Several former Major League Baseball players will appear on the roster for Spain during the World Baseball Classic Qualifiers in Taipei, Taiwan, next month.
Multiple media reports indicated that players from the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Cuba are on the Spain roster.
According to Pelota Cubana USA and Francys Romero, Cuba’s Odrisamer Despaigne, Yoanner Negrín, Elián Leyva, Pablo Guillén, Carlos Sierra, Orlando Rodríguez, Omar Hernández, and Orlando Lavandera are all on the roster for the WBC Qualifier, which begins on February 21 at the Taipei Dome. While Despaigne is the only Cuban player with MLB experience, the others all have experience in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, and several have played professionally outside Cuba.
Dominicans Elier Hernandez, Noelvi Marte, Engel Beltre, Ramon Rosso, and Rhiner Cruz are also expected to be on the roster, along with Venezuelan Luis Guillorme, who played the last seven seasons in MLB with the New York Mets, Angels, Atlanta Braves, and Arizona Diamondbacks.
Despaigne, a righty from Havana, appeared in 109 MLB games from 2014-19 with the San Diego Padres, Baltimore Orioles, Miami Marlins, Los Angeles Angels, and Chicago White Sox, posting a 5.11 ERA over 363 innings, striking out 224 and walking 130 with a WHIP of 1.449. He is currently playing in the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico, where he was the winning pitcher in game one of the LAMP championship series for the Tomateros de Culiacan, who added him as a reinforcement after the Yaquis de Obregon, his team in the regular season, was eliminated.
Guillorme, an infielder from Caracas, Venezuela, has appeared in 414 MLB games over the past seven years, but has only appeared in more than 100 games in one season — 2022, when he played 103 games for the Mets, batting .273/.351/.340 with a .692 OPS, two homers and 17 RBIs. He holds a career .251/.336/.322 batting line with five homers and 58 RBIs in 882 at-bats.
Hernandez, an outfielder from San Cristobal, D.R., appeared in 14 games with the Texas Rangers in 2022 and appeared in 54 games with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball in 2024, batting .294/.396/.453 with a .798 OPS, eight homers and 30 RBIs in Japan’s top league.
A native of Cotui, D.R., Noelvi Marte appeared in 101 games with the Cincinnati Reds over the past two years, hitting seven homers and driving in 33 runs. This winter, he played 29 games for the Gigantes del Cibao in LIDOM, hitting .227 with two homers and 14 RBIs.
The 35-year-old Beltre appeared in 22 games with the Texas Rangers in 2013, and has been a baseball vagabond since, playing in the minor leagues in the San Francisco Giants and Chicago White Sox organizations, as well as appearing in LIDOM with the Tigres del Licey, Toros del Este, and Leones del Escogido; in the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol with Campeche and Saltillo; in the Liga Beisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente with Caguas; in the Italian League with Nettuno, and in the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico with Navojoa.
Rosso, 28, appeared in 14 games with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2020-21, posting a 6.11 ERA in 17 2/3 innings. In the years since, he has played in Detroit Tigers organization, in the LMB with Campeche and Leon, in LIDOM with the Aguilas Cibaenas, and in the Liga Venezolana de Beisbol Profesional with the Aguilas del Zulia.
Rhiner Cruz, a 38-year-old righty from Santo Domingo, D.R., made 74 MLB appearances, 72 of which came with the Houston Astros in 2012 and 2013. He appeared in two games with Toronto in 2018, and has a 5.20 ERA in 79 2/3 innings in MLB. He has also appeared in NPB with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, appearing in 81 total games in Japan’s top league, and has played in the LMB, Italian League, LIDOM, LVBP, and LAMP since his last MLB appearance.
Spain opens WBC Qualifier play on February 21 against Chinese Taipei at 4 a.m. EST.
Spain Schedule at 2025 WBC Qualifier
All games at Taipei Dome, Taipei, Taiwan
All times Eastern Standard Time
February 20
4 a.m. – Spain vs. Chinese Taipei
February 21
11 p.m. – Spain vs. Nicaragua
February 22
11 p.m. – Spain vs. South Africa
February 23
4 a.m. – Second Place vs. Third Place
