Cuba will participate in the Serie de las Américas in Venezuela from February 6 to the 13th with a team made of players from their WBC 35-man roster that are not within the MLB system. This will kick of its official training plan leading up to the World Baseball Classic.
The venues will be the Simón Bolívar Monumental Stadium and the Jorge Luis García Carneiro Stadium (Forum La Guaira), in Macuto, La Guaira with 7 countries participating: Venezuela, Cuba, Panama, Nicaragua, Colombia, Curaçao, and Argentina. Round-robin format, followed by semifinals and the final.
That same team will then head to Nicaragua on the 17th of February for 10 days of training and four games with the Nicaraguan WBC squad which will also be comprised of players non-MLB from their 35-man preliminary roster. After that expect Cuba to head to Arizona will it will play pre-tournament tune-up games with the Cincinnati Reds and Kansas City Royals in late February.
Cuba will play exhibition games in Nicaragua ahead of the World Baseball Classic. Several Nicaraguan media outlets confirmed to the Cuban Baseball Digest that the Cuban national team will play four exhibition games against Nicaragua between February 18 and 27, as part of their preparation for the World Baseball Classic.
📍 Game Schedule:
February 18 – Rivas
February 21 – León
February 25 – Masaya
February 27 – Managua
What a Cuban team could look like for the upcoming World Baseball Classic:
Lineup:
Víctor Labrada CF (Seattle Mariners)
Andy Ibáñez 2B (Los Angeles Dodgers)
Andy Pagés RF (Los Angeles Angels)
Yoán Moncada 3B (Free Agent)
Ernesto Martínez Jr 1B (New York Yankees)
Yoelkis Guibert LF (Senadores de Caracas)
Ariel Martínez DH (Nippon Ham Fighters)
Omar Hernández C (Kansas City Royals)
Alexander Vargas (Arizona Diamondbacks)
Rotation:
Liván Moinelo LHP (SoftBank Hawks)
Yariel Rodríguez RHP (Toronto Bluejays)
José Ramón Rodríguez RHP (Caribes de Anzoategui)
Rafael Sánchez RHP (Toronto Bluejays)
Bench:
Yiddi Cappé IF (Miami Marlins)
Andrys Pérez C (Cocodrilos de Matanzas)
Christian Rodríguez SS (Chunichi Dragons)
Yurisbel Gracial Util (Cañeros de Los Mochis)
Roel Santos OF (Olmecas de Tabasco)
Bullpen:
Raidel Martínez RHP (Yomiuri Giants)
Darién Núñez LHP (Algodoneros de Unión Laguna)
Dario Sarduy LHP (SoftBank Hawks)
Daysbel Hernández RHP (Atlanta Braves)
Emmanuel Chapman RHP (Pittsburgh Pirates)
Pedro Santos RHP (Free Agent)
Denny Larrondo RHP (Arizona Diamondbacks)
Randy Martínez LHP (Chunichi Dragons)
Brander Guevara RHP (Cazadores de Artemisa)
Daviel Hurtado LHP (New York Mets)
Julio Robaina LHP (Kansas City Royals)
Silvano Hechavarría RHP (Toronto Bluejays)