From Around the World to the World Series: Meet the International Players On the Brewers and Rays

While the path to the World Series isn't easy for any ballplayer, there's almost certainly no player in this year's fall classic that took a tougher route than Tampa Bay Rays infielder Yandy Diaz.

If you look at Diaz' expanded statistics on Baseball Reference, there's a three-year gap between his season with Villa Clara in Cuba's Serie Nacional in 2010-11 to the 2014 season, when he reappeared with the Carolina Mudcats, the Class-A Advanced affiliate of Cleveland in the Carolina League.

In the intervening years, Diaz and friend Leandro Linares tried desperately to escape Cuba and its repressive Communist government. Their first three attempts failed, and each landed him in jail before he and Linares successfully escaped on a motorized raft in 2013.

In the middle of the night, they met masked smugglers on a beach in Holguin, riding the small raft all the way to Monte Cristi in the northwestern Dominican Republic.

From there, he established residence in Haiti and signed with Cleveland for $300,000, a nice amount of money but certainly not the money of a top prospect. His escape from Cuba was neither free nor easy nor safe.

"I had some problems, but not as bad as some others thank God," Diaz told the Cleveland Plain-Dealer in March of 2017.

Four years after sailing overnight on a raft from Cuba's Holguin Province across the Caribbean while dodging Cuban authorities and sharks before reaching the Dominican Republic, Diaz was in spring training with Cleveland.

"My goal is to make it to the big leagues," Diaz told Paul Hoynes of the Plain-Dealer. "That's my dream."

Having transformed into a bona fide MLB star with the Rays, the sum of all Major League dreams is just four wins away, far closer than it must have felt standing on that beach in Holguin waiting for masked smugglers to show up with the raft.

Diaz is one of seven players born outside the United States on the Rays and one of 14 in the 2026 World Series, where the Rays will face the Milwaukee Brewers for baseball's biggest prize.

This year's World Series begins on Friday night at 8 p.m. EDT when the Tampa Bay Rays face the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field in Milwaukee.

Here's some information on each of the internationally-born players in this year's fall classic.

Tampa Bay Rays

Yandy Diaz, OF - Born in Villa Clara, Cuba, Diaz debuted in Cuba's Serie Nacional before singing with Cleveland in 2013. He made his MLB debut in 2017 with Cleveland, playing his first two seasons with the Tribe before he was traded to Tampa Bay, ironically in exchange for 2026 National League Championship Series MVP Jake Bauers, among others. For the second straight season, Diaz hit at least 20 homers and drove in 80 runs, slashing .293/.359/.446 with 22 homers and 86 RBIs in 154 games.

Junior Caminero, IF - A native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Caminero is one of MLB's brightest young stars. In his first two full seasons as a Major Leaguer, Caminero has crossed the 40-homer and 100-RBI thresholds both seasons, clubbing 45 homers and driving in 110 runs in 2025 and hitting 42 homers with 101 RBIs this year. He's known for his exuberance after hitting a homer: After cranking a solo shot off the foul poul in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series, he pounded his chest, gesticulated to the crowd, and stopped to co-opt the celebration of Randy Arozarena, who was seated by behind home plate, before stepping on the dish.

Freddy Peralta, P - After spending his first eight MLB seasons in Milwaukee, Peralta was traded to the Mets last offseason. When it turned out that Peralta wasn't the final piece of the puzzle in Queens, the Mets sent him to Tampa Bay at the trade deadline, where he made 10 starts, throwing 55 1/3 innings down the stretch with a 3.25 ERA and a 1.012 WHIP. The 6-foot, 200-pound righty relies on a four-seamer complimented by a change, with a curve, sweeper, and slider also in his repertoire. He was named the ALCS MVP after making three appearances and two starts, throwing 12 1/3 innings while allowing just nine hits, one run, walking six and striking out nine.

Jonathan Aranda, IF - Aranda, originally from Tijuana, Mexico, played 155 games for the Rays this year, the bulk of them at first base. Slashing .274/.358/.434 in 580 at-bats over 668 plate appearances, Aranda led the league in sacrifice flies with eight and hit 22 homers and drove in 92 runs for the Rays this year.

Jorge Mateo, IF - Mateo, from Santo Domingo, has played for four different teams since debuting in 2020. He's appeared in 32 regular season games for the Rays in 2026 since signing in a free agent in August, and while he's never going to be mistaken for a power hitter, his ability to play nearly any position makes him something of a Swiss Army knife on the Rays' bench.

Victor Mesa Jr., OF - After being acquired from the Miami Marlins over the offseason, the Havana-born Victor Mesa Jr., the brother of former Marlins outfielder Victor Mesa, put up solid numbers in 79 games with the big club this year, slashing .260/.327/.498 with 14 homers and 34 RBIs.

Liam Hicks, C/DH/1B - The Toronto-born utilityman came over to Tampa from Miami at the trade deadline and posted an .819 OPS in 41 games with the Rays. He's primarily been used as a catcher in Tampa Bay, while also seeing time at first base and as a designated hitter.

Milwaukee Brewers

Jackson Chourio, OF - Originally from Maracaibo, Venezuela, Jackson Chourio has been a mainstay in the Brewers outfield for the last three seasons and was a member of the 2026 World Baseball Classic-winning Venezuela squad. He's hit at least 20 homers and drove in more than 70 runs in each of his three MLB seasons, but stepped up his offensive game a bit this year, posting an OPS of .837 this year, the best of his young career. After the World Series, Chourio is likely to make a cameo appearance in winter ball with the Aguilas del Zulia of the Liga Venezolana de Beisbol Profesional.

William Contreras, C - Contreras, a teammate of Chourio's representing Venezuela at the WBC this year, did the bulk of the catching for Milwaukee this season, playing 147 regular season games for Milwaukee, 128 of them behind the plate to lead MLB. Defensively, he was perfect in the field with a 1.000 fielding percentage and also led MLB in assists by a catcher. Brewers manager Pat Murphy thought, as did many, that Contreras should have been a nominee for the Gold Glove, but perhaps the snub will motivate Contreras even more.

Antonio Senzatela, RP - Senzatela, a reliever on Venezuela's 2026 WBC champion team, spent the first nine and a half seasons of his MLB career toiling in the relative obscurity of Colorado before arriving in Milwaukee at the trade deadline. Having moved into a relief role this season, Senzatela threw 73 1/3 innings over 57 appearances in Colorado and Milwaukee this year, striking out 60 and walking 26 with a 4.05 ERA. He relies on a cutter and four-seamer, has a good sinker, and mixes in a curve, slider, and changeup.

Gary Sanchez, C - Joining Contreras behind the dish is Santo Domingo-born Gary Sanchez, who finished second in the AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2016 despite putting up numbers comparable to the ones that won Willie McCovey the NL Rookie of the Year award in 1959. Sanchez has since struggled at the plate but upped his game defensively, and has found his niche as a solid backup who can also play first base when called upon.

Abner Uribe, RP - Also a native of Santo Domingo, Uribe made 61 appearances this year for Milwaukee, throwing 59 1/3 innings of shutdown relief, posting a 1.97 ERA, 1.028 WHIP, 62 strikeouts and earing six saves while walking just 19 of the 234 batters he faced. Uribe uses just two pitches, a sinker and a slider, but the movement of each is devastating - batters manage to barrel just two percent of his pitches.

Luis Lara, OF - Hailing from San Felipe, Venezuela, Lara appeared in 61 games this season, his first in MLB, slashing .246/.311/.325 with a homer and 26 RBIs. His potential has a high ceiling, and if he can put together a season with numbers comparable to what he showed a Triple-A Nashville this year, where he batted .321/.432/.470 in 78 games with nine homers and 42 RBIs, he will have a solid MLB career.

Angel Zerpa, P - Zerpa has been on the 60-Day Injured List since May 31 with left forearm tightness, but he'd join Chourio, Contreras, and Senzatela in the elite group of players who won the WBC and the World Series in the same year if the Brewers can top the Rays.