The Federacion Cubana de Beisbol will announce the island nation’s 35-man roster for the World Baseball Classic on Friday in an afternoon press conference at Estadio Latinoamericano in Havana, Prensa Latina reported Thursday.
Prensa Latina is the official state news organization of Cuba.
The Federacion is expected to announce a roster that includes players who have left the country to play in Major League Baseball, including infielder Yoan Moncada and outfielder Luis Robert of the Chicago White Sox and Jose Abreu of the Houston Astros.
Among players playing elsewhere, outfielder Yasmani Tomas, playing in the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico with Caneros de Mochis, and pitchers Elian Leyva and Roenis Elias, both pitching in the LIDOM over the winter, are candidates for the Cuban team, according to Pavel Lopez Lazo of Prensa Latina. Leyva pitched in the Atlanta Braves organization in 2018 and 2019, appearing in 43 games with Double-A Mississippi and Triple-A Gwinnett.
Elias split 2022 between Triple-A Tacoma and the Mariners, and made seven appearances and recorded a 3.52 earned run average in 7.2 innings of work in Seattle before heading back to Tacoma. Elias was signed by the Seattle Mariners on May of 2011, a year after leaving Cuba. He made his Major League debut in 2014, shortly after he made Seattle’s opening day roster out of spring training. Over seven season, Elias has appeared in 133 games with Seattle, Boston, and Washington, posting an ERA of 3.96 over 395.2 innings of work with a WHIP of 1.319.
Prensa Latina reported Juan Reynaldo Perez, the Federacion Cubana de Beisbol President, told the outlet that players who left official delegations abroad will not be included in the pre-selection roster.
