The official rosters for the upcoming World Baseball Classic were unveiled Wednesday night and the St. Louis Cardinals will have a total of 11 players from their organization involved with the event.
“I think baseball is sort of at a crossroads,” answered John Mozeliak about any concern with so many key players participating. “They have to think about growing the game globally and how they’d like that to look. All of us have considered that selfish question of you want everybody in camp and you want your camp to be, quote, normal.
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“But I think the players we have going out and engaging in this, it’s all good for him. Someone like a Yadier Molina, he doesn’t have to because he’s checked a lot of boxes along his career. For other people, playing in that world environment will be good for them.”
Molina will again handle the catching duties for Puerto Rico. Another WBC veteran, Seung Hwan Oh will come out of the bullpen for South Korea.
Both Matt Carpenter and Brett Cecil are on the Team USA roster, while Carlos Martinez, Alex Reyes, and Alberto Rosario are looking to help the Dominican Republic defend their title from the 2013 WBC.
Both Martinez and Reyes are in the “designated pitcher pool” for their country–which is a new rule change for the tournament. Each team can use up to 10 designated pitchers, but only two can be on the active roster at a time. Those pitchers can be replaced at the beginning of each of the next two rounds, but only by another pitcher from the “pool”. Also, if a designated pitcher is replaced, he cannot return to the active roster for the next round.
“(Reyes) is one guy that I would put more in the concerned bucket because he’s someone that should be developing,” conceded Mozeliak. “You may look back to a name some of you remember – Mitchell Boggs. When he was in the WBC, he was rarely used, and I think that had an adverse effect for him once the season started. If you are part of the WBC, how you are used and making sure you are being played and getting that opportunity is important. But we can’t micromanage that. That’s what you have to hope for.”
For the first time, Israel is in the main draw for the WBC and will have a pair of Cardinals pitching prospects in Corey Baker and Ryan Sherriff wearing their jersey.
Right-hander Trey Nielsen is on the Italian roster, while Rowan Wick has signed on with his native Canada.
The WBC will run March 6th through March 22nd.
photo credit: Bill Greenblatt/UPI, David Kohl, Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
