Morning Briefing: Kershaw Not Participating in World Baseball Classic

Good morning, Mets fans!

On Friday, Clayton Kershaw announced that he will not be participating in the World Baseball Classic after he had originally planned to. Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times reported that Kershaw had to withdraw due to a problem with insurance coverage and that his back injury history was a significant factor. Kershaw called this development “super disappointing” and although he had the Dodgers’ consent to play in the WBC, he will no longer be able to.

Clayton Kershaw on frustration of not being able to play WBC:

"They should make it easy for guys that want to play to play. Obviously, if [your MLB] team doesn’t want you to play, that’s one thing. But if you have the team’s blessing, like I did, it should be easier.”

— Jack Harris (@Jack_A_Harris) February 17, 2023

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