The rosters for the various WBC teams were announced yesterday, and eleven Dodgers' will a part of all the fun. Five players will be a part of Team Mexico: Adrián González, Vidal Nuno, prospect Alex Verdugo, yet-to-be-officially-signed Sergio Romo and Julio Urias. Kiké Hernandez will play for Puerto Rico, Rob Segedin and prospect Drew Maggi will represent Italy, non-roster invitee Ike Davis and prospect Dean Kremer will play for Israel and Kenley Jansen will join the Netherlands. Furthermore, both Urias and Jansen are part of the designated pitcher pool; which makes them inactive for the first round. On a side note, former Dodger closer Eric Gagné will play for Canada and recently traded pitcher Jose De Leon will join Puerto Rico.
Photo above via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2017 @Dodgers on twitter. Below are more links to check out:
- Happy Birthday, Wally Hood, Buzz Boyle, Harvey Green, Erv Palica, Jim Campanis & Dioner Navarro!
- These folks are very savvy. Per Scott Soshnick at Bloomberg; "Los Angeles Dodgers Owners Want to Sell Part of the Team."
“During our five years with the Dodgers, we have had a steady stream of inquiries from different parties interested in becoming a part of Dodger ownership,” Chief Executive Officer Stan Kasten said.
“With continuing developments in the sports and entertainment industry, both domestically and internationally, we thought this might now be a good time to examine some of the opportunities more closely.”
From the looks of it they will seek to sell a minority stake in the club and will relinquish zero control of the franchise. MLB must approve a partial sale like this. All I ask is that Frank McCourt NOT be involved.
- NO! This is a dumb idea. Via Jeff Passan at Yahoo; "MLB plans to test new extra-innings rules in rookie ball, with Joe Torre's approval."
Major League Baseball plans on testing a rule change in the lowest levels of the minor leagues this season that automatically would place a runner on second base at the start of extra innings, a distinct break from the game’s orthodoxy that nonetheless has wide-ranging support at the highest levels of the league, sources familiar with the plan told Yahoo Sports.
Just stop it... Okay! Don't mess with the game!
- Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com; "Kazmir, Ethier look to bounce back in 2017."
"It feels like [my body] is back to Tampa Bay-live," Kazmir, 33, said at the recent FanFest. "I'm three weeks ahead of schedule. I want to be at the top of that rotation. The way things went last year, I have a chip on my shoulder, and I want to prove to the fans and the front office that brought me here that they made the right decision."
- Per Steve Douglas at Hot Stove Baseball Talk; "Dreaming of Spring-Conversation with Trevor Oaks."
“My body is feeling really strong and ready to go. I feel like I’ve picked up right where I left off. My arm feels fresh and ready to go! I’m excited to get going on this next season.”
- Per Tim Brown at Yahoo; "Brian Wilson eyeing MLB return as a knuckleball pitcher."
What would seem different about Wilson’s knuckler is that he throws it from several arm angles. Also, he grips it with the tips of his fingers, so does not bury his fingernails into the ball, and then does not push the ball as much as he throws it as he would a fastball. On Wednesday morning, he changed speeds with it, commanded it on both sides of the plate, up and down, threw it over the top and sidearm, and generally beat the hell out of the guy trying to catch it. The rest will be left for the hitters to decide, assuming Wilson gets into a team’s camp, which shouldn’t be so hard.
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