Rosters for Season One of the Baseball United league will be revealed over the coming days, with Abu Dhabi’s Mid East Falcons the first to announce its players for the autumn campaign. Among the team’s 25-person roster are a pair of Europeans: Federico Celli and Konsta Kurikka, along with Shutaro Usui, who has played the past four seasons in Europe. Both Celli and Kurikka were originally drafted by the Falcons in 2023 [link], while Usui is a new addition to the list.
Both Celli and Kurikka have made headlines in recent years, with the former becoming one of Italy’s top players domestically and on the national team on the back of three respectable seasons in the Dodgers’ system. Meanwhile, Kurikka has played all over the world, becoming the first Finnish-born player in the Australian Baseball League last winter before inking a contract with the Frontier League’s New Jersey Jackals this spring, becoming the first Finnish player in more than a century to play professionally in the United States [link]. Usui played for Dornbirn Indians in the Austrian Bundesliga in 2022 and 2023 [link] and Untouchables Paderborn [link] the past two seasons.
The Abu Dhabi club also drafted Leo Bäckström (Sweden), Alex Liddi (Italy), and Alberto Mineo (Italy) in 2023, but it would appear that these three Europeans are no longer with the organization. Celli and Kurikka will have two former major leaguers as teammates on the Falcons, with Alejandro de Aza and Severino Gonzalez also listed on the roster. The full roster is available at Extra Innings UK [link].
The other three Baseball United clubs are scheduled to release their rosters on Sept. 9 (Arabia Wolves), Sept. 12 (Mumbai Cobras), and Sept. 17 (Karachi Monarchs). Fourteen players with European connections, including eight that learned the game in Europe, were originally drafted by Baseball United clubs, though it remains to be seen how many will be rostered two years later.
The league begins play on Nov. 14, with the season lasting for exactly one month. Each team plays each other three times between then and Dec. 7, with the top two teams facing off in a best-of-three “United Series” from Dec. 12–14. Barry Larkin Field at the Baseball United Ballpark, located at The Sevens, Dubai, will host the league.