Spain Announces Roster for October's WBSC Premier12 Qualifier

Spain has announced its roster for the Premier12 qualifier it will host in Barcelona from Oct. 9-11., where they are looking to qualify for their first Premier12.

Spain will be grouped with Italy, Germany and Colombia. The teams will play a three-day round robin, with the top two teams qualifying for the 2027 Premier12. The Premier12 will qualify two teams for the 2028 Olympics. The top-finishing European team will qualify for the Olympics if it finishes ahead of Australia.

Spain’s roster features active minor leaguers, former MLB players and former minor leaguers. Twelve players from Spain’s 2025 World Baseball Classic qualifier roster are on the team, as are 19 players from Spain’s 2025 European Championship roster.

Players to Watch

Omar Hernández - The Cuban-born catcher was developed in Spain and just had the best season of his minor league career. He played at both the Double-A and Triple-A levels in Kansas City’s organization and posted a .702 OPS with six home runs and 34 RBIs. The majority of his season was spent at Double-A, where he had a .717 OPS with five home runs. His six home runs were a career high for a season and came just a year after he did not hit a single home run.

Hernández has played for both Cuba and Spain internationally. He played four games for Cuba at the 2026 World Baseball Classic and went 1-for-12. He played for Spain at the 2023 and 2025 European Championships. The 2023 tournament was his best. He had a 1.397 OPS, tied for first in the tournament with four home runs and led Spain to its first European championship in 68 years. He is expected to serve as Spain’s starting catcher.

Elier Hernández - One of only two former big league hitters on the roster, Hernández played for the Texas Rangers in 2022 for 14 games and had a .442 OPS. After spending all of 2023 in Triple-A, he began 2024 in Triple-A before signing with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan.

His move to Japan was a huge success in 2024. His .798 OPS was third among foreign hitters and 15th overall in NPB among players with at least 240 plate appearances. His second season with Yomiuri in 2025 was not as successful. He had a .601 OPS and two home runs in 52 games.

Hernández moved to the Liga Mexicana de Béisbol in 2026 with Durango and had an .881 OPS with 16 home runs and 66 RBIs. He is expected to start in the outfield for Spain and provide needed pop in its lineup. It will be the Dominican-born outfielder’s first appearance for Spain.

Pablo Guillén - The 28-year-old right-handed pitcher from Cuba has been a staple on Spain’s roster in recent years. He made his debut at the 2023 European Championship. He allowed just two runs in 10 innings and went five innings with one run allowed and five strikeouts in the gold medal game against Great Britain to help Spain clinch its first championship since 1955.

Guillén also pitched for Spain at the World Baseball Classic qualifier in February 2025 in Taiwan and the 2025 European Championship in the Netherlands. He did not allow an earned run across 17 innings combined in those two tournaments.

Guillén has also pitched for the Tenerife Marlins in the Liga Nacional de Béisbol División de Honor Oro in Spain. He was named Spain’s Most Valuable Player in 2026 after posting a 1.33 ERA with 81 strikeouts in 61 innings.

He was also named MVP of the Copa del Rey, which was completed last week and won by the Tenerife Marlins. He went seven innings, allowed two runs and struck out 12 in the final.

Guillén is expected to serve as Spain’s ace.

Spain will take on Germany on Oct. 9 in its first game of the qualifier. The following day, Spain will play Italy before wrapping up the tournament Oct. 11 against Colombia. The top two teams after the round-robin will clinch their places in the 2027 Premier12.

All games will be played at Camp Municipal de Beisbol Carlos Pérez de Rozas.

Full Roster

Pitchers
RHP Elián Leyva
RHP Ramón Rosso
RHP Pablo Guillén
LHP Marc Civit
LHP Peter Bonilla
|RHP José Pimentel
RHP Jorge Balboa
RHP José Gómez
RHP Carlos Sierra
RHP Royd Hernández
RHP Rubén Menes
RHP Ernesto Garavito
RHP Dayan González

Catchers
Omar Hernández
Gabriel Lino
Rusber Estrada
Marc Rodríguez

Infielders
Luis Guillorme
Edison Valero
Wander Encarnación
Edgar Rondón
David Arza
Leopoldo Correa
Jesús Ustariz

Outfielders
Edgar Rodríguez
Elier Hernández
Frank Hernández
Félix Stevens
Andrés Angulo

Invited players
RHP Jorge Mairal
IF Eusebio Salas
OF Dylan Niño