Yoenis Céspedes leaves Cuban team for personal reasons

Cuba’s Yoenis Céspedes gets a hit against Netherlands in the Pool A game of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in Taichung, Taiwan, Wednesday, March 8, 2023. (AP Photo/I-Hwa Cheng)

TOKYO — Former major leaguer Yoenis Céspedes has left the Cuban team at the World Baseball Classic for unspecified personal reasons.

The Cuban Baseball Federation, in a statement from Havana, gave few details about his departure for the United States but said he might rejoin the team if Cuba reaches the semifinals in Miami.

Cuba faced Australia on Wednesday in a quarterfinal game in Tokyo with the winner going to Miami.

Cuba won its last two games in Group A playing in Taiwan to advance. Cuba lost its first two games in Group A, but won its last two. Céspedes did not play in the last two games and was hitless in the first two.

This is the the first World Baseball Classic in which the Cuban team has been comprised of players residing in Cuba, and others playing abroad in the United States and other countries.

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