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Dodger Blue > Dodgers News > Dodgers News: Playing For Cuban National Team Would Be Dream Come True For Yasiel Puig
Dodgers News

Dodgers News: Playing For Cuban National Team Would Be Dream Come True For Yasiel Puig

Matthew Moreno
December 18, 2016
2 Min Read
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Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
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During Spring Training and prior to the regular season beginning, multiple teams will see their players participating in the 2017 World Baseball Classic. For the Los Angeles Dodgers, that includes Adrian Gonzalez and potentially Clayton Kershaw and Corey Seager.

Yasiel Puig was hopeful to play for Mexico, where he established residency after defecting from Cuba, but failed to submit the necessary paperwork in time. While multiple countries will field rosters with Major Leaguers, that doesn’t hold true for the Cuban national team.

Although the U.S. moved to normalize relations with the island, Cuban defectors still are not permitted to represent the country during international player. Although Puig envisioned joining Gonzalez on Team Mexico, he remains attached to his homeland.

“That’s my dream right now, to go back and play for the Cuban team,” Puig said in an episode of of “MLB Network Presents” titled, “Cuba: Island of Baseball.”

The 26-year-old, along several other Cuban natives participated in the MLB goodwill tour in their native country last December. The tour was MLB’s first visit to Cuba since the Baltimore Orioles faced the Cuban National Team in an exhibition game in March 1999.

It also marked the first trip back to Cuba for Puig, Jose Abreu, Jon Jay and others, since their defections. There’s hope the situation and circumstances will soon change for Cuban defectors.

Pools A and B open WBC play on March 17, 2017, with games played at the Tokyo Dome and Gocheok Sky Dome, respectively. Dodger Stadium will host the semifinals and final from March 20-22.

The Dodgers may also be represented by Kenta Maeda, should he elect to pitch for Team Japan. Julio Urias has previously expressed an interest to join Gonzalez in representing Mexico, but it’s unclear if the Dodgers would grant Urias permission.

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TAGGED:Los Angeles DodgersYasiel Puig
ByMatthew Moreno
Matthew Moreno is a journalist from Whittier, Calif., who is a credentialed reporter and is currently the Executive Editor of DodgerBlue.com and LakersNation.com. In addition to covering Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angels Lakers, Matthew has a strong passion for keeping up to date with the sneakerhead culture. It began with Michael Jordan and Air Jordan shoes, and has carried over to Kobe Bryant's signature line with Nike. Matthew previously was the lead editor and digital strategist at Dodgers Nation, and the co-editor and lead writer at Reign of Troy, where he covered USC Trojans Football. Matthew graduated from California State Long Beach University with a major in journalism and minor in communications. Contact: matt@mediumlargela.com
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