Who is Ivan Prieto? All you need to know about Cuba's catcher who defected during WBC

As the World Baseball Classic approaches its conclusion, one of the major headlines of the weekend has been Ivan Prieto. The bullpen catcher for Cuba did not board the team plane from Miami to Havana following their loss to the United States on Sunday.

According to the Miami Herald's Jorge Ebro, the Cubans were set to fly out on Monday morning, yet when the plane was set to depart, Prieto was not there. The Cuban baseball player defected from his home country, something that is not uncommon among Cubans looking to flee their homeland.

"Per @YordiMLB, Ivan Prieto (Cuba’s bullpen catcher) left the Cuban National Team last night prior to the team returning home from Miami this morning. He is now the first-ever player to leave Team Cuba during a World Baseball Classic." - Shawn Spradling

The 26-year-old catcher has played seven seasons for Sabuesos de Holguín and Alazanes de Granma in the Cuban National Series. Throughout his career so far, Ivan Prieto has batted .291 with 13 home runs and 102 RBIs in 257 games.

Prieto was not a player on the roster for Team Cuba, however, he was the bullpen catcher who helped pitchers warm up before entering the game.

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Other notable Cuban defectors aside from Ivan Prieto

Ivan Prieto is not the first baseball player to defect from Cuba and he certainly won't be the last. In October 2021, 11 players defected during the U23 Baseball World Cup in Mexico.

Several superstar talents have made their way out of Cuba, some through more dramatic and dangerous routes than others. Yasiel Puig is one of the defectors that had to go to extreme measures to get out of Cuba to pursue a career in the MLB.

Beginning in 2009, Puig attempted to defect to Mexico from Cuba 13 different times. He was essentially being kidnapped by a drug cartel known as Los Zetas, who threatened him with machetes unless they received payment.

A man named Raul Pacheco allegedly paid smugglers $250,000 to get Puig out of Cuba. In exchange, Pacheco was to receive 20% of Puig's career earnings. A month later, the captain of the smuggling ship was found dead in Cancun.

Other MLB stars that defected from Cuba include Jose Abreu, Yordan Alvarez, Randy Arozarena, and Aroldis Chapman.