{"id":107440,"date":"2026-02-09T04:59:54","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T08:59:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/sin-categoria\/nelson-cruz-clarifies-doubts-about-the-dominican-team-for-the-2026-world-baseball-classic\/"},"modified":"2026-02-09T04:59:54","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T08:59:54","slug":"nelson-cruz-clarifies-doubts-about-the-dominican-team-for-the-2026-world-baseball-classic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/nationals\/nelson-cruz-clarifies-doubts-about-the-dominican-team-for-the-2026-world-baseball-classic\/","title":{"rendered":"Nelson Cruz clarifies doubts about the Dominican team for the 2026 World Baseball Classic"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Nelson Cruz Addresses the Keys to the Dominican Roster for the 2026 World Baseball Classic<\/h2>\n\nSanto Domingo \u2013 The general manager of the Dominican team, Nelson Cruz, has answered the most relevant questions from fans and the media following the official presentation of the Dominican Republic roster for the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Cruz offered details on the selection process, possible substitutions, insurance, and the team&#8217;s leadership.\n\nThe official announcement came after a series of expectations and analyses by Dominican baseball fans. The management, led by Cruz, has been working hard to put together a competitive team that will proudly represent the nation in this prestigious tournament.\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Selection Process and Protocols<\/h2>\n\n\nCruz explained that the inclusion of each player in the roster follows a rigorous protocol. This process begins with the confirmation of the player&#8217;s interest in participating. Subsequently, the Players Association is notified, which validates the participation before the management contacts the athlete directly.\n\n<h2>Strategies for Substitutions and Contingencies<\/h2>\n\nRegarding potential substitutions, the general manager indicated that the team has priority lists prepared by the scouting department. This allows for a quick and effective reaction in case of injuries, insurance issues, or other eventualities that may arise.\n\n<h2>The Team Behind the Roster<\/h2>\n\nCruz highlighted the importance of the large working group that supports the formation of the roster. This team includes the scouting staff, advisors, and historical figures of Dominican baseball. Names like Juan Marichal, Pedro Mart\u00ednez, David Ortiz, Adri\u00e1n Beltr\u00e9, and Vladimir Guerrero, among others, are involved in this process.\n\n<h2>Insurance and Veteran Participation<\/h2>\n\nOne of the most sensitive topics addressed was insurance. Cruz described this aspect as one of the main obstacles to the participation of veteran players. The current restrictions have limited the availability of several players, especially those over 37 years old.\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Team Leadership<\/h2>\n\n\nRegarding the team&#8217;s leadership, Cruz confirmed that Manny Machado is the main candidate for captain. However, the final decision is still under evaluation, ensuring that all relevant factors will be taken into consideration.\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Message to the Fans<\/h2>\n\n\nFinally, Cruz sent a direct message to the Dominican fanbase. He thanked them for their unconditional support and assured them that every decision has been made with professionalism and love for the national flag.\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n\n<p>&#8220;We have worked to make the Dominican people proud of what we have on the field. We hope that all that talent turns into victories,&#8221; said the general manager.<\/p>\n\n<cite>Nelson Cruz<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nelson Cruz Addresses the Keys to the Dominican Roster for the 2026 World Baseball Classic Santo Domingo \u2013 The general manager of the Dominican team, Nelson Cruz, has answered the most relevant questions from fans and the media following the official presentation of the Dominican Republic roster for the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Cruz offered [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":107442,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[997],"tags":[11751,3516,1395,5529],"class_list":{"0":"post-107440","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nationals","8":"tag-insurance","9":"tag-manny-machado","10":"tag-nelson-cruz","11":"tag-world-classic"},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107440"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107440\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/107442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}