WBC Team Preview: Cuba

If this tournament existed last century, Team Cuba might have won it a few times. The Cubans won gold at the Olympics for baseball in 1992, 1996 and 2004 and took silver in 2000 and 2008. In the WBC, they have gotten as far as the finals.

Notable Players

Yariel Rodriguez made 21 starts for the 2024 Blue Jays (4.47 ERA) and transitioned well to the bullpen in 2025 (3.08 ERA, 73 strikeouts in 66 innings pitched). Third baseman Yoán Moncada hit 12 homers and slashed .234/.336/.448 for the Angels last season. In his best year, he hit 25 homers and posted a .915 OPS for the 2019 White Sox.

Alfredo Despaigne, 39, hit 451 home runs over 20 seasons (2004-2023) playing in Cuba, Japan and Mexico. In 2009, the outfielder had one of the best seasons in Cuban National Series history when he hit 32 homers and slashed .375/.481/.756/1.238 in 90 games. He is 39 and playing in his fifth WBC, with seven career homers in the tournament.

Infielder Alexei Ramírez, 44, who played nine MLB seasons (2008-2016) is also coming out of retirement to represent Cuba. He was an All-Star for the White Sox in 2014, won a couple of Silver Sluggers and finished second to Evan Longoria in 2008 American League Rookie of the Year voting.

The only Met on the team is Daviel Hurtado, a 21-year-old lefty who wasn’t born when Despaigne hit his first professional home run. Hurtado struck out 50 in 46 2/3 innings for Low-A St. Lucie last season while pitching to a 2.70 ERA.

Notable Coach

Germán Mesa will manage after serving as bench coach in the 2023 WBC. Mesa, 58, was a slick-fielding shortstop in the Cuban National Series from 1985-2002 who was compared defensively to Ozzie Smith and Omar Vizquel. He managed teams in Cuba and Nicaragua after his playing days.

WBC History

Team Cuba made it to the semifinals in 2023, where it lost 14-2 to the United States. A team that included a 24-year-old Ramírez and Yuli Gurriel knocked out Puerto Rico in the quarterfinals and the Dominican Republic in the semifinals before losing to Japan 10-6 in the inaugural WBC final in 2006.

Pool

Cuba faces Panama in its first game on Friday at 11 a.m. ET. The other teams in the pool are Puerto Rico, Colombia and Canada. For a look at MMO’s Robert Colonna’s WBC team rankings, where Cuba comes in at No. 11, click here.

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