Jose Cano, father of American League All-Star Robinson Cano, pitches in the first round during the State Farm Home Run Derby at Kauffman Stadium on July 9, 2012 in Kansas City, Missouri. The elder Cano will manage the Dominican Republic at the 2023 Pan American Games. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
By Matthew Tallarini
World Baseball Network
The Federacion Dominicana de Beisbol announced on Monday their official roster for the 2023 Pan American Games in Chile.
Jose Cano will be the manager for the Dominican Republic during the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, and the Dominican Republic will bring a different coaching staff from the one that led the squad at 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games.
All players from the Dominican Republic will be players recently released at the lower levels of the minor leagues with Major League Baseball organizations and are now professional free agents, drafted players eligible to play in the Liga de Béisbol Profesional de la República Dominicana, and players from the Liga Dominicana de Verano, which concluded its second full season of operation and is run by the Federación Dominicana de Béisbol.
Kelvin Pena, Irving Ortega, Ricardo Céspedes, Wildert Pujols, Eric González, Adrián Valerio, César Rosado, and José Molina are all the players returning from the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games roster that will suit up for the Dominican Republic in the 2023 Pan American Games.
The Dominican Republic is ranked No. 9 in the world, has won one gold medal at the 1955 Pan American Games, and won silver at the 1979 Pan American Games, the last time that the nation medaled at the tournament.
The Dominican Republic has also won gold at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games, the 1982 Central American and Caribbean Games, and the 1962 Central American and Caribbean Games.
The Dominican Republic won gold at the first edition of the 2019 Caribbean Cup, which is the last time the nation has won gold at an international senior event.
The Dominican Republic has won gold only twice in international senior events the last 10 years, most notably the 2013 World Baseball Classic, where they beat Puerto Rico in the championship game at AT&T Park in San Francisco.
The last time the Dominican Republic medaled at an international senior event was during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, beating South Korea in the bronze medal game 10-6 at Yokohama Stadium.
The Pan American Games will have a total of eight nations in the baseball event, including No. 3 Mexico, No. 6 Venezuela, No. 8 Cuba, No. 15 Colombia, No. 23 Brazil, and host nation Chile, which is not ranked in the World Baseball Rankings.
The Pan American Games baseball tournament will be held from October 18-28 at the Baseball and Softball Center in Cerrillos, Chile.
Group A will have Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Panama, and host nation Chile. Group B will have Venezuela, Cuba, Colombia, and Brazil.
Venezuela has the highest World Baseball Ranking in Group B after winning the bronze medal against the Dominican Republic 8-7 at the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games.
Following the group stage will be the Super Round, which will be played October 25-27. The bronze medal game and gold medal game of the 2023 Pan American Games will be played on October 28.
Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Cuba all qualified for the 2023 Pan American Games by their performance at the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games this past summer in San Salvador, El Salvador.
Brazil qualified in July 2022 for the 2023 Pan American Games, beating Argentina 2-0 in the 2022 South American Baseball Championship in Lima, Peru.
Colombia qualified for the 2023 Pan American Games in December 2021 at the Junior Pan American Games in Barranquilla, Colombia, beating the Dominican Republic in the gold medal game 6-3.
The last Pan American Games was held in 2019 in Lima, Peru when Puerto Rico beat Canada in the gold medal game 6-1.
The 2023 Pan American Games will be the last senior event of the international baseball calendar year from the WBSC Americas sector prior to the rankings being released on December 31, 2023.
All listed streaming updates of the 2023 Pan American Games will be provided on the WBSC Americas social media pages and website.
2023 Dominican Republic Pan American Games Roster
Outfielders
Elier Hernández
Sandro Fabián
Ricardo Céspedes
Wildert Pujols
Darling Germán
Infielders
Deivy Muñoz
Víctor Luna
Xavier Batista
Irving Ortega
Adrián Valerio
Catchers
Eric González
Leliis Beltrán
Kelvin Peña
Pitchers
César Rosado
Edwin Adón
Jordis Ramos
Gerson Garabito
José Molina
Rafael Iván García
José Acosta
Porfirio López
Hansel Paulino
Enmanuel Acosta
Sammy Tavarez
2023 Dominican Republic Pan American Coaching Staff
Jose Canó – Manager
Guadalupe Jabalera – Bench Coach/Hitting Coach
Luis González – First Base Coach
José Rijo – Third Base Coach
Rafael García – Pitching Coach
2023 Pan American Games Pool Round Schedule
All times are listed Eastern Daylight Time
Thursday October 19, 2023
8:30 a.m. EDT – Panama vs. Dominican Republic
Saturday October 21, 2023
8:30 a.m. EDT – Dominican Republic vs. Mexico
Monday October 23, 2023
2 p.m. EDT – Chile vs. Dominican Republic