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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Today’s news:

• Miguel Montero of the Arizona Diamondbacks basically confirmed he was going to play for Venezuela in the WBC on Twitter. So into possibly/likely he goes.
• The Cincinnati Enquirer‘s John Fay has some WBC tidbits in his latest news about the Cincinnati Reds. He repeats that Joey Votto will take part for Canada if healthy, that Brandon Phillips will be asked for Team USA, and that Johnny Cueto will likely take part. But he does have the new information that Jay Bruce will probably be asked to play for Team USA. Bruce, 25, is a two-time all-star and is one of the most overlooked outfielders in the National League, in my opinion. Since Fay doesn’t say either way that he has been invited, merely that he is “likely” to be invited, I’m placing him in the “under consideration” category.
• A tweet from William Aish, who works for a ESPN Radio station in Santo Domingo, quotes the manager of the Leones del Escogido as saying that Adrian Beltre is more practicing with them to prepare for the WBC, not play for the Leones. I’m going to put Adrian Beltre in the possibly/likely category.
• Adam Rubin of ESPN New York writes that David Wright is likely the only Met to be scheduled to play in the WBC. Considering that Johan Santana is the only player that immediately comes to mind who would probably good enough to even be invited (and he probably won’t be allowed by the Mets due to his injury), this isn’t too much of a surprise.

As usual, go after the jump for more.

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The news tonight on people dropping in or out of the World Baseball Classic:

• As expected, Michael Young won’t be taking part in the WBC for Mexico (his mother is of Mexican descent) or the USA, as he goes into his first spring with the Phillies.
• Larry Bowa has mentioned R.A. Dickey, Andy Pettitte and Mark Teixeira as possible players familiar to New York City who could be on Team USA. So I’m putting them as under consideration.
• Jerry Crasnick also notes that Nick Swisher, of Italian descent, is also turning down an opportunity to be a passport player.
• Bruce Chen has been invited to play for China at the WBC. He’s a Panamanian of Chinese descent. Given the fact he wasn’t able to pitch for his native Panama in the qualifiers, I find it unlikely that he’ll take the offer, but for now I’m putting him under consideration.
• Johan Santana will be on the provisional roster for Venezuela. However, because he was injured and missed a lot of time last season, the Mets will almost certainly keep him from participating, so I’m keeping him on out, barring some type of deal or persuading of the Mets.
• Martin Prado of the Braves is interested in playing for Venezuela. So I’m putting him in as possibly/likely.

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

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