There are conflicting stories on whether Yoan Moncada will play for Cuba or not. The colleague Francys Romero reported today that Moncada will not play for the island in the tournament, while the Cuban Federation announced that the slugger will play and that they have been in constant contact with Moncada.
As per his sources the colleague Francys Romero had this to say about the situation via his X account, “Yoan Moncada will not be representing Cuba on the final roster for the Premier 12, per sources.The 29-year-old player will become a free agent 5 days after the World Series ends and will focus on preparing during the winter to secure a contract with a MLB organization.”
“We have excellent communication with Yoan Moncada and to this day he maintains his willingness to participate in the Premier 12,” said the president of the Cuban Baseball and Softball Federation, Juan Reinaldo Pérez Pardo. Moncada’s absence would be a big blow to Cuba’s chances in the tournament based on the big bat that he brings to their lineup.
Now if I was a betting man I would put my money on Romero’s report because of his track record and his many sources across MLB. The Cuban reporter is consistently breaking stories as opposed to the FCB who is an arm of the Cuban regime and sometimes instructed what to say by the higher ups in that country’s government.
Will Moncada play for Cuba is to be seen, but one thing I am sure of is his desire to play winter ball this year for Ozzie Guillén and the Tiburones de La Guaira. Those negotiations are in their latter stages and a signing could be imminent. It will be an interesting winter lets just sit back and see how this soap opera unfolds.