New York Yankees reliever Fernando Cruz will return to pitch for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic, according to Carlos Rosa of El Nuevo Dia on February 2.
El relevista de los @Yankees, Fernando Cruz, oficialmente lanzará con Puerto Rico en el Clásico Mundial de Béisbol. La información fue confirmada a @ElNuevoDia por Waldo Díaz, de DSports Network, relacionista público del lanzador derecho. Cruz fortalece el bullpen. @WBCBaseball pic.twitter.com/Ib5WOvGomc
— Carlos Rosa (@crosarosa) February 2, 2026
Cruz played for Puerto Rico in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Puerto Rico was eliminated by Mexico in the quarterfinals at loanDepot Park in Miami. Cruz pitched 3 ⅔ innings with five strikeouts and an ERA of 2.45 in the tournament. Cruz is very proud of his heritage, having been born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico.
Fernando Cruz repite con #LosNuestros ??
Con medallas de oro en Juegos Centroamericanos y del Caribe y Panamericanos, el lanzador Fernando Cruz estará por segunda ocasión consecutiva con Puerto Rico en el #WorldBaseballClassic. pic.twitter.com/gAq0qkZxmR
— Federación de Béisbol ?? (@BeisbolPR) February 3, 2026
It was not an easy road to the big leagues for Cruz. He was originally an infielder, and he was drafted out of Puerto Rico Advanced College High School by the Kansas City Royals in the sixth round of the Major League Baseball Draft in 2007. He was converted into a pitcher in the Royals’ system. It wasn’t a smooth transition at first. He was released by the Royals after the 2012 season. Cruz didn’t return to minor league baseball until 2015 with the Chicago Cubs, where he reached Triple-A Iowa.
After that, he pitched in the Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball with the New Jersey Jackals, Liga Mexicana de Béisbol with the Pericos de Puebla and the Mariachis de Guadalajara. He also had stints in various winter leagues.
In 2018, Cruz won a gold medal with Puerto Rico in the Central American and Caribbean Games in Barranquilla, Colombia, at Estadio Édgar Rentería. Cruz wasn’t part of any MLB organization from 2016 to 2021, and then the Cincinnati Reds signed him to a minor league deal before the start of the 2022 season.
Cruz spoke with World Baseball Network about the unique journey that brought him to the Yankees during an interview at Yankee Stadium on May. 4 of last year.
“Coming here is a blessing from above,” Cruz told World Baseball Network. “I’m honored to be here, and it’s a pleasure for me to represent these colors and this uniform. It’s been a really lovely process to be able to be where I am right now. I love New York, and I love the Yankees. I am embracing it, and we are going to do big things this year.”
Cruz didn’t make his MLB debut until Sept. 2, 2022, when he was 32. It took him 15 years from the time he was drafted to debut with the Cincinnati Reds.
“The years with the Jackals, Independent ball, Mexico, and everywhere in the world, it helped me strive more, find more, and fight for what I really wanted,” Cruz explained. “It was the best time of my life,” Cruz said.
He was able to successfully carve out a role in the Reds’ bullpen for the next two seasons. In 2024, he had 109 strikeouts in 66 ⅔ innings of work and a 4.86 ERA. Cruz was traded to the Yankees for catcher Jose Trevino on Dec. 20, 2024.
“I think adversity is the biggest blessing that anybody could have because it shows you the way of life and how you have to work and go after your business,” Cruz told World Baseball Network.
Cruz had a career-best 3.56 ERA with the Yankees last season, but he did have to battle right shoulder inflammation and an oblique strain that limited him to just 48 regular-season innings.
“Adversity keeps you humble, striving, and hungry, and I think about the process. You have to embrace it, hug it, love it, and worry only about the process and not the results,” Cruz said.
Cruz did see the results, and it carried into October. He pitched 3 ⅔ innings with four strikeouts in the postseason. Cruz showed his emotions after escaping a huge jam in game two of the American League Wild Card Series against the Boston Red Sox.
He entered a 3-3 game in the seventh inning with runners on first and second. He held the Red Sox scoreless, and the Yankees went on to win 4-3 against the Red Sox to avoid elimination. Cruz will once again be an important part of the Yankees’ bullpen in 2026 and for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic.
He will return to his home soil and look to help Puerto Rico advance out of Pool A. Puerto Rico is hosting the pool at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan.
Photo: New York Yankees pitcher Fernando Cruz reacts after Boston Red Sox Trevor Story flied out to end the top of the seventh inning of Game 2 of an American League wild-card baseball playoff series, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
