While we all wonder if Justin Verlander will change his mind and join the WBC (he’s leaning to no, at least for the initial round), here’s the latest news:
- Xander Bogaerts, one of the top prospects of the Boston Red Sox, will be representing the Kingdom of the Netherlands (he’s from Aruba).
- The Korean press is apparently a bit worried about the Taiwanese team, which, unlike Korea, will have some of it’s MLB-experienced talent with it. Of course, Taiwan also will have some domestic players: new names revealed in the article include Lamigo Tigers star SS Chih-Sen Lin and young pitching phenom Jen-Ho Tseng, who, although only 18, has already pitched well for Chinese Taipei in international competitions.
- Edited in at 12:48- Drew Butera, of Italian descent, will play for Italy in the WBC.
As usual, you can find it the whole list after the jump, and more news will be posted as it is revealed, in addition, you might be interested in Joe Connor’s World in a Ballpark:
Australia
Officially on the roster:
Probably on the roster:
Allan De San Miguel
Grant Balfour (although there are some conflicting reports)
Definitely not on the roster:
Liam Hendriks (injured during the offseason)
Brazil
Officially on the roster:
Probably on the roster:
The rest of the qualifier roster, as to the best of my knowledge there are no major players who had been missing from it or who would have dropped out since then.
Canada
Officially on the roster:
Probably on the roster:
Joey Votto (Needs to pass a physical for insurance reason for it to be official.)
James Avery (Was mentioned by other sources but wasn’t on the original provisional roster.)
Could maybe end up on the roster:
Ryan Dempster (Will depend on how his body is feeling later.)
Definitely not on the roster:
Scott Diamond (Injury)
Chinese Taipei
Officially on the roster:
Probably on the roster:
Yi-Hao Lin
Jen-Ho Tseng
Chih-Sen Lin
Definitely not on the roster:
China
Definitely on the roster:
Wei Wang
Probably on the roster:
Bruce Chen (is of Chinese descent)
Cuba
Definitely on the roster:
Yuliesky (Yulieski?) Gourriel
Freddy Asiel Alvarez
Probably on the roster:
About 26 of the players (Gourriel and Alvarez presumably being shoo-ins) from their preliminary roster released last year before an Asian tour.
Definitely not on the roster:
Any defectors or Cuban-Americans. While technically they could still play for Cuba, the odds of them being chosen- the odds are infinitesimally low given the political situations involved.
Dominican Republic
Definitely on the roster:
Probably on the roster:
Albert Pujols (barring problems with his knee)
Maybe on the roster:
Conflicting reports:
Melky Cabrera (Some say he is, some say he isn’t.)
Probably not on the roster:
Jose Bautista (Toronto is likely to block him due to his injuries last season)
Definitely not on the roster:
David Ortiz (injured)
Italy:
Definitely on the roster:
Probably on the roster:
Drew Butera
Maybe on the roster:
Definitely not on the roster:
Nick Swisher (of Italian descent)
Japan
Officially on the roster:
The provisional roster from which Japan’s roster will be chosen from can be found (with my analysis) here.
Definitely not on the roster:
Any of the MLB players from Japan.
Korea
Officially on the Roster:
The 28-man provisional roster, which will only change if there is some sort of injury or other drop-out, can be found here.
Mexico
Definitely on the roster:
Probably on the roster:
Possibly on the roster:
And everyone on this list that isn’t listed on any of the other Mexican lists
Definitely not on the roster:
Michael Young (Mexican descent)
Joakim Soria (coming off injury, with a new team)
Netherlands
Definitely on the roster:
Probably on the roster:
Xander Bogaerts
Maybe on the roster:
Definitely not on the roster:
Rick van den Hurk (wants to be with his new team in Korea)
Puerto Rico
Definitely on the roster:
Probably on the roster:
Probably not on the roster:
Spain:
Definitely on the roster:
Francisco Figueroa
Probably on the roster:
Gabriel Suarez
Maybe on the roster:
Definitely not on the roster:
Yonder Alonso (had been approached by Spain)
Alex Avila (had been approached by Spain)
USA:
Officially on the roster:
Probably on the roster:
Luke Gregorson
Maybe on the roster:
Justin Verlander (Has apparently received an invitation but hasn’t decided yet. It is possible he might not be available until a later round.)
Joe Nathan (has definitely received an invitation, but hasn’t said yes or no yet)
Freddie Freeman (could also conceivably play for Canada)
Conflicting reports:
Troy Tulowitzki (Some say he is, but others say the Rockies are holding him out of it)
Definitely not on the roster:
Derek Jeter (injured/coming off injury)
Evan Longoria (injured/coming off injury)
Matt Kemp (injured/coming off injury)
Chase Headley (reportedly not asked)
Adam Wainwright (wasn’t invited)
Dustin Pedroia (Recovering from surgery.)
Venezuela:
Officially on the roster:
Probably on the roster:
Carlos Gonazlez
Maybe on the roster:
Definitely not on the roster:
Victor Martinez (coming off injury)
The Baseball Continuum 
Joe Nathan is out.
Yep. I’ll be putting that in my late update in a few minutes.
Got it. What a terrific resource. Best on the web.
WTF let’s go Verlander join the team.