Yoelkis Guibert of Team Cuba hits a single at the top of the 7th inning during the World Baseball Classic Pool A game between Cuba and Panama at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium on March 10, 2023 in Taichung, Taiwan. (Photo by Gene Wang/Getty Images)
Cuban national team outfielder Yoelkis Guibert will play for Algodoneros de Guasave this 2023-24 winter league season in Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacífico, the organization announced on August 8.
Guibert, 28, born in Palma Soriano, Cuba, could seek an opportunity to play in various high leagues in the near future after playing in the 2023 World Baseball Classic for Cuba.
During the 2023 Serie Nacional season, Guibert played for Avispas de Santiago de Cuba and helped them reach the semifinals, losing to Industriales de la Habana in seven games.
Guibert batted .316 with 272 plate appearances, recording 62 hits, 13 doubles, one triple, seven home runs, 52 RBI, and led the Serie Nacional in walks with 66.
During the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador, El Salvador, Guibert played in seven games for Cuba, batting .481 in 27-at bats, recording 13 hits, one double, one home run, seven RBI, no walks, and two strikeouts with a 1.278 OPS.
Guibert helped Cuba earn a silver medal at the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games and a berth in the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile. Cuba was scheduled to face Mexico in the gold medal game, which was canceled due to rain.
Mexico earned their first gold medal at an international senior event in the history of their nation at the 2023 Central American and Caribbean games due to their overall record at the end of the tournament.
Guibert played in the 2023 World Baseball Classic for Cuba, helping them reach the semifinals in Miami against the United States, and batted .333 in in six games with 18 at-bats recording six hits, one double, two RBI, four walks, and two strikeouts including a .844 OPS.
Last winter, Guibert played in the first year of the Elite League operated by the Federacion Cubana de Beisbol for the Cafetaleros. Guibert batted .357 with 128 plate appearances, recording 40 hits, seven doubles, three home runs, 20 RBI, and 13 walks with a .983 OPS. He appeared in 25 games in center field. The Cafetaleros did not qualify for the playoffs after finishing with a 19-29 record.
Last season, Guibert played for the Capitales de Quebec in the Frontier League, appearing in 27 games with 96 plate appearances, batting .225 with 20 hits, two doubles, no home runs, nine RBI, five stolen bases, and six walks.
Guibert has played in the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico for two seasons from 2020 to 2022 with the Tomateros de Culiacan. He played in 59 games with the Tomateros, batting .295 in 251 plate appearances, recording 66 hits, six doubles, no home runs, 15 RBI, 12 stolen bases, and 21 walks.
In December 2022, Guibert arrived a few days late to the Caribbean Cup in the Bahamas at Andre Rodgers Stadium due to visa issues and was nominated for the 2022 All-Star Team as the designated hitter during the tournament after helping Cuba reach the gold medal game, where they lost to Puerto Rico 9-4.
Guibert played in four games at the 4th Caribbean Cup and batted .375 with six hits in 16 at-bats, one double, one home run, three RBI, and two walks with a 1.069 OPS.
Cuba is ranked No. 7 in the World Baseball Rankings and will appear in the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile aiming for their 13th gold medal at the event.
The Pan American Games will have a total of eight nations in the baseball event, including No. 3 Mexico, No. 6 Venezuela, No. 10 Dominican Republic, No. 14 Panama, No. 15 Colombia, No. 24 Brazil, and host nation Chile, which is not ranked in the World Baseball Rankings. Chile has not been ranked in two consecutive change ranking cycles from the WBSC beginning on December 31, 2022 and March 28, 2023 after the World Baseball Classic.
The Pan American Games baseball tournament will be held from October 21 to October 27 at the Baseball and Softball Center in Cerrillos, Chile.
The Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico 2023-24 regular season will begin on October 13.
The Algodoneros de Guasave will open up on October 14 at home against the Tomateros de Culiacan at 9 p.m. EDT at Kuroda Park.
All Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico regular season games will be on https://www.extrabase.tv/home paid streaming service through the final out of their championship series in January, right before the 2024 Caribbean Series in Miami at loanDepot Park.