The Cuban Baseball Federation (FCB) reported this Saturday morning that the mentor of the national team, Armando Johnson, received positive responses from three professional baseball players to join the Island’s roster for the World Classic to be held in March 2023.
Infielder Yoan Moncada (Chicago White Sox), outfielder Yoenis Céspedes (Águilas Cibaeñas) and pitcher Onelki García (Águilas Cibaeñas), all with MLB experience, are the new names in the shortlist, which has already added several inserted players. in professional circuits and without ties to the Cuban sports movement.
In the last hours, the director Armando Johnson has received positive responses from Yoan Moncada (Chicago White Sox), Yoenis Céspedes (Águilas Cibaeñas) and Onelkis García (Águilas Cibaeñas) with a view to the preselection of #Cuba to the V World Classic of #Baseball pic.twitter.com/J5ku9YCiCO
— Cuban Baseball Federation (@CubanaBeisbol) November 19, 2022
“We appreciate the willingness expressed by these players, and others who have established communication with Johnson and other coaches and managers to express their desire to be taken into account. We continue working”, expressed the FCB on Twitter.
In an unprecedented step in the history of Cuban baseball, the governing body of the discipline on the island confirmed at the beginning of the week the incorporation of the big leaguers Andy Ibáñez (Detroit Tigres) and Yoan López (New York Mets), as well as pitcher Elián Leyva (Naranjeros de Hermosillo), who works in the Mexican League.
This information came only a few days after Juan Reinaldo Pérez Pardo, president of the FCB, said on national television that “there are laws that prevent players who play in the MLB circuit from playing for Cuba in an international event.”
The ruling collapsed completely, and now it seems buried with the confirmation of Moncada, Céspedes and Onelki, who can be joined in the next few hours by outfielder Luis Robert (Chicago White Sox) and pitcher Roennis Elias (Águilas Cibaeñas).
According to journalist Francys Romero, these two players gave the go-ahead to be included in the Cuban roster, although in the case of Luis Robert he must wait for permission from his organization.
So far, the Cuban authorities have confirmed the “yes” of six professional players without ties to the FCB, two of them with previous experience in the World Classic. We are talking about Ibáñez (he was in the third edition) and Céspedes, who was one of the stars of the national team in the 2009 fight.
Precisely, Céspedes is the player with the most poster of those announced so far by the FCB, although he has barely played 46 games in MLB since 2018. Accidents, injuries and surgical interventions have marked the last few years for the patrolman from Granma, recognized for his 165 home runs and more than 500 RBIs in eight major league seasons between 2012 and 2020. Also, no one forgets his two Home Run Derby wins at the 2013 and 2014 All-Star Games.
A native of Campechuela, Céspedes has been to Cuba several times in recent times, he has even trained in his homeland and there was even speculation about a possible return to the National Series, but in the end there were no real intentions to take that step.
After two years without playing, the powerful outfielder returned to action a month ago in the Dominican winter circuit, one of the strongest in the Caribbean. So far, he’s hit two home runs and has driven in six runs in 12 games, with a low .616 OPS.
The virtual return of Yoenis Céspedes to the national team for the Clásico generates many expectations, as does that of Yoan Moncada, a player who was active in MLB during 2022. The man from Cienfuegos had his worst campaign since he debuted in the Majors ago six years old, but he is an athlete with all the qualities to offer good performance with the national team.
Two other Major League Baseball players agree to integrate the Cuban preselection to the Classic
For its part, Cuba also seeks to reinforce its starting pitching with Onelki García, who made his Major League debut almost a decade ago, in 2013, when he was called up by the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 2017 he returned to the majors with Kansas, but neither experience was positive.
However, the left-hander is a pitcher with a long history on other rented circuits in Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Japan, without forgetting his marked experience in the Minor Leagues in the United States, where he accumulated almost a hundred appearances in five seasons.
Cuba will play the first round of the World Classic in Chinese Taipei, where they will face the hosts, Italy, the Netherlands and Panama.
