Yariel Rodríguez will become the first Cuban player to return to a Cuban national team after abandoning a contract when he pitches in the World Baseball Classic in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Recall that after the 2023 World Baseball Classic, the Camagüey,Cuba native left Cuba for the Dominican Republic while still under contract with the Chunichi Dragons through the Cuban Baseball Federation (FCB). He later signed professionally with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Regarding this, the INDER (National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation) media outlet (Jit) reported on its website: “As for pitcher Yariel Rodríguez, the evaluations that led to his inclusion took into account that, in addition to his repeated interest in joining the team and his proven talent, he has fulfilled the agreement with the parties after abandoning the contract that covered his performance in Japan.”
This is unprecedented. All players who had abandoned active contracts through the FCB had been banned from Cuban national teams. Some were even prohibited from entering the island. Rodríguez and Yoan Moncada are the only players who played in MLB last year and will be on the Cuban roster for the 2026 WBC.
During 2025, he pitched in 66 games, starting only one game on the season. In his 65 relief appearances, he never exceeded two innings and only pitched two complete innings seven times. Rodríguez finished last season with a 3-2 record, a 3.08 ERA (73.0 IP; 25 ER), 14 holds, and two saves. He struck out 66 batters and held opponents to a .196 batting average. He is not currently on Toronto’s 40-man roster.
The he performance was an improvement from the 4.47 ERA that Rodriguez posted over 86 2/3 innings as a starting pitcher in 2024 (his first season in the majors), now his 22.1% strikeout rate and 11.4% walk rate in 2025 were both a step backwards from his 2024 statistics. After posting a 4.46 SIERA that almost matched his ERA, there was a much larger gap between the righty’s 3.08 ERA and 4.27 SIERA in 2025, the flamethrowing right-hander had an above-average .228 BABIP and an 81.2% strand rate this past season.
In spite of his performance the Blue Jays still outrighted Yariel Rodriguez off their 40-man roster, according to the colleague Francys Romero who gave the news at time of the transaction that Rodriguez was being designated for assignment, though the Cuban wasn’t DFA’ed, he has already cleared outright waivers without any team picking up the hurler. Rodríguez is hoping to showcase his talents for another possible team in MLB to hopefully provoke a trade.