We are less than three weeks away from the World Baseball Classic Qualifiers in Taipei, Taiwan. The four teams—Spain, Nicaragua, Chinese Taipei, and South Africa—will compete from February 21 to 25 to determine which two will advance to the 2026 World Baseball Classic. All four teams have revealed their rosters for the upcoming action. Here is who will be representing Spain.
Pitchers:
Catchers:
Infielders:
Outfielders
*denotes MLB experience
Five players on Spain’s roster have experience in the MLB, and several others have experience at the minor-league level. Spain finished 2-2 in the World Baseball Classic Qualifiers in 2022, losing to Great Britain and the Czech Republic, which qualified for the World Baseball Classic in 2023.
Elian Leyva could be an impactful arm in Spain’s rotation. The 35-year-old veteran pitcher has played since he was 18, debuting in the Cuban National Series during the 2007-08 season. He was part of the Atlanta Braves organizations from 2018-19 but never appeared in an MLB game. He would pitch with the Rakuten Monkeys in the CPBL for 2023 but returned to Liga Mexicana de Béisbol for the 2024 season. In 13 starts with the Leones de Yucatán, he pitched to a 6-2 record with a 3.86 ERA, striking out 45 batters and walking 16 across 58.1 innings of work.
One hitter who could make an impact and penciled in as Spain’s starting shortstop is Carlos Colmenarez. The 21-year-old was born in San Felipe, Venezuela, and just came off his fourth season in the minors in the Rays organization. He only hit for a .202 average with one home run in 94 games with the Rays Low-A affiliate. But, this winter, he joined the Perth Heat in the Australian Baseball League (ABL), hitting six home runs and 21 RBIs and a .265 average.
Spain’s first WBC Qualifiers game will be on February 21, when they face Chinese Taipei. Following that, they will play Nicaragua and South Africa, as the two teams will be able to move on for a shot to compete at the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
