Cuban-American utility player Luis Aviles Jr. will join the Cuban Professional Baseball Federation team at their training camp at Miami-Dade College North Campus’s Demie Mainieri Field on Jan. 15 in preparation for the 2024 Intercontinental Series, Yusseff Diaz of Cuban Baseball Digest reported on Jan. 9.
The Intercontinental Series will be from Jan. 25 to Feb. 1, 2024, with the 2023-24 Liga Profesional de Béisbol Colombia season champions, Caimanes de Barranquilla, Curacao, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Mexico, the United States, are reportedly also participating in the event.
All teams will have on-field batting practice on January 25 prior to the first day of games on January 26.
Aviles, 28, was born in Miami, Fla., and has played 10 seasons in the U.S. minor leagues and four seasons internationally: in the Dominican Republic in 2019-20 with the Tigres del Licey, with the Tiburones de La Guaira in Venezuela during the 2021-22 winter season, in Australia with the Adelaide Giants in 2022-23, and with the Yaquis de Obregón in Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico in 2023-24.
Aviles was on the FEPCUBE preliminary roster that was released on December 29.
Aviles played in 16 games with the Yaquis de Obregon during the 2023-24 season with a .241 average and 14 hits, three doubles, nine RBI, four walks, 10 strikeouts, and a .583 OPS.
During the 2023 season, Aviles moved between four organizations. He played with the San Diego Padres organization with Double-A San Antonio, with Double-A Corpus Christi in the Houston Astros organization, with the Lake Country DockHounds in the independent American Association, and the Acereros de Monclova in the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol.
With Double-A San Antonio, Aviles played in 31 games, batting .184 in 110 plate appearances with 18 hits, three doubles, two home runs, eight RBI, nine stolen bases, nine walks, and 30 strikeouts before he was released on May 22, 2023.
Aviles had a short run with the Acereros de Monclova, playing in two games and batting .286 with two hits, one double, one walk, one strikeout, and a .804 OPS before he was released on May 26. He was signed by the Lake Country DockHounds and played two games, batting .333 with three hits, one RBI, one walk, and two strikeouts before he signed with Houston.
Aviles was signed by the Astros on June 6 and was assigned to Double-A Corpus Christi. He played 72 games with 298 plate appearances, batting .265 with 71 hits, 14 doubles, two triples, 13 home runs, 39 RBI, 17 stolen bases, 21 walks, 77 strikeouts and a .808 OPS prior to electing free agency Nov. 6.
FEPCUBE will play their first game of the 2024 Intercontinental Series against Japan on January 26 at Estadio Edgar Renteria in Barranquilla, Colombia at 2 p.m. EST.
FEPCUBE has no relationship to the Federacion Cubana de Beisbol or the Cuban government.
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