Today’s World Baseball Classic news as of about 2:30 PM and a reminder that, as more WBC news continues to trickle in, keep an eye out later for any later updates:

• Adam Jones is in for Team USA. The USA outfield is shaping up well, with Jones, Ryan Braun and Shane Victorino already committed and players like Mike Trout, Giancarlo Stanton and Jay Bruce remaining as good possibilities.
• It’s again been confirmed that Adrian Beltre will probably be suiting up for the Dominican, but there’s also new news that Nelson Cruz will also be playing for the Dominican. (The article also notes that Yu Darvish won’t be playing for Japan- much to the Rangers’ relief- but we’ve known that for awhile now).
• A tweet by Brandon Phillips seems to indicate he’ll be playing in the WBC. He already was in possibly/likely, but I’ve noted that this seems to mean that he’s accepted.
• A Venezuelan website says that Felix Doubront intends to play for Venezuela in the WBC. I’m putting him in as possibly/likely.
• Similarly, Jhoulys Chacin of the Rockies wants to play for Venezuela.
• Continuing the Venezuelan commitments, Salvador Perez of the Royals will probably be on the team.
• Similarly, Jeanmar Gomez, a pitcher who is now with the Pirates, also wants to play for Venezuela, but there is no definitive answer yet. So, I’m putting him in the under consideration list.

As usual, the entirety of the list is after the jump:

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Spanning the internet to bring you the latest WBC news and notes:

• Troy Tulowitzki still wants in for Team USA, and swears his injuries last season won’t be a problem. So I’m moving him up from under consideration to possibly/likely, with the “injury worry” caveat.
• For our friends up north, a good portion of your roster will likely be revealed on Saturday at an awards banquet. However, Mop-Up Duty retweeted that Tim Smith of the Orioles organization is expected to be with the Canadians in the WBC. So I’m placing him in possibly/likely.
• Joel Hanrahan won’t be playing for Team USA in the WBC, for the very good reason that he and his wife are expecting their first child in March. Congratulations to the Hanrahans.
• Alex Anthopoulos, GM of the Blue Jays, says Melky Cabrera is not expected to play for the Dominican Republic in the WBC. He reconfirms that Jose Reyes and Edwin Encarnacion will likely be in, though.

As usual, the full list is after the jump:

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Today’s news for the WBC:

• Braves’ beat writer David O’Brien tweeted out some possible Braves players that could play in the WBC. He mentioned the previously-known Craig Kimbrel and Kris Medlen for Team USA, but he also mentions Juan Francisco and Jose Constanza (Dominican), the previously-said Martin Prado for Venezuela (he mentioned Luis Avilan, but Avilan has since said he isn’t going to do it), Andrelton Simmons (Netherlands) and the Spanish-descended minor leaguer Edward Salcedo for Spain. I’ve put all of the new ones (other than Avilan) in the under consideration category.
• Venezuelan slugger Alex Ramirez, who has torn up Japan’s league for years, will not be taking part due to the need to rehab after elbow surgery.

As usual, the big list is under the jump:

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Some semi-midday news:

• Anibal Sanchez appears to be in for Venezuela. So I’m putting him in possibly/likely.
• An article from a Dutch-language site on American sports mentions briefly that the Netherlands National Team hopes that Rick Vandenhurk will play for the Orange in this year’s WBC, despite his recent release by the Pirates and expected move to Asian baseball.  I’m putting him in the under consideration category.

As usual, the rest is under the jump:

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Today’s news:

-A Venezuelan sports website has news about some of the players who will or will not be on the roster, which is expected to be released sometime around the 16th. Now, my Spanish isn’t very good, but between that and Google Translate, I’ve figured this out:

• Franklin Gutierrez, Gregor Blanco and Gorkys Hernandez won’t be taking part, hurting Venezuela’s outfield depth.
• It reconfirms that Miguel Montero and Felix Hernandez are likely to play, but adds Asdrubal Cabrera to that list (he’ll be put in the possibly/likely slot).
• It mentions that Gerardo Parra and Carlos Gonzalez have publicly expressed interest in playing. Although there is no official confirmation that they’ve been invited, I have to think they were, since they are two of the best Venezuelan players in MLB, so I’m also putting them in possibly/likely as well… at least, I WOULD for Parra, but there’s also a tweet out that Parra won’t be taking part, so I’m putting him in the ambiguous “Probably?” category.

-Similarly, there’s an article about Puerto Rico’s possible team:

• Besides the already named Yadier Molina and Carlos Beltran, the Puerto Rican squad will likely include position like Alex Rios of the White Sox, Angel Pagan (who’s been mentioned as likely before) and Mike Aviles (who is Puerto Rican-American). They are in possibly/likely.
• Pitchers will likely include Hector Santiago (who had been in “under consideration” but is now put in possibly/likely), Javier Vazquez (as had been known) and Pedro Feliciano (who is new to the list).

–Jose Bautista would like to play for the Dominican but doesn’t like his chances, given his injury. He hasn’t been told no yet, though. I’m putting him in the “probably out” category.

As always, go below the jump for the full list:

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Today’s news:

• An article at the Atlanta Braves official site says that Craig Kimbrel (who we knew about already) and Kris Medlen (who’s new) are “both expected to compete” for Team USA. I have to admit, somehow I totally forgot about Kris Medlen as I’ve drawn up my projections in the past. I mean, he went 10-1 last season and the Braves never seemed to lose a regular-season start that he had after he moved full-time to the rotation. Medlen joins Kimbrel in the possibly/likely category. However, Jason Heyward has declined a spot on Team USA. Freddie Freeman, however, could play for for either Team USA or team Canada (as he is half-Canadian), so I’m putting him in as under consideration.

As usual, the full list is after the jump:

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