There has been a formal conversation between Cuban-American pitcher Andrew Pérez and the Cuban Federation about a future participation in the World Baseball Classic. The left-hander, who’s father is Cuban first expressed his interest a few weeks ago and seemed to have followed up with his desire to play with the island in the upcoming tournament.
This is what Andrew told me about the conversation:
“They told me they would let me know. They’ll see what they can do. This will be the first time, I suppose, that a Cuban-American plays for Cuba in an international event. They’ll see what path they take and if they can pull it off.”
Pérez became a cult hero for the Tigres del Licey in last season’s LIDOM Serie Final after getting out of a no-out bases loaded jam in Game 1 of the series in a game that his team went on to win in extra innings. With a fastball that sit between 95 and 97 Mph Pérez could be a welcomed edition to the team’s bullpen.
Last season in the Dominican Winter League he was a key piece for the team from Santo Domingo’s bullpen, posting a 1.84 earned run average in 19 outings during the regular season for the Tigres. The left-hander also fanned 11 in 14⅔ innings pitched during the winter campaign.
With the naming of Germán Mesa is manager a few days ago the team and the coaching staff will start to take shape in the coming weeks. Whether Pérez plays with the national team remains to be seen. Cuba expects to hold training camp for the squad either in México or Nicaragua with the team also traveling to the Serie del Caribe in preparation for the upcoming WBC. Pérez is currently with the Charros de Jalisco of the Liga Mexicana de Béisbol.