Per Anthony DiComo on Twitter, both Michael Conforto and Brandon Nimmo are on Team Italy’s preliminary roster for the World Baseball Classic. It is unclear yet if they will play.
With Conforto’s agents not letting him play winter ball, it is unlikely he will play in the WBC, but possible. There is a better chance that Nimmo will participate.
Original Post – Dec 11th
Team Italy is trying to recruit Michael Conforto to play for them in the upcoming World Baseball Classic in March. This was confirmed by Italy’s hitting coach Frank Catalanotto on MLB Radio today. (HatTtip: Indiana Met)
Noah Syndergaard was asked to play for Team USA but politely declined so as not to disrupt his routine and to focus on preparing for a strong 2017 season.
The World Baseball Classic will begin on March 7 and the 16 qualifying teams will compete in a series of rounds in host countries Japan. South Korea, Mexico and the United States. The Dominican Republic are the defending champions.
The First Round of the 2017 World Baseball Classic will feature the following teams and early confirmed superstars:
- Dominican Republic: Robinson Cano, Adrian Beltre and Manny Machado
- United States: Christian Yelich, Max Scherzer, Nolan Arenado, Kris Bryant and Andrew McCutchen
- Colombia: Jose Quintana and Julio Teheran
- Canada: Russell Martin
Other confirmed players are Mexico’s Adrian Gonzalez and Oliver Perez; the Netherlands’ Jonathan Schoop and Andrelton Simmons; Puerto Rico’s Carlos Beltran and Yadier Molina; and Venezuela’s Jose Altuve, Carlos Gonzalez, Felix Hernandez and Salvador Perez.
By the way, here’s an interview my friend Danielle McCartan did with Frank Catalanotto earlier today at a Italian-American charity event.
