estadio Panamericano – Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico
Group B: No. 1 Japan, No. 6 Korea, No. 3 Chinese Taipei, No. 8 Cuba, No. 12 Dominican Republic, & No. 15 Australia
Wednesday, November 13
4 a.m. – Australia vs. Japan – Vantelin Dome Nagoya – Nagoya, Japan
5:30 a.m. – Dominican Republic vs. Cuba – Tianmu Stadium – Shilin District, Taipei, Taiwan
5:30 a.m. – Korea vs. Chinese Taipei – Taipei Dome – Xinyi, Taipei, Taiwan
Thursday, November 14
5 a.m. – Cuba vs. Korea – Tianmu Stadium – Shilin District, Taipei, Taiwan
5:30 a.m. – Chinese Taipei vs. Dominican Republic – Taipei Dome – Xinyi, Taipei, Taiwan
Friday, November 15
2 a.m. – Dominican Republic vs. Australia – Tianmu Stadium – Shilin District, Taipei, Taiwan
5 a.m. – Korea vs. Japan – Taipei Dome – Xinyi, Taipei, Taiwan
11:30 p.m. – Australia vs. Cuba – Tianmu Stadium – Shilin District, Taipei, Taiwan
Saturday, November 16
5 a.m. – Japan vs. Chinese Taipei – Taipei Dome – Xinyi, Taipei, Taiwan
5:30 a.m. – Dominican Republic vs. Korea – Tianmu Stadium – Shilin District, Taipei, Taiwan
Sunday, November 17
5 a.m. – Cuba vs. Japan – Tianmu Stadium – Shilin District, Taipei, Taiwan
5:30 a.m. – Chinese Taipei vs. Australia – Taipei Dome – Xinyi, Taipei, Taiwan
11:00 p.m. – Australia vs. Korea – Tianmu Stadium – Shilin District, Taipei, Taiwan
Monday, November 18
5 a.m. – Japan vs. Dominican Republic – Tianmu Stadium – Shilin District, Taipei, Taiwan
5:30 a.m. – Cuba vs. Chinese Taipei – Taipei Dome – Xinyi, Taipei, Taiwan
60-man Cuba – 2024 Premier12 Tournament Selection Roster
Catchers:
Andrys Pérez
Andy Cosme
Yosvani Alarcón
Rafael Viñales
Ariel Martínez
Jorge Yoan Rojas
Infielders:
Erisbel Arruebarrena
Luis Vicente Mateo
Christian Rodríguez
Roberto Baldoquín
Yadil Mujica
Yuliesky Remón
Alexei Ramírez
Osvaldo Abreu
Jean Walters
Tailon Sánchez
Ernesto Martínez Jr
William Saavedra
Guillermo Avilés
Dayan García
Yoan Moncada
Outfielders:
Yoelkis Guibert
Lázaro Armenteros
José Noroña
Alfredo Despaigne
Denis Peña
Roel Santos
Raico Santos
Yaser Julio González
Over Cremet
Francisco Martínez
Ariel Hecheverría
Yadir Drake
Eduardo Blanco
Carlos de la Tejera
Pitchers:
Liván Moinelo
Raidel Martínez
Yoennis Yera,
Yoan López
Geonel Gutiérrez
Yankiel Mauris
Frank Abel Álvarez
Raymond Figueredo
Yosiel Serrano
Leodan Reyes
Osdany Rodríguez
Andy Vargas
Frank Luis Medina
Erly Casanova
Darío Sarduy
Yusniel Padrón-Artiles
Pavel Hernández
Ronald Bolaños
Frank Herrera
Maykel Taylor
Enyer Fernández
Randy Martínez
Branlis Rodríguez
Randy Cueto
Danny Betancourt
Photo Credit: Cuban baseball players exercise during the training of the Cuban pre-selection for the V World Baseball Classic at the Latin American Stadium in Havana on January 16, 2023. (Photo by YAMIL LAGE / AFP) (Photo by YAMIL LAGE/AFP via Getty Images)
