The Cuban baseball team participating in the V World Classic traveled this Saturday morning from Jupiter to Miami to carry out its first training session at LoanDepot Park, venue for the final round of the event.
The team led by Armando Johnson has its first contact with the impressive setting of Little Havana, where they will offer a press conference after noon. On this same stage they will play tomorrow the first semifinal of the Clásico against the winner of the duel between Venezuela and the United States.
The main novelty in the practice of the Antillean squad is the incorporation of the slugger from Granma Yoenis Céspedes, who had separated of the team before the quarterfinals to resolve a personal situation that cannot be postponed.
Resolved the personal situation that made him travel in advance from #Tokyoalready with #elCubaClasico Yoenis Céspedes, added to today’s training session at LoanDepot Park in Miami. #Cuba #TeamAsere #BaseBall #WorldBaseballClassic2023 pic.twitter.com/mUaTyEonAK
— JIT Cuban Sport (@jit_digital) March 18, 2023
Céspedes traveled to Miami after the match against Chinese Taipei that qualified Cuba for the second phase, which was an unexpected setback for the team, which only had four players to defend the outfield.
After the man from Granma, the team also lost infielder Andy Ibáñez, whose MLB organization (Detroit Tigers) asked him to move to the United States to assess the extent of the injury to his left hand that he suffered in the last preparation games and that prevented him from debuting in the Classic.
From the moment of his trip to Miami, Céspedes expressed his willingness to rejoin the group in case they advance to the semifinals in South Florida.
Céspedes played the first two games for Cuba and went scoreless in six at-bats, although he received a couple of tickets. The outfielder made a costly mistake in the game against Italy on a deep drive that hit his glove, allowing the Europeans to score a run.
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