Mexico unveil Premier12 roster: "Our goal as a baseball country is to be the highest ranked team in the world," manager Benjamin Gil
World No. 2 Mexico announced their 28-man roster for the WBSC Premier12 2024 presented by RAXUS. During a press conference hosted in Guadalajara, Mexico's manager Benjamin Gil announced one by one his players for the biggest international baseball tournament of the year.
"I'm excited for this opportunity of managing the National Team, and especially being home in such a great city like Guadalajara," said Gil, who managed Mexico at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and the World Baseball Classic 2023. "It's going to be special for all the Mexican fans. We had a great experience two years ago in Arizona and Miami for the World Baseball Classic, and now we have the opportunity of watching our National Team playing on home soil. The Mexican Baseball National Team is in its best moment in history."
Gil analysed that Mexican baseball has enjoyed a sustained growth in the last few years, but it hasn't reached its highest level yet. "Our goal as a baseball country is to be the highest ranked team in the world, to win an Olympic medal, win the Premier12 or also winning the World Baseball Classic. We were really close last year," he mentioned. "Everyone is supporting the National Team, because it means a lot for our sport in our country. It's a huge responsibility, but we're excited with the challenge."
Mexico's roster for the Premier12 2024 is as follows:
Catchers: Tres Barrera, Logan Moore and Alexis Wilson.
Pitchers: Rubén Alaniz, Manny Banuelos, Humberto Castellanos, Edwin Fierro, César Gómez, Victor Gonzalez, Jeff Ibarra, Adrian Martinez, Marcelo Martinez, Joe Riley, Wilmer Rios, Luis Ángel Rodriguez, Fernando Salas, Teddy Stankiewicz.
Infielders: Andrés Álvarez, Chris Carter, Alejo López, Víctor Mendoza, Jose Rojas, Carlos Sepulveda and Alan Trejo.
Outfielders: Julian Ornelas, Juan Pérez, Randy Romero and Asael Sánchez.
MLB World Series champion Victor Gonzalez, Humberto Castellanos, CPBL Rakuten Monkeys starters Marcelo Martinez and Manny Banuelos, and veteran Fernando Salas (10 MLB seasons, and Premier12 2019 bronze medallist) are expected to lead the Mexican pitching staff.
Gonzalez had 27 relief appearances with the New York Yankees during the 2024 season, posting a 3.83 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP in 23.1 innings pitched. In four seasons (three with the Los Angeles Dodgers and one with the Yankees), the left-handed pitcher had 120 appearances, with an 11-5 record and a 3.36 ERA.
Castellanos also saw action at MLB level during the 2024 season with the Arizona Diamondbacks, pitching 10.1 innings in seven appearances. He has a 5-5 career record, pitching 111 innings in 40 games in four MLB seasons.
Martinez had a stellar season pitching for the CPBL Rakuten Monkeys with 24 starts, 13 wins against 3 losses, and a 2.04 ERA. He collected 114 strikeouts in 149.2 innings, with a 1.10 WHIP.
Asked about Mexico's opponents in Group A, the veteran manager explained that there are no easy games in this tournament. "This is a short tournament, only five games, and we need to win at least three to move to the Super Round, maybe four... so we need to go game by game, day by day, and respecting all the rivals in our group," he said.
Mexico will open camp on November 4 in Guadalajara, hosting a training session the day after. On November 6, Mexico will play a friendly match against Cuba in Tepic, holding their final training session in Tepic on the 7th.
Mexico, who will open the Premier12 on November 9 against Venezuela, will compete in Group A in Guadalajara and Tepic. The hosts will also face No. 5 USA, No. 7 Netherlands, No. 8 Puerto Rico and No. 10 Panama.
Group B will start on November 13, with Australia facing No.1 Japan at the Vantelin Dome Nagoya. Group B includes No. 2 Chinese Taipei, No. 6 Korea, No. 9 Cuba and No. 12 Dominican Republic.