The New York Yankees have permitted only three of their MLB players to play the World Baseball Classic for their respective national teams. This is in sharp contrast to as many as 12 players of their cross-town rivals the Mets are heading to the WBC.
The names of three 40-man roster Yankees on the rosters that will be officially announced Thursday at 7 p.m. on MLB Network. They are starter Nestor Cortes for Team USA, pitcher Jonathan Loaisiga on the roster of Nicaragua, and Venezuela’s Gleyber Torres.
A minor league reliever, Indigo Diaz, is also going to play WBC for Canada. The Yankees acquired him recently from Atlanta in exchange for Lucas Luetge. However, the pitcher doesn’t feature in the Yankees’ 40-man roster. Also, he was not on the list of invitees to the Yankees spring training announced on Tuesday.
The Mets’ spring training is going to lose its sheen with 12 of their players joining the WBC teams of their respective countries.
Yankees stars avoid WBC stress
The Yankees are fully focused on their 2023 MLB season and not ready to take any chance. Therefore, they refused to allow pitcher Luis Severino to play in the WBC for the Dominican Republic. the Yankees are not willing to risk Severino, who has been hurt a lot over the last few years, after uncertainty over the fitness of Frankie Montas. There were rumors about Wandy Peralta joining the Dominican Republic team. However, this didn’t materialize.
Earlier, Harrison Bader declined to play for Team Israel in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. The outfielder told that his focus was to stay healthy, as the 2023 MLB season starts just a few days after the World Baseball Classic ends in March.
Scott Effross, Harrison Bader’s teammate and a reliever with a 2.54 ERA in 2022, wanted to be in Israel’s national team. But a surgery this fall is going to prevent him from playing baseball for at least 10-12 months.
For the Yankees, Torres is the most interesting participant because of reports linking him to trade rumors. While he will be away, the team has a chance to evaluate if Oswald Peraza and Anthony Volpe are perfect for the mid-infield position.
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