After several days of controversy regarding his current status on the Cuba team, Major League Baseball player Yoan Moncada will indeed represent the island in the upcoming Premier 12 baseball tournament, confirmed sports journalist Francys Romero this Wednesday.
Romero, who had initially shared on his social networks that the infielder would focus on participating in a winter league as a springboard for a new contract in Major League Baseball, updated on Facebook that the player from Cienfuegos “will soon join the team in South Korea.”
Francys, well-known among the Cuban baseball fanbase for his multiple firsts, added that the 29-year-old third baseman is in the process of obtaining his visa to the Asian country.
Moncada, who represented the island in the last World Baseball Classic, will close his time with the Chicago White Sox after several seasons filled with injuries and ups and downs in his performance.
In fact, the reliever played only 12 games in the 2024 season, with 40 at-bats, a batting average of .275, no home runs, no RBIs, and an OPS of .756, according to ESPN statistics.
The Cuban team traveled this Wednesday to South Korea as part of their journey to the competition, which will take place between November 10 and 24 in Mexico, Chinese Taipei, and Japan.
The largest of the Antilles is in Group B along with South Korea, the Dominican Republic, Australia, Taipei, and Japan, the reigning champion.
The matches in this bracket will take place at the "Vantelin Dome Nagoya," a Japanese dream, and at the "Taipei Dome" and "Tianmu," both in Taipei.
For its part, in section A, Mexico, the United States, Venezuela, the Netherlands, Panama, and Puerto Rico will compete from November 10 to 14 at the "Pan American Charros Stadium of Jalisco" in Guadalajara and at "Santa Teresita de Tepic" in Nayarit, all in Mexican cities.
In this third edition, the tournament will have a similar format to previous editions. After the first phase, the top two teams from each group will compete in the Super Round, scheduled to take place at the Tokyo Dome. The leaders of that stage will clash for the gold, while the third and fourth places will fight for a spot on the awards podium.
In the preparation process, the team led by Armando Johnson will play in the South Korean Autumn Development League from October 18 to November 2, according to the website Swing Completo.
This event will distribute cash prizes, and the champion will receive 20 million won (the equivalent of just over 14,700 US dollars).
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