2024 Caribbean Series Preview: Puerto Rico

[Kevin Barral]

We're taking team-by-team looks at each Serie del Caribe participant, how they stack up against the rest of the competition and what connections they have to the Marlins.

Don't sleep on "Team Rubio." Puerto Rico will be represented at the Caribbean Series by winter league team Criollos de Caguas, managed by former St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina. This is Molina's second stint as a manager, with his first coming in the World Baseball Classic.

This team obviously doesn't have as much Major League star power as the WBC team, but there is still plenty of depth and experience.

 

Puerto Rico's Roster

 

 

Former Marlins

The only Marlins connection on the staff is pitcher Alex Sanabia who was in the organization from 2009-2014 and on the Major League team for three seasons. In his Marlins tenure, Sanabia posted a 4.15 ERA, 4.61 FIP, 5.6 K/9 and a 2.9 BB/9 in 138 ⅔ innings pitched. Following his Major League career, Sanabia bounced around the minor leagues and eventually just stuck playing winter ball. Sanabia has thrown in the Caribbean Series before. In two games, he had a 3.60 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and threw in 10 innings.

 

Notable Players

Pitchers

Alex Claudio may be the Puerto Rican player with the overall best Major League career, pitching in now 10 years with four different teams. Thus far, Claudio has posted a 3.59 ERA, 3.83 FIP, 6.4 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 348 innings pitched. This isn't his first rodeo in the Caribbean Series, as he has three gams of action under his belt with a 3.38 ERA, 0.75 FIP, one strikeout and zero walks in 2 ⅔ innings.

Since the 2019 MLB season, Claudio hasn't seen much action on the field, only throwing a total of 55 ⅓ innings between four years, including the shortened 2020 season. Despite his lack of action at the. big league level, Claudio has dominated at the winter ball league, as he had a 1.64 ERA in 11.0 innings pitched and 12 games. He should be coming out of the pen in high leverage situation for Puerto Rico.

Cuban Bryan Garcia just recently threw in front of scouts to see if he can land back on his feet. Prior to Garcia looking for a new team, he pitched in for four season with the Detroit Tigers where he had a 5.52 ERA, 5.60 FIP, 7.0 K/9 and a 5.1 BB/9 in 88 innings pitched. In his recent showcase, in which the Marlins were present along to watch Yoan Lopez and Vladimir Gutierrez, Garcia was hitting 96 mph on the fastball.

Despite his overall struggles at the Major League level, Garcia has been unhittable in the Winter Leagues this season. Currently with a 0.00 ERA, 0.56 WHIP, 10 strikeouts and one walk in nine innings of action (eight appearances). Garcia will certainly be someone that Molina will rely on along with Claudio to have one of the better one-two punches out of the bullpen in the tournament.

On the pitching side, the only other player with big league experience is Daryl Thompson who pitched for the Cincinnati Reds in 2008 and 2011. He posted a 8.31 ERA in 17 ⅓ innings pitched between both years. Thompson has gone to spend most of his time in winter ball where this year, he has put up a 2.09 in 47 ⅓ innings pitched. He will provide Puerto Rico with a good amount of innings as an opener. 

 

Position Players

On the position player side, there is more overall experience at the Major League level, but also just in winter ball. This offense is highlighted by outfielder Nelson Velazquez, who Marlins fans may remember given he hit a home run off of Jesús Luzardo this past season. Thus far in the Puerto Rican winter league, Velazquez is slashing .280/.337/.451/.788 with three home runs and 12 RBIs. The .788 OPS mark is the highest on the team.

 

 

 

 

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Along with Velazquez, Bryan Torres, who hasn't played at any level of MLB baseball is slashing .299/.415/.350/.765 with 13 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. He is certainly making the case to sign a minor league deal with a team, especially if he has a strong showing in the tournament.

Dwight Smith Jr. spent four years in the Major Leagues, two with the Toronto Blue Jays and two in Baltimore Orioles, but was never able to fins consistent success. In his second year playing winter ball, Smith Jr. is slashing .269/.342/.407/.749 with two home runs, 10 RBIs and four stolen bases. He should be the teams left fielder on Thursday.

National League champion Emmanuel Rivera finds himself playing for team Puerto Rico in this Caribbean Series. During the 2023 MLB season, Rivera slashed .261/.314/.358/672 with four home runs and 29 RBIs. Rivera was mainly a platoon option at third base and just an overall filler, but it ended up playing a big role in the Diamondbacks run. In the 2023-24 season in Puerto Rico, Rivera is slashing .259/.352/.353/.705 with two home runs and 13 RBIs. Rivera should be the teams third baseman.

Vimael Machin has certainly been able to get it going offensively this winter ball. Machin has played for three years in the Major Leagues, but did not see any action in 2023, only at the Oakland Athletics AAA level. In the Puerto Rican winter ball league, Machin slashed .288/.369/.365/.734 with two home runs and 21 RBIs. Certainly a positive development for Machin as he gets closer to Spring Training.

The final notable player is San Francisco Giants outfielder Heliot Ramos. Once among the best-regarded prospects in the Giants system, Ramos has struggled at the MLB level thus far slashing .158/.220/.250/.470 in a total of 34 games played. It is still too early to tell if Ramos will turn into the player that they thought they were getting when bringing him into the organization. He slashed .224/.337/.368/.705 with six RBIs in 22 winter ball games. He should be their starting center fielder in Miami.

This is a Puerto Rico team that will be hit or miss. The pitching is certainly there with a lot of depth, but this is an offense that has weaknesses. It'll be interesting to see how far the Puerto Rican pitching can take them in this tournament.

 

Serie del Caribe Schedule

• February 1 vs. Nicaragua, 10:30 a.m.
• February 2 at México, 8:30 p.m.
• February 3 vs. Dominican Republic, 8:30 p.m.
• February 4 at Venezuela, 3:30 p.m.
• February 5 at Panamá, 8:30 p.m.
• February 7 vs. Curacao, 10:30 a.m.

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