In an interview with Venezuelan press, Miguel Cabrera said that he’d be delighted to play for Venezuela next spring in the World Baseball Classic.

The Puerto Rican press has picked up on how tough their group will be. With perennial powers the Dominican Republic and Veneuzela as well as the dangerous Team Israel and a final team to be determined, at least one traditional baseball power will be eliminated. Edwin Rodriguez, who managed the team in 2013 and 2017, would like to note that this isn’t anything new. The Puerto Ricans were in the same pool as the DR and Venezuela in 2013, for example. For what it’s worth, Rodriguez (now a AAA manager) thinks that the Dominican Republic should be considered the overall favorites for the 2023 tournament.

Finally, the CEO of the Arizona Diamondbacks told a Phoenix radio station that hosting a pool of the WBC will bring over $30 million to the economy there. The question of whether that is actually true or is just public relations spin I’ll leave to the economists.