By Matthew Tallarini
World Baseball Network
The Cuban Professional Baseball Federation added seven players to their preliminary roster for the 2024 Intercontinental Series in Barranquilla, Colombia, during late January, the team announced on their X profile on Sunday.
Right-handed pitcher Elih Villanueva, right-handed pitcher Amaury Tamayo, third baseman Coco Montes, right-handed pitcher Raidel Orta, left-handed pitcher Francisley Bueno, infielder Luis Medina, and left-handed pitcher Ariel Miranda were all added to the FEPCUBE preselection roster Sunday.
Medina played for the Pericos de Puebla and Olmecas de Tabasco during the 2023 Liga Mexicana de Beisbol season. FEPCUBE mistakenly listed Medina as a pitcher on their X account.
The FEPCUBE preliminary roster was announced on December 29.
The 2024 Intercontinental Series will be played from Jan. 26 to Feb. 1 at Estadio Edgar Renteria in Barranquilla, Colombia. FEPCUBE will play their first game against Japan at 2 p.m. EST on Jan. 26.
Former Major League Baseball infielder Yuniesky Betancourt has yet to be added to the FEPCUBE preliminary roster. The team announced on January 6 that Betancourt joined them in Miami.
FEPCUBE also announced their first exhibition game against the Miami-Dade College team on January 17 at 5:30 p.m. EST at Demie Mainieri Baseball Field at Miami-Dade College North Campus.
FEPCUBE also announced that they have changed their team name slogan for “Patria Y Vida” to “Dream Team” due to the political conflicts from the El Ministerio de Deportes de Colombia and the Colombia Olympic Committee, Francys Romero of beisbolfr.com reported on January 9.
FEPCUBE announced they changed their slogan to “Dream Team” on January 13.
The promoter of the 2024 Intercontinental Series “Team Renteria”, which is operated by Edinson Renteria, brother of former Major League Baseball player Edgar Renteria, contacted the El Ministerio de Deportes de Colombia to clarify that the FEPCUBE team will participate at the event in late January at Estadio Edgar Renteria in Barranquilla, Colombia, Romero reported on January 10.
The FEPCUBE team has several Major League Baseball players, including Aroldis Chapman, Yandy Diaz, Jorge Soler, Yulieski Gurriel, Lourdes Gurriel Jr, Aledmys Díaz, and Yennier Cano listed on the preliminary roster for the 2024 Intercontinental Series.
Players who elected free agency such as Yulieski Gurriel, Soler, and Chapman could play in this tournament.
Aledmys Diaz, Yandy Diaz, Cano, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. are under contract with a MLB organization, and the Intercontinental Series is not part of the Winter League Agreement, thus making them unable to participate without permission from their respective MLB organizations.
Brayan Pena will be the manager for the FEPCUBE team for the Intercontinental Series. Mandy Llanes is the president of FEPCUBE. Former MLB Cuban born pitcher Orlando Hernandez is the vice president and general manager of FEPCUBE, which has no relationship to the Federacion Cubana de Beisbol or the Cuban government.
The FEPCUBE entry for the Intercontinental Series is holding a training camp at Miami-Dade College North Campus’s baseball field until January 22, before traveling to Barranquilla, Colombia, for the Intercontinental Series.
The United States, Curacao, Japan, Colombia and South Korea will participate in the 2024 ICS, along with the 2023-24 Liga Profesional de Béisbol Colombia champion Caimanes de Barranquilla will be representing Colombia as the host.
The 2024 Intercontinental Series will be streamed at https://ipbseries.kiswe.com/ for a fee.
FEPCUBE 2024 Intercontinental Series Schedule
All games will take place at Estadio Edgar Renteria
Friday, Jan. 26, 2024
2 p.m. EST – FEPCUBE vs. Japan
Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024
2 p.m. EST – FEPCUBE vs. South Korea
Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024
2 p.m. EST – United States vs. FEPCUBE
Monday, Jan. 29, 2024
7 p.m. EST – Colombia vs. FEPCUBE
Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024
2 p.m. EST – Curacao vs. FEPCUBE
Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024
2 p.m. EST – Semifinal No. 1
2 p.m. EST – Semifinal No. 2
Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024
7 p.m. EST – Championship Game