Yoan Moncada and the Cuban Baseball Federation revealed yesterday that the infielder will be with Cuba in the upcoming edition of the Premier 12 tournament to be held between November 9 and 24. The name that stood out the most among the 60 shortlists revealed in September was precisely that of Cienfuegos.
The 29-year-old player will be a free sgent five days after the World Series. Next week he will join the team in South Korea. One of his priorities during the offseason was to play in a winter circuit, but for the moment that will not happen. Moncada is in the process of obtaining a visa for the Asian country. He has also stated that he would like to play in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (LVBP) with the Tiburones de La Guaira after the tournament.
In 2024 the infielder was injured practically the entire year, he appeared in 11 games to start the season. He returned on July 9 to play in the Arizona Complex League (Rookie), where he only played five games before suffering the injury again. After returning from that setback he saw action in Triple-A with the Charlotte Knights and in nine games he hit .323 with four doubles, one home run and five RBIs.
In the last World Classic he was selected in to the all-tournament team. The Cuban squad left this yesterday for Korea with extra reserves who will reinforce the preparation until the team can be completed with the players who are going to join days before the official Premier 12 calendar, as happened prior to the World Classic in 2023.