MLB 2022 | Álvarez voted to All-MLB First Team, Puig attending the Winter Meetings, and more

Major League Baseball (MLB) Cuban Players News for the 2022 offseason. A compendium from several MLB sources

Yordan Álvarez named to the 2022 All-MLB First Team.

Álvarez, who split his time between designated hitter (77 starts) and left field (56 starts), hit .306 with a career-high 37 home runs, 97 RBIs and a 1.019 OPS. He ranked second in the AL in hard-hit percentage (60 percent), on-base percentage (.406), slugging percentage (.613) and OPS, third in home runs and fourth in batting average and runs scored (95). Álvarez became the first Cuban-born player to be named to the All-MLB First Team since the awards began in 2019.

Yasiel Puig in Attendance at 2022 Winter Meetings.

The 31-year-old outfielder who played seven big league seasons between 2013 and 2019 is one of the players that is in attendance at this year's winter meetings in San Diego, The Enquirer's Bobby Nightengale reported. For many at the Winter Meetings, Puig seems confident his legal problems will be resolved. Puig slashed .277/.348/.823 over seven Major League seasons. He last played for the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians in 2019. After being acquired by the Indians in a trade for right hander pitcher Trevor Bauer, Puig batted .297 with a .377 On Base Percentage and .800 OPS in 49 games for Cleveland. Puig played for the Kiwoom Heroes of the KBO League in South Korea in 2022 batting .277/.368/.474 with 21 homers and six steals in 126 games. Last week, the Kiwoom Heroes announced they would not be renewing Yasiel Puig's contract.the Kiwoom Heroes have decided not to renew Yasiel Puig's contract for the 2023 season.

In the debut of the IV Caribbean Cup, Cuba defeated the US Virgin Islands 9-0.

Cuba (1-0) defeated the US Virgin Islands (0-2) 9-0 in its debut in the IV Caribbean Baseball Cup in Nassau, Bahamas. The Cubans had right hander José R. Rodríguez as the winning pitcher, completing six shoutout innings allowing only two hits while striking out one and walking other. Cuba will play Puerto Rico (0-1) tonight at 7:00 pm, local time.

Lorenzo Quintana in Cuba's preliminary roster for the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

Quintana appears among the 50 men that Cuba would have announced in its preliminary roster for the 2023 World Classic, as reported by Francys Romero in Twitter. Quintana, a 33-year-old catcher from Pinar del Río, Cuba, played six seasons (2008-2014) with Pinar del Río in the Cuban League, before leaving the island in 2015. He was signed as an international free agent by Houston in 2017 and since 2018 has remained in the Minor League system, where, in four years has a slash line of 276/.333/.490 with 51 HR and 190 RBI in 300 games. In 2022 Quintana batted .242/.305/.468 with personal professional records in home runs (14) and RBI (54).

(Cover Page: Yordan Álvarez/Graphic design by Matt Sisneros)