Nolan Arenado ‘strongly considering’ playing for Puerto Rico in WBC

12:10 PM ET

DENVER — Nolan Arenado was born and raised in California, surrounded by a large extended Cuban family. His dad, Fernando, is originally from Guantanamo, and his mom, Millie, was born in New York to a Puerto Rican mother and a Cuban father.

The 25-year-old Colorado Rockies third baseman grew up very proud of his Cuban and Puerto Rican heritage, which he credits for being the type of player he is today.

“Growing up in a Latin family has given me my charisma out there; my swag,” Arenado said in a one-one-one interview with ESPN.com. “I try to be very confident and I get that from my family. They enjoy and take pride in what they do; I get that from them. That’s the way we are, even playing Wiffle ball!”

And it is precisely that Cuban-Puerto Rican heritage that has posed an interesting choice for Arenado ahead of the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

Nolan Arenado could pay homage to his grandmother and play for Puerto Rico in the next World Baseball Classic. Dylan Buell/Getty Images

According to WBC rules, players are allowed to represent a particular nation in the tournament if they are a permanent legal resident of the nation or territory the team represents, or if they were born or have a parent that was born there.

On a case-by-case basis, players also are allowed to play for a particular national team if a grandparent or great-grandparent was born there, as long as the official evidence of a birth certificate or its equivalent is approved my Major League Baseball.

This flexibility allows many second-generation Americans to honor the heritage of their grandparents, like it would be in the case of Arenado, who told ESPN he’s “strongly considering” playing for his maternal grandmother’s native island of Puerto Rico.

“Playing in the …

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