WooSox Players Gain Once-in-a-Lifetime Experience in Inaugural Dominican Republic Series

On Saturday, March 9 and Sunday, March 10, the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays squared off in the inaugural Dominican Republic Series. The two-game set, which was played at Estadio Quisqueya in Santo Domingo, is part of MLB’s extensive slate of international games in 2024 that includes Seoul, Mexico City, and London. For a country that has produced some of the all-time greats––including David Ortiz and Pedro Martinez––the series was a long time coming.

The Dominican Republic has long been a hotspot for MLB talent with all 30 teams operating, training, and developing academies within the country. The Boston Red Sox Dominican Academy, which underwent significant renovations in 2018 and 2019 to modernize the facility, is located about 25 miles outside of Santo Domingo. Since its opening, the Red Sox have fielded teams in the Dominican Summer League and sponsored the development of countless young athletes––with Rafael Devers, Brayan Bello, and Ceddanne Rafaela as some of the most recent training graduates to make their major league debuts.

Today, the Dominican Republic is well represented throughout baseball with over 100 players being awarded 2024 Opening Day roster spots. The Red Sox and Rays will contribute to that number, with Devers, Bello, and four others representing the country on the Sox’ 26-man roster.

Among the Red Sox traveling party were several other Dominican-born players that are making their way up the minor league system. One of them was reliever Luis Guerrero, who appeared in six games for Worcester last year and is slated to be a fixture in the bullpen this season.

“It was a unique experience,” the reliever began. “There are many legends that played in this organization and did not have the opportunity of playing in the Dominican Republic. I wanted to enjoy it because of them, represent our country, and do a good job.”

Guerrero, who was drafted in the 17th round of the 2021 MLB Draft, did just that. In game one of the series, the 23-year-old tossed a scoreless ninth inning to secure a 4-0 victory for the Red Sox. With a fastball that sits 96-100 mph and a late-breaking splitter, the righty has a chance to be a power arm in the back end of the Sox bullpen.

Pitching in the late innings of a baseball game is a difficult task for someone not used to handling pressure. Guerrero, though, has learned to feed off the energy a crowd brings. Born in Bani, a town southwest of Santo Domingo, the relief prospect has developed an innate ability to use the crowd as motivation to pitch his best. But during the Dominican Republic Series, Guerrero had a little extra motivation sitting in attendance.

“I was able to play in front of my family for the first time,” Guerrero said. “They had never seen me play ever since I got signed, so it was a great experience to share with the major league players…It was an experience I will never forget.”

The opportunity to play in your home country with family in attendance gave Guerrero and other Dominican players memories that they will carry with them for the rest of their careers. However, the experience impacted everyone who traveled for the series, particularly Brennan Bernardino.

“The fans don’t miss a pitch,” he said. “When they go to the ballpark, they go to watch the game. The hot dog and everything else comes second. It’s all about baseball––when they pick a team they want to win that day, they fight like they’re in the dugout. I wish we had a little more of that in America.”

Bernardino, who was acquired via waiver claim last April, appeared in 55 games for the Red Sox during the 2023 season. The left-handed reliever ended up being an important part of the pitching staff, finishing the year with a 3.20 ERA and 58 strikeouts.

This spring, Bernardino picked up right where he left off, pitching 6.2 shutout innings as he prepared for the 2024 season. One of those innings came in game one of the Dominican weekend, where he picked up a strikeout in a scoreless eighth inning. Despite his excellent spring, the lefty was one of the final roster cuts and will begin the season in Worcester.

Bernardino and Guerrero figure to be two of WooSox manager Chad Tracy’s most trusted bullpen arms this year. With the WooSox returning to Worcester for their home opener on Tuesday, April 2, both pitchers will help lead the WooSox into a highly anticipated season.

Michael Smithers also contributed to this story.