By Yusseff Díaz
A very credible source confirmed to Pelota Cubana last month that Alexander Guerrero reached out to the Cuban Federation about playing in Olympic qualifying tournament, that source was none other than the player himself. Cuba seemed to ignore his advances as they did with other players not associated with the FCB.
Guerrero who was once a prized prospect in the Dodgers farm system last played pro baseball in 2019 with the Yomuiri Giants, a season in which he hit .237 with 21 homers and 54 runs batted in. He was an all-star 2017 and led the Nippon League in round-trippers with 35.
His career in the City of Angels started well, in April of 2015 the slugger was named rookie of the month. But that all ended quick when he was designated for assignment a year later. During his two seasons in the Majors with the Dodgers he hit .224 with 11 longballs and 36 RBI’s.
During his eight seasons in the Serie Nacional with Las Tunas he .303 with 102 dingers and drove in 407 runs. He was also a fringe national team member from 2011-13 making appearances in the Rotterdam and Haarlem tournaments in the Netherlands.
Where you interested in playing for Cuba in the Olympic qualifying tournament?
Yes I was, we were in communication with the Cuban Federation about playing with the National Team to see if we could reach an accord for my participation.
Would you ever play in Cuba again?
I would love to, but I really don’t see that happening in the near future.
Give me one thing that you learned during your time in professional baseball that made you a better player?
I learned that to triumph in the world of professional baseball a player needs to not only prepare hard physically but also mentally, because that is also a big aspect of the game.
You were an all-star in Japan in 2017 with Chunichi, tell me about that experience?
It was a beautiful experience playing in an all-star game. The season as whole was very pleasant. Leading the second best baseball in the world in homeruns gave me great satisfaction. Without a doubt it was a very gratifying year.
Do you have any offers on the table to play baseball this season?
There are a few offers on the table, but none a very attractive at this moment.