Arizona Diamondbacks break ground on facility in Dominican Republic

What do David Ortiz, Pedro Martinez, Robinson Cano, Juan Marichal, Albert Pujols and Bartolo Colon all have in common besides being great baseball players?

They’re all from the Dominican Republic.

Now, the Arizona Diamondbacks will have a foothold in the Caribbean nation with a new training complex set to open in 2020.

Updated renderings of the new #Dbacks baseball academy in the Dominican Republic. 👀

The complex at Las Américas is set to open in 2020 and will be the host site for MLB’s Trainer Partnership Program showcases and events on a regular basis as part of a multi-year partnership. pic.twitter.com/SqpFjxlB7C

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) December 10, 2019

Renderings of the training facility were released on the team’s Twitter account on Monday, exhibiting three full baseball fields and one agility turf field.

A building on the complex will have covered batting cages, a classroom, nutrition center, housing and offices.

D-backs president and CEO Derrick Hall believes that the new facility can be an epicenter for baseball in Latin America.

“Our new academy in the Dominican Republic will be state-of-the-art and provide the perfect location for MLB to host various showcases of the nation’s top talent,” he said in a press release.

The facility will be located on the site of Las Americas.

Danilo Medina Sanchez, the president of the Domincan Republic, was in attendence for the groundbreaking ceremony.

There are four D-backs players currently on the 40-man roster from the Dominican Republic: Ketel Marte, Domingo Leyba, Emilio Vargas and Joel Payamps.

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