Juan Carlos Moreno

Juan Carlos Moreno Perez

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 174 lb.

• Born September 28, 1975 in Nuevo Gerona Cuba

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Biographical Information

Juan Carlos Moreno played for the Cuban national team several times before defecting in his mid-30s.

He debuted for the national team in 1998, appearing in both the 1998 Central American and Caribbean Games (0 for 3 for the Gold Medalists) and 1998 Baseball World Cup (2 for 7 as a defensive sub for Danel Castro at SS but one error in 10 chances). He did not play in the Gold Medal game in the '98 World Cup, which Cuba won.

Moreno played in the 1999 Baltimore Orioles Cuban National Team Exhibition Series. In the 1999 Intercontinental Cup, he was 1 for 2 for the Silver Medalists, playing just 3 innings as a SS/3B behind Castro (at short) and Gabriel Pierre (at third).

His best season in the Cuban Serie Nacional was 2002-2003, when the veteran infielder produced at a .321/.372/.506 rate with 13 homers and 64 RBI in 82 games for Isla de la Juventud.

He hit a strong .429/.556/.571 with 7 runs in six games in the 2005 Baseball World Cup but was outhit by Cuba's other shortstop, Eduardo Paret, who was named Baseball World Cup MVP. When Paret went down with injury, Moreno took over at short. In the Gold Medal game, he hit 8th in the order and was 1 for 3 with a double and a run as Cuba beat South Korea 3-0.

He did not bat in the 2006 World Baseball Classic but scored a run in his lone game. He left Cuba after 2007-2008, having hit .281/.348/.401 in his final eight seasons in his homeland.