Article by Ryan Fox

When you think of international sports, baseball isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. While popular in countries like the United States and Japan, the game takes a backseat to other sports like football and basketball. This fall, a historically strong footballing nation will look to make its mark on the diamond, fighting to qualify for one of the world's premier baseball tournaments. Let’s take a look at this up and coming South American program.

July 7th, 2022 marked an important day for baseball in Argentina. That was the day Major League Baseball and the World Baseball Softball Confederation released details of the 2023 World Baseball Classic. It was also the day Argentina, nicknamed the Gauchos, was announced as a participant in Pool B of the WBC Qualifiers, taking a spot reportedly earmarked for the Philippines. This marks Argentina’s first appearance in the WBC Qualifying tournament. On that Thursday morning, the program was ranked 27th in the world, placing 4th in South America and 12th in the combined WBSC Americas. Two of the three South American teams ahead of them, number 6 Venezuela and number 11 Colombia, are already guaranteed a spot in the main tournament in March 2023. The third, number 25 Brazil, appeared in the 2013 WBC and represents one of five teams they will face as they compete for one of two qualifying spots from Pool B.

In an article for BeisbolArgentino.com.ar, site director Diego Beccacece sat down with Argentine Baseball Federation President Rafael Salinas about the Gauchos road to the qualifiers in Panama City. According to the article, it all started in the summer of 2021 with the return of Major League Baseball’s Coach Development Program. This was Argentina’s first opportunity to show MLB that the country was keen on sports other than football.

In the article, Beccacece outlines the long road to competition. Salinas spoke with Henry Gonzalez, MLB’s Senior Manager of International Talent Development, and Nelson Gonzalez, the WBC Project Manager, touching on Argentina’s baseball history, its current situation with the sport and the program's aspirations going forward. Said Salinas: 

“Les conté los logros nivel de Selección Nacional, sobre la estructura del béisbol en nuestro país, las regiones en dónde se juega, los torneos y sobre la Liga Argentina de Béisbol. Les detallé la cantidad de jugadores que tenemos en Europa, también de los chicos que están estudiando en Estados Unidos y por supuesto hice hincapié en que tenemos trabajando a Rolando Arnedo (NdR: manager de los ACL Dbacks) y Marcelo Alfonsín (NdR: manager los Astros en la Dominican Summer League) en puestos importantes en organizaciones de Las Mayores”. - Salinas

“ I told them about the achievements of the National Team, about the structure of baseball in our country, the regions where it is played, the tournaments and about the Argentine Baseball League. I detailed the number of players we have in Europe, also the boys who are studying in the United States and of course I emphasized that we have Rolando Arnedo [manager of the Arizona Complex League Diamondbacks] and Marcelo Alfonsín [manager of the DSL Astros] working in important positions in Major League organizations.” [Translated from Spanish by Google Translator]

Fast-forward four months to early December 2021, and encouraging news came from MLB. According to Beccacece, that's when Salinas heard that Argentina was being considered for participation in the WBC Qualifying tournament. The only caveat was that he couldn’t tell anyone. So Salinas moved forward in secret, fulfilling the requirements for participation and handling requisite communications himself. That’s how things went for the next 7 months…

Now to June, 2022, and initial confirmation. On June 28th, MLB reportedly confirmed to the ABF that Argentina had been added to the 2023 Qualifying slate. At this point, no one outside of Salinas, the MLB and the WBC had even considered Argentina a possibility in 2023, with WBSC Asia and the Filipino National Team targeted for that final qualifying spot. It would be another week before the news went public, surprising fans and Argentine media alike. Beccacece confirmed that the team's nomination was a surprise around the Argentine baseball community, adding that MLB required confidentiality until its own announcement on July 7th. When asked what it took for Argentina to replace the Philippines, Salinas said the Gaucho’s positioning in the WBSC Americas played an important role..

“Major League Baseball es muy reservada en sus decisiones, no nos dijo por qué desplazó a Filipinas. Sí, te puedo contar que nuestra plaza la disputamos con Curazao, pero ellos dependen de los Países Bajos y entramos nosotros. También jugó un rol importante nuestro muy buen posicionamiento en América”. - Salinas

“Major League Baseball is very secretive in their decisions, they didn't tell us why they moved the Philippines. Yes, I can tell you that we dispute our place with Curaçao, but they depend on the Netherlands and we enter. Our very good positioning in the Americas also played an important role.” [Translated from Spanish by Google Translator]

Whatever the reason, Argentina was in and the Filipinos, ranked 36th in the world and 7th in Asia, were out. The Gauchos become the fourth team from WBSC Americas to join the 2023 Qualifying Tournament, and the 12th overall in the 2023 field. In Pool B they’ll face two former WBC competitors in number 13 Panama and number 25 Brazil, alongside number 15 Nicaragua, number 31 Pakistan out of WBSC Asia and number 46 New Zealand from WBSC Oceania. 

Let’s take a look at the team they’ll try to field.

We’ll start out with the coaching staff. While several teams will head into the qualifiers with foreign coaches or managers, Argentina boasts a fully domestic staff. Rolando Arnedo was one of the first Argentinian players to play in the American minor leagues and is the current skipper for one of the Diamondbacks Arizona Complex League teams. He will guide the Gauchos as manager. He previously led Argentina from 2018 to 2019, including their run at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru. His pitching coach, Marcelo Alfonsin, is the current manager of one of the Houston Astros Dominican Summer League teams. The rest of the staff comes from within the Argentine Program, including Bench/Hitting Coach Gabriel Sanso, Outfield/Third-Base Coach Eduardo Capdevilla, Infield/First-Base Coach Nicolas Solari and Quality Control/Analytics Coach Federico Bisbal. Sanso and Capdevilla have coached the National Team during previous international competitions, including multiple South American Championships and the 2019 Pan American Games.

Turning to the roster itself, it’s a bit more difficult to speculate. Beccacece's article names three high-level professional players that are confirmed eligible to play with Argentina in 2023. Unfortunately, none of the three are expected to be available in Panama City.

Left-handed pitcher Daniel Castano has appeared in 22 games since 2020 for the Miami Marlins, starting 17 of them. Picked up from St. Louis after the 2017 season as part of a return package for outfielder Marcel Ozuna, Castano holds a 2-7 record in 85.2 Major League innings, to go along with 45 strikeouts and a 3.89 career ERA. His minor league record shows a bit more promise, with 17 wins over three seasons with Jacksonville at the AA and AAA levels. The Orlando native’s eligibility stems from the fact that his grandparents are natives of Argentina. Castano is currently on the Marlins Injured List after taking a line-drive to the head in late July. A recent setback in his rehab means Castano is not likely to pitch anywhere in 2022, let alone make an appearance in Panama City.

Yennier Cano is a completely different story. The 28-year old right-hander is not descended from an Argentine family, nor was he born there. Instead, Cano, a former standout closer for Ciego de Avila of the Cuban National Series, acquired Argentine residency after defecting from Cuba in 2016, as he looked to sign with a Major League team. He did just that in 2019, signing with the Minnesota Twins for a $750,000 bonus. The righty would finally debut for the Twins in 2022, appearing in 10 games with a 9.22 ERA before getting traded to Baltimore for Jorge Lopez. Like Castano, Cano’s minor league track record points toward more success, with a 3.33 ERA over 79 appearances and 119 innings. As we write this, Cano has been called up to Baltimore. If he is not on the active roster at the end of the season, there has been some rumors that he could fly down to Panama City after the Gauchos first game.

The last notable option for the Gauchos is a star hitter in the eastern hemisphere. Taiwanese slugger An-Ko Lin plays right field for the Uni-Lions of Taiwan's CPBL. The 25-year-old lefty’s mother is from Argentina. Lin won rookie of the year in 2020, leading his league in home runs and RBIs. He followed up that impressive performance in 2021 with a .302 average, 16 homers and 17 steals. Unfortunately Lin has missed much of 2022 with a broken wrist. According to CPBLStats on Twitter, the Uni-Lions are taking things slowly with Lin, ramping up his playing time incrementally since the beginning of August. That caution, along with the fact that the CPBL season runs through the middle of October, all but eliminates Lin from the qualifying roster. 

While Major League talent is probably off the table in 2022, the Gauchos have other high level options for the qualifying round. One of those is 28-year-old second baseman Exequiel Talevi. Talevi, nicknamed Pichu, brings a strong track record from his time in Italy’s top baseball league, Serie A. Debuting in 2021, Talevi hit a whopping .500 with 37 hits, 21 RBI and 10 stolen bases in just 74 at-bats for Tecnovap Verona. He’d move on to Parma in 2022, posting a .292/.403/.425 triple slash during the Italian season. He was even better during the European Baseball Champions Cup, recording 9 hits and a .409 average over five games against the best teams from Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. In July, Talevi hit .563 in the South American Baseball Championships.

Talevi’s double play partner in Panama City looks to be Agustin Tissera. The 29-year-old shortstop is coming off a strong season in France's top league, Division 1, posting a .301 average in 18 games for the third-place Montigny-Bret. Cougars. Tissera has prior success in Italy and Argentina, including time with Padule and Macareta in Serie A in 2017 and 2018. He also won an MVP Award in Argentina’s Domestic League. Tissera also posted strong numbers in international competition, placing 5th in batting average during the 2019 Pan American Games. That track record and a serviceable glove should contribute to a solid middle infield for the qualifiers.

Sebastian Garcia is another name to remember going into Panama City. The 35-year-old center fielder has spent much of the last decade with the national team, putting up strong performances in several South American Baseball Championships and the 2019 Pan American Games. In those 2019 games, Garcia led the tournament with a .533 average 

Other players with international backgrounds that could see playing time this fall include standout center fielder Sebastian Garcia, starting pitcher Federico Tanco, starting pitcher Federico Robles, his younger brother (left fielder) Matias Robles, and longtime catcher Lucas Nakandakare. There’s also some talk of players from Venezuela and other foreign countries joining the team, though nothing official has been released.

While much of the roster is still a closely guarded secret, we can look at a best case scenario for how the Argentinian team could fare in Panama City. The Gauchos will face teams from Asia, Oceania and the Americas in Pool B. We’ll start with the hosts. 

Number 13 Panama looks to return to the main World Baseball Classic tournament for the first time since 2009, when they placed 15th out of 16 teams. The Panamanians hoped to field a strong roster in 2020, with players like Christian Bethancourt, Edmundo Sosa and Paolo Espino committing to the pre-COVID tournament. Those three won’t be eligible this time around because they’re currently on Major League rosters, but Panama’s baseball federation released a pre-selection roster that would more than make up for their absence. Manager Luis Ortiz could lead a team sporting Major League talent like Cardinals catcher Ivan Herrera, veteran infielder Johan Camargo and Rays reliever Javy Guerra. Other eligible players could include former Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada, former Diamondbacks starting pitcher Randall Delgado and former Padres rule-5 pick Allen Cordoba. Add in prospects like Leonardo Jimenez and Steven Fuentes and the Panamanians are an early favorite.

Next up is number 15 Nicaragua. While the nation has fielded Olympic baseball teams, Nicaragua has never made it to the main WBC tournament. They came closest in 2016, placing 2nd in the Mexicali qualifier behind Mexico. Outside of the Classic, Nicaragua has appeared in five Pan American Games (placing second back in 1995) and two Olympic Games (placing fourth in Atlanta 1996), in addition to several quality performances in the now defunct Baseball World Cup. On a more regional level, Nicaragua has won seven of ten gold medals at the Central American Games. Looking back to 2016, Nicaragua’s roster featured several minor leaguers including future Yankees relief ace Jonathan Loaisiga and Reds infielder Alex Blandino. While Loaisiga is definitely out in 2022, Blandino could return along with several Minor League options on the mound and at the plate. One of those options is reliever Kevin Gadea. Gadea had some success in the upper minors, posting a 2.61 ERA in 2021, but his performance cratered in 2022. The righty gave up 29 runs (20 earned) in just 15.1 innings for double-A Binghamton, leading the Mets to cut bait in mid-June. At the plate, former Royals infielder Cheslor Cuthbert represents a strong Major League bat that could pair with Blandino for a decent middle of the lineup. His best season came back in 2016, when he was the Royals starting third baseman, putting up a .274 average with 12 homers and 46 RBI in 128 games. Many of the remaining players on Nicaragua's pre-selection list have prior experience for their national team.

The third and final American team in Pool B is number 25 Brazil. South America’s largest nation has had its share of success and failure at the international level. A big high for the team came in 2012, when Brazil upset Panama and became a surprise qualifier for the 2013 WBC. Unfortunately, they were unable to do much with that berth, losing all three of their games in the main tournament. Pair that with a disappointing finish in the 2016 qualifiers and a surprise loss at the 2018 South American Baseball Championship that eliminated them from the next year's Pan American Games and Brazil's prospects are less than sound. They’ll also be hampered by a lack of Major League talent. Catcher Yan Gomes, reliever Dylan Lee and infielder Bo Bichette will be unavailable as members of MLB rosters. Other players like starter Bo Takahashi, closer Thyago Vieira and third baseman Leonardo Reginatto are on high level rosters elsewhere in the world and likely would only be able to participate in the main tournament. Instead, they’ll need to rely on the likes of starting pitchers Andre Rienzo and Eric Pardinho, and former major league hitters Tim Lopes, Paulo Orlando and Christian Lopes. It remains to be seen whether a roster like this can compete with Panama and Nicaragua, but they certainly could ride the momentum of their 2022 South American Baseball Championship victory to another surprise berth.

The final two barriers for Argentina to overcome will come from outside the Americas. The first is number 31 Pakistan. The Pakistanis are taking their second crack at qualification after replacing Thailand in 2016, and the program has won several Asian Baseball Cups over the past two decades against teams like Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Iran and Afghanistan. That success is certainly a plus, but it came in a much lower level tournament against significantly lower level programs. Pakistan’s roster is almost entirely home grown, with former NFL quarterback Gibran Hamdan representing the first major heritage player on the program's roster. The 41-year-old hasn’t played baseball since his time at Indiana in the early 2000’s.

Last but not least is number 46 New Zealand. The Kiwis represent the lone program from WBSC Oceania in the qualifying tournament, as they make their third attempt at qualifying. Guam and American Samoa both have higher rankings, but the Diamondblacks have a professional baseball team in the Auckland Tuatara as well as several players with Minor League and international experience. Phillies prospect and starting pitcher Kyle Glogoski has a sub-3 ERA in four minor league seasons and has appeared at the AAA level, representing a solid frontend of the Kiwi rotation. He’ll be joined by Jimmy Boyce. The 25-year-old righty has dominated the competition in the Czech Extraliga, with 7 wins and 92 strikeouts in 13 regular season starts for Sokol Hluboka. On the offensive end, the Diamondblacks will lean heavily on Daniel Lamb-Hunt. The third baseman has spent several seasons playing for Bonn in Germany’s Bundesliga, where he won the Northern Division MVP in 2021. New Zealand came closest to qualifying back in 2012, when they placed second in their pool to Chinese Taipei. 

So, how would Argentina fare against these teams? Matched against Pakistan or New Zealand, the Gauchos would have a solid chance at picking up the win. Pakistan doesn’t have much pitching and their hitters don’t have much experience against professional talent. The vast majority of their international experience came against lower ranked teams while Argentina has experience against the best of WBSC Americas. The Gauchos were shut out and mercy-ruled in two of their four games in the 2019 Pan American Games. They only won against a Peruvian team that qualified as hosts. On the plus side, Argentina got to face top tier pitchers like former Phillies starter Phillippe Aumont, former Braves reliever Sugar Ray Marimon and star Cuban pitchers Freddy Alvarez and Pedro Alvarez. Even if they were big losses, Garcia, Nakandakare, Talevi and Tissera got valuable reps against the kind of talent they could face in Panama City. In this situation, that experience is invaluable. More recently, Argentina put up a decent fight in the South American Baseball Championship, going 5-1 while splitting two games against a Brazil squad that could overlap significantly with their qualifying roster. Only an Andre Rienzo shutout kept the Gauchos from sweeping to a second straight Sudamericano title. 

While Pakistan, New Zealand and potentially even Brazil are realistically winnable games for Argentina, Panama and Nicaragua will to be the biggest hurdles keeping them from the main WBC. Of course, Panama is coming off two disappointing showings in WBC Qualifying tournaments, including the shock upset by Brazil in 2012. And while they have more past high level international experience than Argentina, much of Nicaragua’s success came decades ago, and they may not have their best players available in Panama City. If Argentina could pull together a serviceable rotation and a couple of solid relievers to go with their hitting core, they might have a shot at sneaking into one of the two berths up for grabs in Pool B.

Regardless of the final result, the fact that Argentina is getting a shot at qualifying for the World Baseball Classic is huge for a country with a deep history of competition. Baseball is trending up in the country, as soccer and softball dominate on the international and domestic stages. The talent to compete is surely there, but talent alone doesn’t win championships (or berths). Luck is a big component and we won’t know how lucky the Gauchos are until they hit the field in Panama City.