Yoan López from and Malcom Núñez from Havana headline the list of 14 players who will be making their debut with the Cuban senior national team in the upcoming World Baseball Classic. Several criteria were considered when compiling this list, which we will explain below. The first is that this must be their first international tournament with the Cuban team at the senior level, excluding previous appearances in U-15, U-18, U-23, or other competitions.
The second related criterion is that they must not have previously represented Cuba in national team competitions such as the Olympics, World Baseball Classics, Pan American Games, Central American and Caribbean Games, Olympic Qualifying Tournaments, Premier 12, or the now-defunct World and Intercontinental Cups.
Club-level tournaments such as the Caribbean Series, the Americas Series, or the Champions League are also not considered when determining their debut with the national team, nor are lower-level competitions such as those typically held in the Netherlands or international exhibition matches. Having explained all these reasons, let’s look at the list of 14 baseball players who will debut on a Cuban team next March.
The most striking name on the roster is Yoan López, who seems to have finally made it on his third attempt, after professional commitments forced his absence from the 2023 World Baseball Classic and health problems sidelined him from the 2024 Premier 12, tournaments for which he was initially on the roster. Also noteworthy is Núñez, a player who shone in the 2016 U-15 Baseball World Cup in Japan (the last international title won by a Cuban team at any level) before beginning his journey in the Minor Leagues.
Almost all the remaining players have seen action in the recent past in the MLB professional system: Omar Hernández, Yiddi Cappe, Alexander Vargas, Yoel Yanqui, Daviel Hurtado, Denny Larrondo, Julio Robaina, Osiel Rodríguez, Pedro Santos, and Emmanuel Chapman. Five of them still have active contracts with Major League organizations (Omar, Cappe, Vargas, Hurtado, and Emmanuel).
Completing the total of 14 debutants with Cuba are two players who participated in the recently concluded 64th National Series. These are Pinar del Río native pitcher Randy Martínez, who was placed in the minor leagues of Japan with the Chunichi Dragons through the Cuban Baseball Federation, and Camagüey native outfielder Leonel Moas Jr., one of the surprise additions to the roster as he is one of only two players without any professional league experience.