- Julio Robaina, Omar Estévez, Narbe Cruz and Erisbel Arruebarrena were among the 11 participants who emigrated
- The Cuban representation in the Little League World Series was left out of the competition
14ymedio/Swing Completo, Havana, 21 August 2024 — Of the 11 exiled players who had agreed to play for the Cuban Baseball Federation (FCB) in the international Premier 12 competition, four recently “declined” despite the fact that they had committed to the Island team. The refusal of Julio Robaina, Omar Estévez, Narbe Cruz and Erisbel Arruebarrena complicates the plan of the Federation, which last January announced that it would form a competitive squad with Cuban members from teams of the United States Major Leagues.
Initially, the institution contacted emigrated players who compete in 40 teams but barely convinced a dozen, among them the habanero Narbe Yadán Cruz. The athlete left the Island in 2019 and a year later got a contract with the Houston Astros for 218,000 dollars. He is currently part of the Asheville Minor Leagues team, and, despite committing to the Cuban national team, his interest is focused on returning to the major league circuit rather than representing the Island.
Estévez, for his part, faces a bad streak in the sport. His performance has been declining since his contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers ended in 2022. The matancero [player from Matanzas Cuba] barely added seven games since then – five of them with the Mexican team of the Tomateros de Culiacán and two with the Puerto Rican club Leones de Ponce.
Robaina is also going through a difficult time after suffering an injury that has kept him away from the game, in addition to the fact that this year his contract with the Houston team ends, which will allow him to re-sign or look for a
