Three Cubans did defect after arriving in Miami for the Olympic qualifier. The biggest name of the trio was César Prieto, a 22 year old second baseman who was considered one of the top players in Cuba. He batted .403 in his last year with Cuba and appeared to have nothing to gain by staying in Cuba. César did not even play in the Olympic qualifier, leaving his hotel and jumping into a car shortly after the Cuban team arrived in Miami. Cuba was critical of the defection, but they do not want to see players leave without getting some compensation for their departure. They have contracts with NPB teams where players get compensated but the Cuban league also gets some percentage of that salary. Alfredo Despaigne, Livan Moinello and Yurisbel Gracial are three players who have a contract with the Softbank Hawks. Andy Rodríguez was another one of those players who signed a contract with the Softbank Hawks. Most of his time was spent in the minor leagues. The 22 year old pitcher was supposed to leave for Japan after the Olympic qualifier had ended to return to the Hawks, but as the Cuban Baseball Federation noted he chose to “violate his contract with the NPB team”. It will be interesting how major league baseball handles the defection of Rodriguez since he technically has a contract with an NPB team through Cuba. The third defection was a 35 year old pitcher Lázaro Blanco. While he is considered one of the top pitchers in Cuba and was good enough to make the Cuban national team, his age may hamper a major league team from signing him. This will not prevent him from getting interest in teams from the Mexican League, which is reported pays a much higher salary that what he would earn in Cuba. So a big blow for Cuba, not just because of the players they lost, but because they had players abandon the team before they even played a game. That put them at a disadvantage with 24 man rosters dropping to 21. It also plants a seed for other Cubans to defect once they play in international tournaments. Unless Cuba is willing to pay to put these players on 24 hour watch it will be difficult to keep them from defecting. Rodriguez and Prieto should sign big time contracts with major league clubs. It may not be in the $10 to $50 million contracts they signed a few years ago, but they should reach close to seven figures. Cuban baseball would like to make an agreement with major league baseball to get a small percentage of that coin. (Photos of César Prieto, Andy Rodríguez, and Lázaro Blanco/AP)

Eddy Alvarez, the first Winter Olympian to play Major League Baseball (MLB), is the only player with Games experience named in the 24-man roster for the United States baseball team at Tokyo 2020. Alvarez, 31, was part of the US team that won silver in the 5,000 metres relay in short track speed skating at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics. When he made his MLB debut on August 5 last year he also became the first non-baseball Olympian since decathlon legend Jim Thorpe to play the sport at that level. The roster for the first US Olympic team since the one that won bronze in Beijing 13 years ago - the last time the sport was included at the Games - contains no active MLB players. Players on 40-man rosters but not active ones had been expected to be allowed to play, but COVID-19 and potential travel restrictions complicated matters and it means some players who helped the Americans qualify are not involved. But the roster includes some former MLB All-Stars and top minor-league prospects. USA Baseball has named its 24-man roster for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics ©Getty Images Twelve players return from the team that won the Olympic qualifying tournament and officially booked Team USA's place in Tokyo. Apart from Alvarez, the infield group notably contains a two-time MLB All-Star in Todd Frazier. The outfield group contains big-league experience too. Tyler Austin spent time in MLB from 2016 to 2019 with four teams, playing mostly with the New York Yankees. Austin then signed in Japan and currently plays for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars. Nippon Professional Baseball is pausing for the Olympics, so its stars can play. Patrick Kivlehan played in MLB from 2016 to 2018 before re-emerging this season in limited playing time with the San Diego Padres. Kivlehan is included along with Bubba Starling, who spent parts of 2019 and 2020 with the Kansas City Royals. Pitching should be a strength of the Americans, as the group boasts two top-100 prospects, two World Series champions and multiple MLB All-Stars. The prospects are Simeon Woods Richardson and Shane Baz, while Scott Kazmir and Edwin Jackson have a world of experience. Additionally, David Robertson is seeking to become the first person to win the World Series, World Baseball Classic and an Olympic gold medal. (Top photo of Eddie Alvarez/Getty Images)

Hosts Curaçao defeated Cuba at the third time of asking in the final of the Caribbean Baseball Cup to win the third edition of the tournament in Willemstad. Following 14-7 and 7-0 wins over the hosts, Cuba headed into the final as firm favorites, but it was Curaçao who claimed the cup thanks to a surprise 4-3 victory. Stephan Vidal was important to his side's win, having hit two doubles and scored two runs, while team mate Ulrich Snijders hit a double, towed two and scored one run. Cuba's best batter of the day was Andrys Perez, who hit a double to score one run, but his efforts were in vain as they fell to a shock defeat. Yoelkis Guilbert also got on the scoresheet with a run from a double. Although ending up on the losing team in the final, Cuban Pavel Quesada was named the Caribbean Baseball Cup Most Valuable Player of the tournament, after leading in hits with 10, in doubles with four and tying with the highest number of home runs with two. The Caribbean Baseball Cup was initially set to be held in April, but the event was moved due to a surge of COVID-19 cases. This year's tournament was dedicated to the memory of the late President of the Cuban Baseball Federation (FCB) Higinio Vélez Carrión, who died in mid-May at the age of 74 after complications related to COVID-19. He had been in head of the FCB since 2008 until his death. (Top photo: COCABE, Photos of Team Curacao: Curacao Team Facebook page)

Cuba continued their sensational form with a 13-0 thumping of Peru at the Caribbean Baseball Cup in Willemstad. Box score The emphatic victory means Cuba finish the group phase undefeated, matching the record set by the Dominican Republic, who have come through with unblemished records in two previous editions. For Peru, this was another heavy defeat having been on the receiving end of a 18-0 thrashing to hosts Curaçao yesterday. The Peruvians were unable to match a potent Cuban side who chalked up another win in the competition. Cuba’s offensive game was led by Pavel Quesada and Osvaldo Abreu, while Yoelkis Guilbert, Yasniel Gonzalez and Juan Carlos Arencibia also made strong contributions. Rider Zevallos and José Francisco Salas produced the best batting displays for Peru but Cuba proved too strong courtesy of excellent pitching from Cesar Garcia. Favourites Cuba are now due to meet Curaçao in tomorrow’s final. The Caribbean Baseball Cup was initially set to be held in April, but the event was moved due to a surge of COVID-19 cases. This year's tournament is dedicated to the memory of the late President of the Cuban Baseball Federation (FCB) Higinio Vélez Carrión, who died in mid-May at the age of 74 after complications related to COVID-19. He had been in head of the FCB since 2008 until his death. (Top photo: COCABE)

Cuba earned victory over Curaçao at the Caribbean Baseball Cup after their national team was permitted to resume competition following positive COVID-19 cases. Box score The Cuban team was forced to isolate after six people in their delegation - three players, one coach and two other staff members - tested positive. Doctor Alcala, deputy director of health for COVID-19 affairs in Curaçao, permitted the team to return to play but ordered the six individuals to remain isolated. The Cuban team returned to competition in impressive fashion as they overcame hosts Curaçao 7-0 to record their third consecutive win and maintain their 100 per cent record. Curaçao now have a record of two wins and two defeats from their matches to date. Their record is matched by Peru, who suffered a surprise 10-5 loss to the US Virgin Islands today. The US Virgin Islands improved their record to one win and two defeats. Cuba and the US Virgin Islands are due to play each other twice to make up for the postponed match between the two sides. Curaçao and Peru will hope to strengthen their position as the second ranked team when they meet. The Caribbean Baseball Cup was initially set to be held in April, but the event was moved due to a surge of COVID-19 cases. This year's tournament is dedicated to the memory of the late President of the Cuban Baseball Federation (FCB) Higinio Vélez Carrión, who died in mid-May at the age of 74 after complications related to COVID-19. He had been in head of the FCB since 2008 until his death. VIDEO: Curazao vs. Cuba, Jun 30, 2021 (Top photo/COCABE)

A game at the Caribbean Baseball Cup between the United States Virgin Islands and Cuba has been suspended due to potential COVID-19 cases between the teams. Six possible cases were detected through anti-gen tests requested by the Curaçao Government upon entering the nation. A negative polymerase chain reaction test and anti-gen tests must be given on entry to Curaçao, followed by another set of tests on the third day in the country. Those suspected to be infected with COVID-19 are three players, one coach and two more staff members from Cuba. Both nations are due to play a double-header on Friday (July 2). Organisers will continue to test players and staff, but the Caribbean Baseball Confederation has confirmed all those who tested positive are not showing any symptoms. Hosts Curaçao did get to play in Willemstad, defeating Peru 17-2 to move onto two wins from three. The win meant the hosts had scored 32 runs in their past two games. They started with six runs in the second inning, followed by five in the third, two in fourth and four in the fifth, to seal the victory. Aldair Daal batted a home run and a triple to score three, while Riordan Windster scored a three-run homer and a two-run homer - playing a huge part in the nation's convincing win. Roberto Ayarza scored his second home run for Peru, to help get his side on the board. Initially, the Caribbean Baseball Cup was set to be held in April, but this was moved to May due to a surge of COVID-19 cases before being pushed back again to now. This year's tournament is dedicated to the memory of the late President of the Cuban Baseball Federation (FCB) Higinio Vélez Carrión, who died in mid-May at the age of 74 after complications related to COVID-19. He had been in head of the FCB since 2008 until his death. (Top photo: Yahoo Sports)

The third edition of the Caribbean Baseball Cup has got under way - after twice being delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic - with Peru and Cuba picking up opening day wins. Box score Starting off the day, Peru defeated the United States Virgin Islands 13-3 in Willemstad in Curaçao. Juan Pedro Casas was the star performer for the winners, scoring four runs batted in (RBI). Peru scored one run in the first inning before taking a commanding lead in the third by scoring another three. Despite the US Virgin Islands bringing it back to 5-2 after the fourth inning, Peru put the game beyond doubt by scoring eight in the sixth. In the late game, Cuba won 14-7 against the hosts Curaçao. Off the bat, Cuba were in control, scoring four in the first inning and another two in the second and third each respectively. Curaçao looked to remain in touch, having scored four in the second and another two in the fourth, with the game sitting at 8-6 before Cuba turned it up late thanks to Santiago Torre with two RBI and scoring three, thanks to a home run. Initially, the Caribbean Baseball Cup was set to be held in April, but this was moved to May due to a surge of COVID-19 cases before being pushed back again to now. This year's tournament is dedicated to the memory of the late President of the Cuban Baseball Federation (FCB) Higinio Vélez Carrión, who died in mid-May at the age of 74 after complications related to COVID-19. He had been in head of the FCB since 2008 until his death. (Top photo: Pablo Avila)

The tournament will be dedicated to the memory of Cuban baseball leader Higinio Vélez Carrión, who recently passed away. Host Curaçao, Cuba, American Virgin Islands and Peru are the four participants. The III Caribbean Baseball Cup is set to open on Saturday, 26 June. Four National Teams are set to participate in the tournament, including host Curaçao, Cuba, Peru and the American Virgin Islands. The Confederation of Pan American Baseball (COPABE) and the Confederation of Caribbean Baseball (COCABE) have announced the official schedule with the finals scheduled for Saturday, 3 July. The tournament will be named after the late Higinio Velez, who was the manager of Cuba's 2004 Olympic gold medal team and the president of the Cuban Baseball Federation. The third edition of the Caribbean Baseball Cup was initially set for April, but a surge in COVID-19 cases in Curaçao forced a rescheduling of the event. (Top photo of Higinio Vélez talking to José D. Quiles Rosas/TuNoticiaPR.com)

Boral Team Australia has withdrawn from this month’s WBSC Final Olympic Qualifier in Mexico due to “insurmountable” challenges. Baseball Australia chief executive Glenn Williams confirmed this morning Australia would not be sending a team to the June 22-26 event which had been originally scheduled in Taiwan from the 16th. Williams – who himself won silver with Team Australia at the 2004 Olympics – said it was a gut-wrenching decision. “Attending the Final Olympic Qualifier in a COVID world was always going to present significant challenges,” Williams said. “The planning for Taiwan was extensive and with the late change in location and dates, those plans became obsolete.” “We worked through multiple options and scenarios but the logistical challenges of providing a safe environment for the group were insurmountable.” Williams said a number of factors had been taken into consideration when making the decision. “Athlete health and safety was always of paramount importance and there were simply too many unanswered questions presenting significant risks post the event and in transiting back to Australia,” he said. “The complexity of moving such a large group, through two countries, with limited flight availability, presented a real risk of members of the group being stranded overseas and requiring medical treatment.” “Timing of entry back into Australia also presented difficulties in establishing a clear path to Tokyo for the team if they qualified.” “Even if Team Australia were successful in winning the event, the timing didn’t allow for the team to complete quarantine in Australia and meet the requirements of entry to the Tokyo games.” “Coordinating a camp overseas at such short notice that meets the TOCOG playbook requirements was also not an option.” Williams acknowledged the effort and continued dedication shown by the athletes and staff throughout this challenging period. “The athletes and staff have worked diligently in preparing for the event throughout the constantly changing landscape,” he said. “As always, they’ve continued to commit to Team Australia and it’s really disappointing they won’t have the chance to chase a berth at the Tokyo Olympics.” The qualifier was moved to Mexico on May 21 as Taiwan battled a surge in COVID-19 cases and enforced a range of new measures which would have kept foreign residents out of the country until after the event was set to start. Puebla was only announced as the host city on May 29. World number four Chinese Taipei pulled out of the event last week. China had already withdrawn from the Final Qualifier before it was moved to Mexico. (Top Photo of Team Australia during the 2013 WBC: AP)

Highly-touted pitcher Andy Rodriguez became the fourth member of Cuba's baseball delegation to defect to the United States during an Olympic qualification tournament in Florida, the country's baseball federation said Monday. Two other top players and a team psychologist had already abandoned the delegation during the event, in which Cuba failed to secure an Olympic berth for the first time in its history, losing to Venezuela and Canada. Rodriguez, 22, plays for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in Japan, and was supposed to head there from the United States on Monday but "chose to violate his contract" with the Japanese team, the Cuban Baseball Federation (FCB) said in a statement. Rodriguez only signed with Fukuoka in January but "didn't turn up at the airport," the FCB said in the statement, published in state media. Before him, Cesar Prieto, one of Cuba's top talents, defected on May 26, just a few hours after arriving in Florida. Then on Thursday, team psychologist Jorge Sile Figueroa left the delegation, a source told AFP, and the next day, Cuba's top pitcher Lazaro Blanco announced he'd quit the team and would stay in the United States. "What's important is that I'm happy the decision I've taken is right, I'm going to start a new life now," the 35-year-old Blanco told Telemundo 51 in Miami. Baseball is Cuba's national sport and the Caribbean nation has won three Olympic titles and 25 World Cups, so its failure to even qualify for the Tokyo Games was a shock (Top photo of Andy Rodríguez saluting Cuban manager Armando Ferrer/AP)

After dropping two one-run games in the first two days of group play, Cuba (1-2) exploded for 16 runs and 18 hits on Wednesday night in West Palm Beach, downing Colombia (0-3) 16-3 in seven innings at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. The offensive onslaught began with four singles in the first inning that plated three runs and continued in the second when Cuba scored four more. The big blows of the second inning were a Yordanis Samon two-run single and Erisbel Arruebarruena’s second home run of the tournament – a two-run blast that made it 7-0. After being held scoreless in the third, Cuba’s hitters got going again in the fourth when 11 men came to bat and six more runs came home. Raico Santos brought in two with a one-out triple and Yadir Mujica added a two-run single during a stretch when the visitors had eight straight batters reach base safely. When the top of the fourth came to end, Cuba led 13-0. 22-year-old Bryan Chi was sharp in his first start of the tournament for Cuba, limiting the Colombia national team to one run on four hits over five innings. Six different players recorded multi-hit games for Cuba. Arruebarruena finished the night 4-for-5 with four RBI and he finishes the tournament with six hits – including two home runs and a double – and six runs batted in. Raico Santos (3-for-5 with four RBI) and Roel Santos (3-for-4 with two runs scored) each collected three hits, and Mujica, Samon and Ivan Prieto all finished the night with two hits apiece. Colombia’s offense was led by Jeter Downs, who homered, and Andres Angulo who went 2-for-4 with a single and a double. Despite the impressive performance on Wednesday night, Cuba’s third place finish in Group B means that the Latin American nation will not appear in the Olympic baseball competition for the first time since baseball became a medal sport in 1992. The Cuba national team had won gold or silver medals in all five previous editions of the baseball competition at the Olympic Games. (Top photo: Ray Otero)

Connor Panas tallied two hits and two RBIs, Michael Crouse belted a solo homer, and Canada held on late to defeat Cuba, 6-5, and clinch a berth in the Baseball Americas Qualifier Super Round later this week. With the loss, Cuba will miss out on Olympic baseball for the first time since the sport entered the Olympic Games in 1992. Coming off its combined no-hitter in a 7-0 win over Colombia on Monday night, Canada started quickly at the plate on Tuesday. The world’s No. 13 team sent eight batters to the dish in the first inning and got hits from four of them, scoring three runs to take a lead it would never relinquish on RBI base hits from Eric Wood, Panas, and Kellin Deglan. Cuba starter Carlos Viera didn’t make it through the first, giving way to his bullpen after recording just two outs. The cushion provided early run support for Canada starting pitcher Ryan Kellogg, who worked 3 2/3 scoreless innings, scattering five hits. Canada added a run in the fourth on Panas’ second RBI single of the day to center field. Cuba got on the board in the fifth when Roel Santos led off with a double to left and scored two batters later on a double-play ball off the bat of Yordanis Samon, but Tuesday’s home team struggled to narrow the gap. After Canada reclaimed Cuba’s first run on Crouse’s homer to left-center with two outs in the seventh, Cuba came through with its biggest offensive frame of the night, plating two in the seventh on an RBI groundout by Yadil Mujica and RBI single by Samon to cut Canada’s lead, briefly, to 5-3. In the eighth, Canada again added a crucial insurance run. J.D. Osborne walked to lead off the inning and made his way around the bases on Tyson Gillies’ groundout back to the mound, a wild pitch, and Jacob Robson’s RBI single through the left side. Down to their last three outs and trailing by three runs, Cuba’s hitters made one final stand. Raico Santos singled to lead off the ninth and went first-to-third on Roel Santos’ one-out single to left two batters later. With the potential tying run coming to the plate, Cuba went to its bench to summon legendary slugger Frederich Cepeda. The 41-year-old put a charge into a ball to right field but settled for a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 6-4. Canada went to its bullpen one last time and brought on veteran Major Leaguer John Axford to pitch to Samon with two outs and a runner at first. Samon bounced a ball back over the mound, and Axford’s wild throw to first got away from Panas, enabling Roel Santos to score. But with Lisban Correa at the plate, Axford buckled down and notched a game-ending strikeout to eliminate Cuba and send Canada on to the Super Round. Cuba had medaled in every Olympics since 1992 including gold in ’92, ’96, and 2004. Canada, which has never medaled in Olympic baseball, advances to the Super Round along with Venezuela from Group B. They will meet the United States and the winner of Wednesday’s matchup between the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua as the two entrants from Group A. (Top Photo of Team Canada: Ray Otero)