HOUSTON – Team Italy manager Francisco Cervelli scoffed at the mere mention placing him alongside former St. Louis Cardinals greats Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols. Yet, in the context of managerial prospects in the World Baseball Classic, he belongs with those legends.
Cervelli, Mexico’s Benji Gil, Venezuela’s Omar Lopez, Molina and Pujols have shown that there is a deep bench of Latinos ready to manage in Major League Baseball. Italy finished 4-0 in Pool B, beating Team USA and Team Mexico by a combined 17-7.
Molina and Team Puerto Rico await Cervelli and Italy in the quarterfinals. They’ll meet Saturday afternoon at Daikin Park for a spot in the WBC semifinals.
Cervelli has impressed
“Italy has a lot of talent on their squad,” Puerto Rico general manager Carlos Beltran said. “We know most of them play in the major leagues. Also, Cervelli, their manager, he’s a great coach and even better human being.”
Cervelli, a native of Venezuela with Italian roots, has guided Italy to the most surprising run in the WBC. Gil guided Mexico in the last two WBC tournaments, including its first semifinal appearance three years ago.
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Pujols, who will likely be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, already helped the Dominican Republic reach the WBC semifinals. The D.R. will face Team USA in the semifinals on Sunday at Miami’s loanDepot park.
Molina, another likely Hall of Famer, has drawn praise guiding a young Puerto Rico squad this year.
Latinos make up around 30 percent of the players in MLB. Only four of the 30 teams are led by Latino managers, though. Despite nine managerial openings this winter, Latino managerial prospects were shut out. Pujols was the only Latino managerial prospect who drew much interest in a winter in which the San Francisco Giants hired a manager with no MLB playing or coaching experience.
Dues paid
“There’s a lot of candidates that should be considered,” Gil said. “And I’ll be honest, it’s kind of sad that you don’t see a lot of these guys even get interviewed. …
“I’ll just give you my two cents because you brought it up. There were nine vacancies, and it seems like I’m doing the wrong things to try and get interviews. And I just never would have thought that managing baseball teams successfully doesn’t put you in a position to actually become a manager.”
Gil, 53, has paid his dues. The former World Series champion has already served as a coach in the majors. He has also managed in the Mexican Baseball League and the Mexican Pacific League, which is the winter ball league.
Gil guided the Charros de Jalisco to the 2025-2026 Pacific League and the Caribbean Series titles.
“I’ll just continue trying to do the best job that I can,” Gil said. “And if I get considered in the future, great. If I don’t get considered, all I can do is continue to try to do the best job that I can for the organization that I manage, for the community that I represent, and try and give whatever I can to baseball and that organization.”
Championship resumes
Pujols made his managerial debut by winning the 2024-2025 Dominican winter league and Caribbean Series titles. Molina has managed in the Venezuelan winter league and in consecutive WBCs.
Venezuelan duo
Cervelli, 40, has spent the last year trying to build Italy’s baseball program. He spent 13 years as a catcher in the majors, beginning his career playing for Hall of Fame manager Joe Torre.
“I don’t think anyone can do what he’s done in this game,” Cervelli said of Torre. “This man is a gentleman. My first time in the big-league camp, he was a manager. … I have a lot of respect for him.
“He taught me so much — how to be elegant, respectful and be a Yankee. So that’s what I’m trying to do here in Italy. Italy, it’s culture, it’s elegance, it’s art. So my guys, they dress well every day. They respect this. This is the highest level in the world. So why not create a tradition of, like, a Joe Torre tradition, that is respect this game and be a professional inside and outside the field.”
Great platform
Cervelli and Lopez, a fellow Venezuelan who serves as the Astros’ bench coach, aspire to manage in the majors. Lopez will guide Venezuela against defending WBC champion Japan in the final quarterfinal Saturday. He never played in the majors, but he worked his way up to the Astros’ coaching staff by managing in every level of the Astros’ farm system.
“It’s a great platform,” Beltran said of the WBC. “The fact that the WBC created a platform for guys like you mentioned to show their skills on how to manage a baseball game, there’s no doubt that this event will open doors and has opened doors in previous years.
“And I also feel that when you look at the big leagues and the representation that we have on the Latin side as managers in the big leagues, we have guys that have proven a lot and their inspiration to also generations, like Yadier Molina, like you mentioned, or Albert Pujols, guys that played the game at a very high level, very knowledgeable about the game of baseball. I mean, there’s no doubt that for years to come, you will see more Latin representation in those seats.”
Learning
Cervelli served as a catching instructor in 2022 with the San Diego Padres. He has yet to manage in the minors, but he has served as Italy’s manager since January 2025.
“I’ve been learning a lot in this game,” Cervelli said. “This kind of tournament, the game is fast. I’ve got the right coaches next to me. They help me. They teach me. I ask a lot of questions.
“And when you talk about Pujols and Yadier, they don’t need this. They know what to do. They are different than everybody else. Pujols, he was a great player and he’s a great mentor. Everybody respects him. And Yadier was the best. And then it’s a compliment for them.”
