Report: Rafael Vinales, Denis Pena Walk Away From Lenadores de Las Tunas At BCL Americas

Shortly before the Lenadores de Las Tunas were to fly back to Cuba after the 2025 Baseball Champions League Americas (BCL Americas) in Mexico City, two players walked away from the team, according to a report from Francys Romero.

Romero reported on his twitter account that Rafael Vinales and Denis Pena left the team, with the implication that the two ballplayers will remain in Mexico City and pursue professional careers outside Cuba.

Sources: Cuban players C/1B Rafael Viñales and 3B Denis Peña left the Las Tunas team that participated in the Baseball Champions League in Mexico just hours before returning to Cuba.

The Las Tunas team was scheduled to return to Cuba today. pic.twitter.com/QS2k0pCmTc

— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) April 15, 2025

Vinales, 32, played for Cuba at the 2024 WBSC Premier12 and was stellar for Las Tunas at the BCL Americas, batting .440/.444/.960 with 1.404 OPS, 11 RBIs, and four homers in just five games. The catcher and first baseman batted .200/.200/.800 with a 1.000 OPS, one homer, and one RBI in three games at the Premier12.

In Cuba, he’s played the bulk of his career in the Serie Nacional with Las Tunas, and also played part of a season with Parma in Italy’s Serie’ A’, appearing in 17 games in 2019 and batting .241. He also appeared in two games with Los Mochis of the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico in 2021-22, going hitless with four strikeouts in eight at-bats.

According to Romero, Pena, 29, spent time in the Dominican Republic seeking a professional contract between 2015-17, but returned to Cuba. He has appeared in 262 games in the Serie Nacional with Las Tunas through the 2023-24 season, batting .289/.348/.449 with a .797 OPS and 105 RBIs.

At the 2023 Baseball Champions League event in Merida, Mexico, Yobanys Milan left the 2022 Serie Nacional champion Alazanes de Granma, walking away from the team’s hotel. Millan went hitless in two at-bats as a pinch-hitter at the Baseball Champions League, making appearances against the Caimanes de Barranquilla and the Leones de Yucatan. He never surfaced in professional baseball after leaving the Alazanes’ hotel a year and a half ago.

At least 51 players walked away from Cuban teams playing abroad or left the island in 2023, including pitcher Franky Quintana, who left the Verdanza Hotel in Carolina, Puerto Rico, prior to a rained-out game against Curacao at the 2023 Caribbean Cup. Catcher Ivan Prieto escaped at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, leaving the Ritz-Carlton on Key Biscayne, Florida, after Cuba’s 14-2 loss to the United States in the semifinal. Pitcher Yariel Rodriguez left Havana for the Dominican Republic after the WBC in March of 2023, and pitcher Javier Mirabel bailed for Mexico after the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador, El Salvador.

Of those players, Rodriguez found the most success, reaching Major League Baseball with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2024, making 21 starts with a 4.78 ERA in 86 2/3 innings. Mirabel pitched in two games with the Aguilas de Mexicali in the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico in 2023-24 and made 11 relief appearances with the Bravos de Leon of the Liga Mexicana de Béisbol last year, posting a 6.28 ERA. Prieto, regarded as one of the top catchers in the Serie Nacional before making Cuba’s WBC roster as a bullpen catcher, has not played since leaving Cuba.

Mexico is a preferred destination for players leaving Cuba, as players residing in the country are not eligible for the Major League Baseball draft, allowing them to negotiate with individual clubs as free agents.

Photo: Panama’s Enrique Valdez escapes the tag of Cuba first baseman Rafael Vinales at the 2023 Caribbean Series in Caracas, Venezuela. Vinales and teammate Denis Pena walked away from their Cuban team in Mexico City this week. (Photo Courtesy of CBPC)