World number 9 Venezuela will participate in the WBSC Premier12 2019 with one goal: earning a spot in the baseball tournament of the 2020 Olympics.
Aracelis León, La Presidenta of the Baseball Federation of Venezuela, said during the roster presentation: “We worked hard to put together an experienced roster. All of the professional players have the desire to represent Venezuela.”
The 28-man roster is a mix of experienced veterans and young prospects.
The pitching staff can count on left-hander Felix Doubront, who currently plays in Mexico but has under his belt 188 games in the Major Leagues, 85 as a starter. Miguel Socolovich also spent the season in Mexico. He is a former Major League reliever and also appeared in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Henderson Alvarez and Williams Perez also have MLB experience. Left-hander Cristian Alvarado is a Double-A reliever for the Baltimore Orioles.
Veteran infielder Andres Blanco played over 500 career games at the Major League level. Also switch hitter Henry Rodriguez, who now plays in the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol, and Carlos Rivero hit the infield in the Major Leagues.
Catcher Juan Apodaca, 33, is a seasoned veteran who has experience at the Triple-A level in the USA and now plays in Mexico.
First baseman Luis Castro is a hitting prospect, who connected for 25 home runs at Class A-Advanced for the Colorado Rockies.
Manager Carlos Subero will have the support of a coaching staff that includes bench coach Carlos Garcia, pitching coach Darwin Marrero, third base coach Liu Rodriguez, first base coach Wilfredo Romero and assistant coaches Cibney Bello and Jobel Jimenez.
The FULL ROSTER
Venezuela will face Mexico in a couple of warm-up games on 26 and 27 October in Mexico City and will then fly to Chinese Taipei.
Venezuela will debut in the Premier12 2019 on Tuesday, 5 November, in Taoyuan against World number 1 Japan.
The other two National Teams competing in group B are the hosts, and World number 2, Chinese Taipei and World number 11 Puerto Rico.
