Brewers to be well represented in upcoming WBC
The Milwaukee Brewers will be wellrepresented in the upcoming World Baseball Classic.
Fourteen players from the organization – seven members of the 40-man roster and seven others – were officially named to the rosters of nine teams taking part in the event, which begins with pool play on March 8 and concludes with the championship game on March 21.
Here are the Brewers who will be taking part.
RHP Devin Williams – Team USA First baseman Rowdy Tellez, infielder Luis Urías – Team Mexico
Shortstop Willy Adames, RHP Joel Payamps (designated pitcher pool) – Team Dominican Republic
Infielder Abraham Toro – Team Canada
RHPs Javy Guerra and Matt Hardy (minor leagues) – Team Panama
LHP Alex Claudio (Brewers non-roster invitee, designated pitcher pool) –
Team Puerto Rico
Outfielder Sal Frelick (Brewers nonroster invitee), RHP Michele Vassalotti (minor leagues) – Team Italy
RHP Robert Stock (Brewers non-roster invitee) – Team Israel
RHP Carlos Rodríguez leagues) – Team Nicaragua
C Alex Hall (minor leagues) – Team Australia
Among those not on Milwaukee’s 40man roster, Frelick is the biggest name in that he’s one of the organization’s top prospects and expected to break into the major leagues at some point this season.
Rodríguez, meanwhile, was the Brewers’ minor-league pitcher of the year in 2022 while Hall earned some notoriety when he was unexpectedly called up for one game from Class A Wisconsin after the Brewers were hit hard by injuries behind the plate.
One high-profile Brewers player who expressed interest in joining Adames and pitching for the Dominican Republic was right-hander Freddy Peralta, but it was decided he would forgo the opportunity after battling injury issues in 2022.
“While we certainly appreciate Freddy’s enthusiasm to pitch for his country, we believe it to be in the best interest of Freddy and the team to have him in major-league
(minor camp,” general manager Matt Arnold said. “Freddy is a highly valuable part of our pitching staff, and we look forward to an outstanding season from him.”
Pitchers and catchers participating in the WBC are scheduled to report to spring training on Feb. 13 and position players on Feb. 16. Milwaukee pitchers and catchers not participating in the WBC will report to Maryvale by Feb. 15 and position players by Feb. 20.
Pool C – consisting of the USA, Canada, Mexico, Colombia and Great Britain – plays from March 11-15 at Chase Field in Phoenix. The Brewers will host Great Britain in an exhibition game at American Family Field of Phoenix on March 8.
Pool D – consisting of the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Israel – plays from March 11-15 at loanDepot park in Miami.
Frelick and Italy play in Pool A, with games in Taichung, Taiwan. Hall and Australia play in Pool B, with games in Tokyo.
The semifinals will be played March 19-20 and the championship March 21 at loanDepot park in Miami.