As first reported by MetsMinors.net on Saturday morning, the New York Mets confirmed that second baseman of the future Dilson Herrera has received permission to play for Team Colombia in the upcoming WBC qualifier. The World Baseball Classic pre-qualifier will be taking place in Panama from March 17th-20th.
Herrera, 21, was born in Cartagena Colombia and played winter ball in his home country this offseason for the Toros de Sincelejo. He made his Major League debut with the Mets at just 20 years old on August 29th, 2014 and was the youngest player in the National League that season. He has hit .215/.308/.383 with six homeruns in 149 major league at bats over the past two seasons.
Dilson was in training camp with Team Colombia last week which also included big leaguers Julio Teheran, Donovan Solano, and Jose Quintana. Also in camp was Mets minor league pitcher Nabil Crismatt who had a great 2015 season with the Kingsport Mets going 6-1 with a 2.90 ERA while striking out 63 batters in 62 innings.
The field for the qualifier in Panama will be teams from Colombia, Panama, France, and Spain. The winning team of the double elimination tournament earns a spot in the WBC taking place in 2017. This offseason started with four spots available but Team Australia took the first one with a victory over South Africa last Sunday.
From September 22nd to the 25th the final qualifier including teams from Israel, Brazil, Great Britain, and Pakistan at MCU Park which is the home of the Mets affiliate Brooklyn Cyclones of the New York-Penn League.
Also as we first reported, Mets shortstop prospect Luis Guillorme will be playing in the WBC qualifier for Team Spain. Read more on MetsMinors.net.
