NOTE: SINCE THIS WAS PUT UP THIS MORNING MORE NEWS HAS COME OUT. GO TO THE FRONT PAGE FOR THE LATEST.

Lots more news on the World Baseball Classic:

• The bullpen of Team USA is starting to shape up. Middle-reliever Glen Perkins, one of the few bright spots for the Minnesota Twins last season, has confirmed he’s been called by Joe Torre and accepted an invite. So, into possibly/likely he goes. Joe Nathan of the Rangers, meanwhile, has said he’s considering an invite that Joe Torre has given him.
• Adam Ottavino, an Italian-American who pitched for Italia in the past, will be passing this year.
• Miguel Gonzalez, part of the Oriole pitching staff last season, has been invited to play for Mexico. He’s checking with the Orioles first, though. Therefore, I’m putting him in possibly/likely for now, mainly because I don’t have a “checking with the club” sub-list.
• By the way, apparently a large amount of the Canadian team will be revealed later today, as I mentioned a few days ago.

The full list is below the jump:

Continue reading →

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:

Continue reading →

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:

Continue reading →

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:

Continue reading →

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:

Continue reading →