Yadier Molina hopes to have veteran shortstop Nolan Arenado in Puerto Rico’s squad for the upcoming World Baseball Classic (WBC) in March.
This is what the manager of the Puerto Rican team told the Diamante 23 channel in the middle of the postseason of the professional baseball league of Venezuela, where he manages the Navegantes del Magallanes.
Molina confirmed other names of players who should also be in uniform for the first round of the tournament at the Hiram Bithorn Stadium starting on March 6.
“(Francisco) Lindor, Javy (Báez), (Carlos) Correa, Nolan Arenado, Edwin Díaz, Jose Berríos, Heliot Ramos, Víctor Caratini, Cristian Vásquez, Martín Maldonado, Fernando Cruz…we’re counting on all those guys for the WBC,” said Molina, who made his debut as manager of the Puerto Ricans in the 2023 edition.
“We have a good team and we hope to put on a good show so we can win the cup. We are very excited and happy that they accept the challenge. Having them makes life easier for us,” Molina continued in the interview.
Arenado was recently traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks from the St. Louis Cardinals.
General manager Carlos Beltran said the veteran third baseman showed interest in playing for Puerto Rico early on, after representing the United States.
Of those mentioned, right-hander Berríos has said he expects to be cleared by the Toronto Blue Jays organization after finishing the season on the injured list.
Caratini, meanwhile, reached a two-season deal with the Minnesota Twins on Friday after playing for the Houston Astros.
Molina mentioned in the list those who would be the three receivers in Caratini, Christian Vázquez and Martín “Machete” Maldonado, whose playing career will come to an end in this World Cup event.
Of the candidates to represent Puerto Rico on a preliminary roster of 50 players, outfielder George Springer said he will not be available due to injury and Mark Winds chose to play for Nicaragua.
Meanwhile, Detroit Tigers star patrolman Riley Greene, apparently has not yet made a decision on whether he will represent Puerto Rico in the tournament, as his desire was to play for the United States.
Puerto Rico must submit the final roster of 30 players on February 3.
This content was translated from Spanish to English using artificial intelligence and was reviewed by an editor before being published.
