As of September 26, the Cocodrilos de Matanzas , winner of the II Elite Cuban Baseball League, will play in the Barcelona Cup during the Catalan sports week in the Spanish capital. The Matanzas crowned itself Champion of the Cuban winter tournament after winning 4-2 in the Final against the Cazadores de Artemisa. A total of 23 players will attend the tournament for the Cubans, some will be reinforcements from the Liga Élite itself to round out the squad for the tournament.
In addition to the Crocodiles of Matanzas, the four team tournament will bring together the host team from Cataluyna, the also local All Star Spanish squad and Algodoneros de Guasave, from Mexico. Five Cubans will be present for the Cataluyna team, brothers Omar and Frank Hernández, Javier Monzón and the pitchers Elian Leyva and Odrisamer Despaigne. Four Cubans will be present for the Stars of the Spanish Baseball League (SBL): Ian Pérez (Tenerife Marlins), Yoel Caballero (San Ignacio), Rubén Hernández (Tenerife Marlins) and Yosvany Torres (Valencia Astros).
At 32 years of age, Despaigne has extensive experience in professional baseball, having played in the Major Leagues, Mexico, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and also in Korea. In 2024 he pitched with the Leones de Yucatán of the Mexican Baseball League, where he had a 3-7 record and a 4.74 ERA in 18 starts. The hurler will pitch this winter league with the Yaquis of Ciudad Obregón.
Elian Leyva has also pitched in 2024 with Yucatán last season posting a 6-2 record and 3.86 earned run average. Frank Hernández was released on August 8th by the Chicago Cubs after reaching the Double-A in the organization’s farm system , his 22-year-old brother Omar on the other hand remains under contract with the Kansas City Royals and played in A+ ball last season.
Javier Monzón played with San Inazio (Spain) in 2024, where he swatted 16 XBH (11 2B, 1 3B and 4 HR) and drove in 33 runs. Ian Pérez, catcher for the Tenerife Marlins, smacked 15 extra-base hits (8 2B and 7 HR) and drove in 30 runs in the last campaign. His teammate, Rubén Hernández from Artemis, worked in 10 games as a reliever, leaving a 2-1 record and a clean average of 4.20 (15.0 IP; 7 ER).
Yosvani Torres by his own means had an excellent season this year with Valencia, with which he won the Copa del Rey Crown. In the 16 games, 13 starts he had a 10-2 mark and even earned a save. He finished second in the league in ERA (1.51), fanned 86 batters and had a sparkling 0.89 WHIP. The right-hander from Pinar del Río, Cuba has been a force in Spain for a few years now.
Cubans with other teams in the Barcelona Cup:
SBL All Stars:
Ian Pérez
Yoel Caballero
Rubén Hernández
Yosvani Torres
Algodoneros de Guasave:
Yadir Drake
Catalunya:
Frank Hernández
Omar Hernández
Javier Monzón
Elian Leyva
Odrisamer Despaigne