As surprising as it may seem, Cuba has never won the top honors of the World Baseball Classic since its establishment in 2006, its best ranking being a second position precisely during this first edition. And this, despite the fact that baseball is their national sport.
The Cubans will therefore want to remedy this situation next March. For this, the Chicago White Sox duo, Luis Robert and Yoán Moncada, were added to the team.
The former of four MLB organizations (Oakland, Boston, Detroit and New York), Yoenis Céspedes, will also be part of the adventure, in addition to Andy Ibanez of the Detroit Tigers.
It should be noted that this is the first time that Cuban players belonging to an MLB team can join the local national team players for this tournament.
Two Cubans playing in Japan will also be in the squad, outfielder Yurisbel Gracial and receiver Ariel Martínez.
The starting lineup might look like this:
- Roel Santos LF
- Yoan Moncada 3B
- Luis Robert CF
- Yoenis Cespedes DH
- Andy Ibanez 2B
- Ariel Martinez 1B
- Yurisbel Gracial RF
- Lorenzo Quintana C
- Erisbel Arruebarrena SS
On the mound, it’s a little thinner, with the presence, among others, of Miguel Romero of the A’s and Ronald Bolanos of the Kansas City Royals. The fact that they won’t face devastating attacks in the pool phase, however, could help them survive.
The Cuban team will certainly have the chance to get out of their group, but it could become more complicated later, with a possible clash against Japan in the quarter-finals. But everything is possible for this formation which could surprise more than one, since some protagonists are unknown.
