With all the action for the World Baseball Classic Qualifiers set to begin this Friday, Spain has announced that right-handed pitcher Elian Leyva will take the ball at the Taipei Dome. Spain will face Chinese Taipei in their first game for the WBC Qualifiers.
Leyva, 35, was born in La Habana, Cuba, but has lived in Lleida, Barcelona, for over eight years, which makes him eligible to represent Spain. Leyva began his career pitching with the Vaqueros de La Habana at 18 from 2007-10. He would pitch in Cuba until 2015 and retake the mound at 28 years old with the Navegantes del Magallanes during the 2017-18 winter. At 29 years old, he would sign a minor-league contract with the Atlanta Braves.
He joined the Braves organization for the 2018 season, pitching between Double-A and Triple-A. Leyva made 34 appearances and five starts across both levels, pitching to a 4-3 record, posting a 2.69 ERA, striking out 79 batters, and walking 25 across 87 innings of work. The Braves would bring him back in 2019, but he would only pitch in nine games and make two starts, posting a 5.00 ERA, collecting 16 strikeouts, and walking two batters in 18 innings pitched. Leyva finished the season pitching with the Sultanes de Monterrey in Liga Mexicana de Beisbol (LMB), going 4-2, a 4.61 ERA in ten starts, striking out 44 batters in 52.2 innings of work.
In 2020, Leyva pitched in Italy with Unipol Bologna in Italian Serie A1 but only made two starts, going 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA. After the 2020 season concluded, he would spend the 2021-22 seasons pitching in LMB with several teams. Leyva then would head to Taiwan for the 2023 season, joining the Rakuten Monkeys in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). He would make 12 starts in Taiwan, pitching to a 4-3 record, posting a 3.88 ERA, logging 67.1 innings, and striking out 56 batters.
Leyva rejoined the Leones de Yucatán for the 2024 season. He made 13 starts, putting together a 6-2 record, a 3.86 ERA, and 45 strikeouts in 58.1 innings. He also pitched in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela this winter, making five appearances in both countries.
The last time Leyva pitched during the World Baseball Classic was in 2023, but he was representing Cuba. Ironically, he had started against Chinese Taipei at the 2023 WBC. Cuba would win that game 7-1, with Leyva pitching two and a thirds innings, allowing one hit, two walks, and striking out four batters. It certainly will be intriguing to see how Leyva will perform with Spain as he prepares to face a tough Chinese Taipei lineup.
