With the newly minted practices underway for FEPCUBE, team manager Brayan Peña spoke to the press and conveyed a message of unity amongst the players. He also conveyed a message of a team that is finding its way and will be complete in about two weeks.
By the looks of the practices there is plenty of young talent on the field and a team that could be the favorite in the Intercontinental Series that will take place in Barranquilla, Colombia later this month. With only two practices under its belt this team is just finding its way, but the message of unity is clear amongst the exile community in reference to the support it has for this team.
When it comes to talent, this team could be a team that has enough talent to win a Serie del Caribe and any tournament outside of the WBC, aside from the restrictions it faces. Brayan Peña spoke to the Cuban Baseball Digest below and made it clear on what the goals of FEPCUBE are.
The manager of @fepcube, @cuban2727 talks to us about the team's preparation and when we could see a depth chart for the squad. #FEPCUBE
#CubanBaseballDigest #OneTeamOneDream pic.twitter.com/uXuzG1ZWT2— Cuban Baseball Digest (@CBaseballDigest) January 10, 2024
What is the main goal of this team?
Winning is what it is all about and exactly what we want to do in Barranquilla. We are working in unison for one goal and that is to win the tournament. We also have a lot of young guys here, so we also want to develop this young talent and make these players better.
How did it make you feel when seeing all these players on the field for the first time?
It gave me a lot emotion, it was tremendous moment. It was something unique, the hugs, it was so nice that it reminded me of a Cuban celebration, we had the dominoes ready, a pig was ready to be cooked as well. It was really something special.
From Yuli Gurriel to Edgar Quero, there is really a grand mix of and talent and generations here. How does that make you feel?
It means a lot to me, that fact that a few generations of Cubans have come together for this project has really touched me. There are ALCS MVPs here, batting champions as well and plenty of talented players, too. Having all this talent together here doesn’t have any value in words, it is priceless.
Give me your assessment of the talented here?
We will field a very talented team. We are going to compete, we are going to win. We are going to go out on the field every day with the mentality that we are the best team. Humbly, we believe that and with all due respect we believe in our brothers. We are also grateful to have such a talented core of coaches to train our players.
If some Major League Baseball do not give permission to use their minor leaguers, what will happen then?
More are going to join, but right now we are very happy with the group we have and little by little we are going to continue growing. We are going to continue adding players as we go. We are super grateful to God for having us in a position to succeed.
When will you have a depth chart available?
Ask me again on Saturday and I will have a better idea.
I see a lot of top prospects here, who has received permission to play with FEPCUBE?
I reiterate ask me on Saturday. We are still in the stage of getting permission from MLB ball clubs as we speak. At the end of the day we will work with what we have and put a winning product on the field, I trust in our coaches that much.