The flow of official information on Cuban participation in the now imminent VI World Baseball Classic has been poor. With barely a month left until the start of the main international competition, the Caribbean authorities have not given too many clues about the preliminary list – made up of players from professional leagues and the National Series – that they delivered to the organizers since the end of last year, and they have not expressed what their specific interests are in the call for MLB players.
Although the license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) for Antillean participation was delayed, in December the Cuban Baseball Federation (FCB) confirmed that it would be in the competition, but since then little else has been known about the potential cast directed by Germán Mesa.
“El Mago” currently operates in Havana with its management team and just over twenty players from teams already eliminated from the 64th National Series, among whom the Japanese baseball stars Raidel Martínez and Liván Moinelo stand out.
There are no official signs of the rest of those eligible, especially those who are active in professional circuits in the United States. Without clear names on the table, right now the formation of the group generates more uncertainties than certainties.
Another issue of concern for Cuba is that the United States government grants in a timely manner the visas to cover the Arizona-Puerto Rico-Houston-Miami route, which should cover the Caribbean team from its preparation duels at the beginning of March until the decisive crossings if it manages to overcome the first round.
That issue, without discussion, will generate an additional headache that no other team will face before the Classic, although the management of the Cuban team, in the voice of Germán Mesa, has preferred not to give it too much importance in its last public appearance: “We have always played under tension, since I was on the field, and we have always been up to the task, that is what we work for, with a positive mentality and focused on the ball game.”
The house of cards is shaking
The feeling of doubt surrounding the Cuba team has increased in recent days with the withdrawal of MLB players who had given the go-ahead to join the so-called “Team Asere”. This is not a minor issue, because precisely these players are supposed to raise the qualitative level of the squad and in some way equalize the forces when facing opponents with a wide professional arsenal.
“We are not in the minds of those players, I cannot speak for them (…) Everyone is free to make their decisions,” said Germán Mesa regarding the refusal of several players to join Cuba’s final roster after they had expressed their intention to participate in the Classic.
The public availability of all those players with experience in MLB or the United States Minor Leagues had allowed an interesting structure to be put together for the event, but little by little it has begun to crack on all fronts. Both pitching, defense and hitting will have less depth than was thought and, above all, less qualitative level.
Among the pitchers, for example, three starters who belong to the Toronto Blue Jays organization have already confirmed that they will not be in the Classic: Lázaro Estrada from Pinar del Río, Silvano Hechevarría from the capital and Rafael Sánchez from Holguin. Of them, Estrada debuted in the Major Leagues and was a powerful option for the Cuban rotation.
Two other right-handers linked to MLB franchises who have fallen off the wagon are Jorge Marcheco (Angels) and Yunior Tur (Athletics), the latter remembered as a closer with the Santiago de Cuba Wasps, but who was converted to a starter in 2025.
The biggest blow among the pitching casualties is that of Daysbel Hernández, the very fast reliever from Atlanta who has managed to stabilize himself in the Majors. The Braves right-hander was called to become one of the leaders of the Antillean bullpen along with Yariel Rodríguez, Yoan López and Raidel Martínez.
As for the field players, it is already known that the versatile Andy Ibáñez (Dodgers), the prodigious first baseman Ernesto Martínez Jr. (Yankees) and the outfielders Andy Pagés (Dodgers) and Víctor Labrada (Mariners) will not participate in the Classic. Of this group, the most notable absence is that of Pagés, due to his great qualities as a defender and the various offensive records he showed in his spectacular boom in 2025.
With these losses, all motivated by the players’ desire to focus on spring training that starts in a few weeks, Cuba loses a third of its potential team for the Classic, so it will have to look for other options among the available players in the MLB system (both the Major Leagues and the Minor Leagues) or look at the players in the National Series.
Other major absences
One of Cuba’s biggest challenges in the sixth edition of the World Classic is to try to repeat the performance of 2023, when they managed to advance to the semifinals. The challenge is huge, firstly because they are located in a very demanding group along with Puerto Rico, Canada, Colombia and Panama, and secondly because they will not have their main professional stars who work in the United States.
While the top contenders for the throne of world baseball will have several of their luminaries at their disposal, the Antilleans face a completely different panorama. Some of the island’s main players declined to wear the four-letter uniform for various reasons (professional interests, political disagreements) and others were excluded by the Cuban sports movement’s own convocation guidelines, which maintain a veto on those athletes who abandoned delegations, even if they have already served a sanction period (prohibition from returning to Cuba).
Aroldis Chapman with Great Britain heading to his second World Classic
Furthermore, for the moment they have not considered the inclusion of players born in other countries and with Cuban roots, a very common practice in the Classic thanks to the flexibility of the regulations.
Among the major leaguers who will not compete with Cuba for any of these reasons are Jorge Soler (Angels), JC Escarra (Yankees), Adrián Morejón (Padres), Yordan Álvarez (Astros), Cionel Pérez (without a team), Edgar Quero (White Sox), Yandy Díaz (Rays), Zach Neto (Angels), Raisel Iglesias (Braves), Miguel Vargas (White Sox), Yanquiel Fernández (Rockies), Yosver Zulueta (Mariners), Aroldis Chapman (Red Sox) and Randy Arozarena (Mariners), the latter two recruited to play with Great Britain and Mexico, respectively.
The list of absences does not end there, in fact, we would have to add those of almost all the MLB players who were included in the call for the last Classic: Luis Robert Jr., Roenis Elías, Ronald Bolaños, Onelki García, Miguel Romero, Yoenis Céspedes and Andy Ibáñez. Of that group, the only one who has real options to make the team again is Yoan Moncada.
The reasons for this massive absence are equally diverse. There are those who were not satisfied with the 2023 experience, as is the case of Elías, who has alleged a high level of improvisation and a lot of mismatch with modern baseball among managers and coaches (some of whom will repeat in the upcoming Classic). Meanwhile, several have stated that they prefer to focus on the professional challenges that lie ahead.
Of the entire group, the most vocal refusal is that of Luis Robert Jr., who still retains his star status in the Major Leagues (he was recently traded to the New York Mets), but preferred not to link his name to “Team Asere” as long as there is no call open to all Cubans in professional baseball in the United States.
With the holes opened by these casualties, Cuba is sailing in a sea of doubts towards the sixth edition of the Classic, an event in which, once again, they will not be able to count on most of their potential. In an ideal world, with all its stars united under the same skin, they would surely be able to stand up to the best teams in the world, but that union now seems only a distant dream.
