Nine Cuban players have been named in Spain’s squad for the WBSC Premier12 2027 Barcelona Qualifier, played from 9 to 11 October at the Carlos Pérez de Rozas stadium in the Montjuïc olympic area. Spain must finish in the top two of a four-team round robin to reach next year’s expanded 16-team Premier12 — a tournament Cuba has already qualified for without playing a game.
The names were first reported by Pelota Cubana USA and carried by CiberCuba on 16 September, with Diario de Cuba and Pío Deportes following on 17 and 18 September. All three outlets give the same nine. What none of them carries is the qualifier’s official game schedule, what is actually at stake beyond a Premier12 place, or a check of which of the nine can be confirmed Cuban-born rather than Cuban by description. That is what follows.
The nine Cubans in Spain’s squad
| Player | Position | Cuban birth confirmed in MLB’s database | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Omar Hernández | Catcher | Yes — b. 10 December 2001, La Habana | Led the 2023 European Championship in home runs with four |
| Félix Stevens | Outfield | Yes — b. 30 July 1999, Havana | No MLB appearance |
| Frank Hernández | Outfield | No MLB record to check | 2023 European champion; formed at Club Béisbol Viladecans |
| Elián Leyva | Pitcher | Yes — b. 17 March 1989, Havana | No MLB appearance |
| Pablo Luis Guillén | Pitcher | No MLB record to check | Winning pitcher in the 2023 European final; reported by CiberCuba as a native of Villa Clara |
| Royd Hernández | Pitcher | No MLB record to check | Spanish-league career with Toros de Pamplona and San Inazio |
| Rubén Menes | Pitcher | No MLB record to check | — |
| Dayán González | Pitcher | No MLB record to check | — |
| Carlos Sierra | Pitcher | No MLB record to check | 2023 European champion; pitched in relief in the final |
Cuban-born, or Cuban by description?
It is a distinction worth making, because Spain’s international sides have been built for years on naturalised players, and Spanish-language coverage uses cubano for birthplace and for descent alike. Cuba Dugout’s rule is birthplace, and the arbiter is MLB’s own player database.
Three of the nine are in that database with Cuba as their birth country: Omar Hernández (born 10 December 2001 in La Habana), Félix Stevens (30 July 1999, Havana) and Elián Leyva (17 March 1989, Havana). None of the three has played a major league game.
The other six have no MLB record at all, which is ordinary for players whose careers have been in the Cuban and Spanish leagues, but it does mean their birthplaces cannot be checked against the same source. Three independent outlets describe all nine as Cuban, and CiberCuba names Guillén as a native of Villa Clara. We report the nine as named; we say Cuban-born only for the three where the record says so.
Four of them are European champions
Spain beat Great Britain 11–2 in Brno, Czechia, in October 2023 to win its first European Baseball Championship in 68 years. Four of the nine named for Barcelona were part of that squad. Pablo Luis Guillén was the winning pitcher in the final and Carlos Sierra worked in relief — both confirmed in the WBSC’s own match report. Omar Hernández caught and finished the championship as its home run leader with four; Frank Hernández played the outfield.
Six Cuban players were on that 2023 title squad in all. The two who are not in the current nine are the pitchers Rogelio Armenteros and Orlando Rodríguez.
The tournament: format and full schedule
Barcelona is the first of two Premier12 qualifiers, the second being held in Zhongshan, China, in November. Each is a single round robin of four teams playing three games apiece, and each sends its top two through. Spain is joined in Barcelona by Colombia, Germany and Italy. All times below are local.
| Date | Time | Fixture |
|---|---|---|
| Friday 9 October | 12:00 | Colombia v Italy |
| Friday 9 October | 19:00 | Germany v Spain |
| Saturday 10 October | 12:00 | Germany v Colombia |
| Saturday 10 October | 19:00 | Spain v Italy |
| Sunday 11 October | 12:00 | Italy v Germany |
| Sunday 11 October | 19:00 | Spain v Colombia |
Why Cuba is not in Barcelona
Cuba does not need the qualifier. Twelve nations took automatic places through the WBSC Men’s Baseball World Ranking at the end of 2025: Japan, Chinese Taipei, the United States, Korea, Venezuela, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Panama, the Netherlands, Cuba, Australia and the Dominican Republic. Barcelona and Zhongshan fill the last four places of a field expanded to 16.
What makes the 2027 edition heavier than a ranking exercise is the Olympic arithmetic behind it. The Premier12 awards two direct berths for the Los Angeles 2028 Games — one to the highest-placed Asian team, one to the highest-placed team from Europe or Oceania. Nine Cubans in Spain’s squad are therefore playing in Barcelona for a shot at the European route to Los Angeles, while Cuba will contest the tournament from inside it.
A caveat on the roster
Pío Deportes describes this as a preselection rather than a final roster, and notes that Spain may yet add other Latin American players; it has previously called up players from the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Puerto Rico. The nine should be read as named, not as a settled 24. Spain also drew on Cuban players for the 2026 World Baseball Classic qualifying cycle, including Yoanner Negrín and Odrisamer Despaigne.
The wider pattern
Spain’s reliance on Cuban players is the European end of a movement that runs through a record year for Cubans in the major leagues and through Cuban careers in Japan. It is also the mirror image of the squad Cuba itself is assembling for November’s U-23 World Cup in Nicaragua, and of the domestic season whose Serie Nacional 65 rosters are still being filed province by province.
Sources
- WBSC, “Premier12 2027 Barcelona Qualifier schedule announced” (7 July 2026) — schedule, format, venue, the twelve already qualified, and the LA28 berths.
- WBSC, “Spain beat Great Britain to win first Baseball European Championship in 68 years” (2023) — final score, venue, winning and relief pitchers.
- CiberCuba (16 September 2026), citing Pelota Cubana USA — the nine names.
- Diario de Cuba (17 September 2026) — the nine names and the four European champions.
- Pío Deportes (18 September 2026), citing Serie del Caribe — the nine names and the preselection caveat.
- Árbol Invertido (3 October 2023) — the Cuban players on Spain’s 2023 European title squad.
- MLB Stats API — birth country, birth city and birth date for Omar Hernández, Félix Stevens and Elián Leyva; checked 22 September 2026.
Spotted an error in this article? Let us know and we'll correct it.
