Credit: Dale Zanine – USA TODAY

Good morning, Mets fans!

Will Sammon of The Athletic posted an article Friday night detailing Edwin Díaz‘s optimism about a potential 2023 return. Mets team physician Dr. James Carr and the team’s medical director Dr. David Altchek were in Miami and were able to take care of and diagnose Díaz quickly following his freak injury at the end of Team Puerto Rico’s victory over the Dominican Republic. Because of this, they were able to limit the amount of scarring that would have likely added on to the time needed to recover. Missing the 2023 season is still the likeliest outcome for Díaz, but he is in great spirits and isn’t giving up on a 2023 return just yet.

WBC Scores

Puerto Rico 4, Mexico 5

• Francisco Lindor: 2-for-5
• Javier Báez: 3-for-4 with a two-run home run
• Marcus Stroman: 4 1/3 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO

Latest Mets News

Brandon Nimmo left Friday’s spring training game early after he awkwardly slid into second base. The Mets tweeted during the game that he left with right ankle soreness and will undergo imaging on Saturday. Buck Showalter later said that Nimmo feels “pretty good.”

MMO’s own Michael Mayer reported that the Mets have claimed right-handed reliever Dennis Santana off waivers from the Twins. With the Rangers last year, he posted a 3-8 record with a 5.22 ERA in 58 2/3 innings, though his xERA of 3.89 and his FIP of 3.35 suggest that he pitched better than his ERA.

The Mets also signed pitcher Bubby Rossman to a minor league deal. Rossman recently pitched for Team Israel in the WBC.

Juan Toribio of MLB.com spoke to Eduardo Escobar about Team Venezuela’s undefeated run through pool play in the World Baseball Classic.

Latest MLB News

Per MLB figures, the total number of people who attended pool play games of the World Baseball Classic was 1,010,999. That makes it the best-attended round in tournament history and double the previous high of 510,056 from six years ago.

Bruce Bochy told the media that Jacob deGrom will make his Cactus League debut with the Rangers on Sunday against the Mariners.

Jon Greenberg of The Athletic spoke to Theo Epstein about the new rules in baseball, among other topics.

Baseball America listed 25 players that are standing out to scouts in spring training.

Olivia Pichardo made history on Friday as the first woman to play in an NCAA Division I baseball game.

Latest on MMO

Rivka Boord detailed the significance of losing Edwin Díaz for the season.

Jack Markowski took a look at potential trade options for the bullpen in the aftermath of the Díaz injury.

Michael Mayer wrote about Brett Baty‘s defensive preparation and how that has translated to an impressive spring training from a defensive standpoint.

On This Date in Mets History

2000: The Mets traded a 43-year-old Jesse Orosco to the Cardinals for Joe McEwing. McEwing would spend five years from 2000-2004 with the Mets.

The post Morning Briefing: Edwin Díaz Aiming To Return This Year appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The final game of Pool D of the World Baseball Classic between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic had a Game 7 feel to it at loanDepot Park in Miami, Florida. But nothing that happened in the game will matter to Mets fans more than what happened directly afterwards. After striking out the side in the bottom of the ninth for Puerto Rico, Mets closer Edwin Díaz appeared to suffer a severe leg injury during the team’s celebration.

Díaz went down holding his right knee, and he had to be helped off the field using a wheelchair.

Edwin Diaz appears to have suffered an injury during Puerto Rico's celebration pic.twitter.com/G9Md6SBrEj

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 16, 2023

Edwin Diaz went down during the celebration. He seems to be grabbing at his right knee and is receiving medical attention near the mound.

— Alden González (@Alden_Gonzalez) March 16, 2023

Díaz is undergoing X-rays, according to SNY’s Andy Martino, and both the Mets and team Puerto Rico are anxiously awaiting the results.

Díaz’s injury put a sour note on what was otherwise a tremendous game. Led by Francisco Lindor , Puerto Rico advanced to the quarterfinals with a 5-2 victory, eliminating a Dominican Republican team that was many people’s pick to win the entire tournament.

Lindor, the captain of the team, had one of the best moments of the tournament so far. In the top of the fifth, Lindor hit a ball to center that Julio Rodríguez misplayed, allowing it to roll all the way to the wall in dead center. The single and three-base error by Rodriguez allowed the Mets shortstop to circle all the bases and give Puerto Rico a 5-1 lead.

Francisco Lindor is off to the races and electrifies Team Puerto Rico! 👟💨 #WorldBaseballClassic pic.twitter.com/HQnVW1egb9

— MLB (@MLB) March 16, 2023

.@StevenACohen2 play this on loop on the new video board please pic.twitter.com/RLYyA4tdbF

— Metsmerized Online (@Metsmerized) March 16, 2023

Overall, Lindor was 2-for-4 on the day and also added an RBI single in the top of the third against Bryan Abreu that was a part of a four-run inning by Puerto Rico. For the tournament, Lindor is hitting .467 with five RBIs in four games.

.@Lindor12BC comes through for Team Puerto Rico! 🇵🇷 #WorldBaseballClassic pic.twitter.com/9cclBr56B7

— World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) March 16, 2023

The scoring for Puerto Rico began when Christian Vázquez  hit a solo home run off Johnny Cueto in the third. Later in the inning, after the Lindor single, Enrique Hernández made it 3-0 with an RBI single of his own. The lead would eventually go to 4-0 on an RBI groundout by MJ Melendez.

While the Dominican Republic offense did get a tape measure home run by Juan Soto in the bottom of the third (1-for-2, 2 walks), they were unable to put much else on the board. For the game, the Dominican Republic was 2-for-8 with men in scoring position, and they struck out 11 times against eight different Puerto Rico pitchers.

The loss by the Dominican Republic means they will fail to qualify for the quarterfinals in the WBC for the first time since 2009.

Meanwhile, Lindor and Puerto Rico will advance to play in the quarterfinals against Mexico, who clinched Pool C earlier today with a win over Canada. It is the fifth straight tournament that Puerto Rico has qualified for the quarterfinals. The Puerto Rican team will certainly be playing the rest of the tournament with heavy hearts after the injury to their closer.

The post Lindor Helps Lead Puerto Rico To WBC Quarterfinals As Díaz Suffers Injury appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Francisco Lindor. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

The first round of the NCAA Tournament starts tomorrow, but survive-and-advance is already taking shape in the WBC. Both Team USA and Puerto Rico face critical matchups on Wednesday night that could see them either advance to the quarterfinals, or have their championship dreams ended.

Puerto Rico enters Wednesday with a record of 2-1, beating Nicaragua and Israel (in which they completed a seven-inning perfect game), but losing to Venezuela. Team USA is also 2-1, scoring wins over Great Britain and Canada, but falling short against Mexico.

Cuba has already made it to the semifinals of the tournament after defeating Australia early Wednesday morning. Unbeaten Japan will face off against Mike Piazza and Italy on Thursday morning for another semifinal spot.

Puerto Rico vs. Dominican Republic, 7:00 P.M. EST

For Puerto Rico, their scenario is simple as they get set to face off against the Dominican Republic. The winner of that matchup will advance in Pool D, joining unbeaten Venezuela as the quarterfinal representatives from that pool  Mets prospect Dominic Hamel was originally expected to start in the contest, but the team is now starting Reds pitcher Fernando Cruz.

Francisco Lindor is leading off for Puerto Rico, while former Met Javier Báez is batting fifth. Edwin Díaz has appeared in only one game thus far, so it’s likely he’ll make an appearance this evening.

USA vs. Colombia, 10:00 P.M. EST

For Team USA, they can control their own destiny with a victory tonight against Colombia in Pool C. Technically, the United States can still advance if they lose, but it will then come down to a tiebreaker to decide who makes it through between them, Columbia, and the loser of Wednesday’s Mexico vs. Canada game (Mexico leads 9-2 as of this writing).

Diamondbacks lefty Merrill Kelly will get the start for Team USA, and he will be opposed by Braves prospect Luis De Avila for Colombia. As of this writing, Team USA has not yet announced a lineup.

The post WBC Game Thread: USA, Puerto Rico In Must-Win Matchups appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Team Puerto Rico defeated Team Israel 10-0 in eight innings, throwing the first perfect game in World Baseball Classic history.

Four pitchers, Jose De Leon, Yacksel Rios, Edwin Diaz, and Duane Underwood Jr. combined for the feat.

The Puerto Rican national team reached the 10-run mercy rule threshold in the bottom of the eighth inning. Enrique Hernandez singled on a ground ball to left field to score Martin Maldonado.

WALK OFF. PERFECT GAME.

A historic performance for Team Puerto Rico 🇵🇷 pic.twitter.com/FGKQic4cxH

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 14, 2023

Puerto Rico scored three runs in each the first, second, and fifth innings. Francisco Lindor went 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Hernandez was 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Javier Baez was 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Emmanuel Rivera and Eddie Rosario drove in the other two runs.

Puerto Rico Captain Francisco Linder with a bases-clearing triple.

pic.twitter.com/KpqjOgHUVI

— Mike Mayer (@mikemayer22) March 14, 2023

Of course they couldn’t have done it without the pitching staff.

De Leon pitched the game of his life. Even with the 65-pitch limit, he went 5 2/3 innings with 10 strikeouts. Rios relieved him to get the final out of the sixth inning, a strikeout.

Diaz made his first appearance in the WBC in the seventh, needing 10 pitches to retire three batters, striking out one. Underwood Jr. closed the game needing 10 pitched himself to get the final three outs.

Puerto Rico is now 2-1 in Pool play and sets itself up well to advance to the quarterfinals.

The post Puerto Rico Throws First Perfect Game In World Baseball Classic History appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Nolan Arenado. Photo via USA Today

Both USA and Puerto Rico are set to play their third games of the World Baseball Classic.

In game one for the United States, they defeated Great Britain 6-2. Adam Wainwright was credited with the win, and the USA was led by Kyle Schwarber and his two-run home run offensively. In game two the USA was heated badly by Mexico, 11-5, and with that their chances of advancing out of pool play were greatly cut down.

Puerto Rico defeated Nicaragua 9-1 on Saturday. Marcus Stroman picked up the win, and Mets’ shortstop Francisco Lindor had a two-hit, one RBI game. Venezuela crushed Puerto Rican starter Jose Berrios on their way to a 9-6 win Monday.

Israel vs. Puerto Rico, 7:00 PM EST

Team Israel will have lefty Colton Gordon start for them. Gordon is a 24-year-old in the Houston Astros system. Israel has already turned heads this tournament after upsetting Nicaragua 3-1 on Monday to start 1-0. Garrett Stubbs was the hero with a huge two-out two-RBI single in the eighth.

Jose De Leon is on the mound for Puerto Rico. The former MLB pitcher had a 8.44 ERA in 48.0 innings pitched. Francisco Lindor leads the Puerto Rican team, batting leadoff.

Canada vs. USA, 10:00 PM EST

Canada is coming off a mercy-rule win over Great Britain. It was 18-8 after seven innings. Freddie Freeman leads Team Canada and is followed by Tyler O’Neill who went 4-for-4 with four runs and four RBIs last night.

Team USA is in a large hole after their blowout loss to Team Mexico on Monday. The United States pitching staff is just not good enough with their hitters failing. Mookie Betts has led off and is batting .100. Mike Trout is batting .167. Pete Alonso was 0-for-4 as the DH yesterday and Jeff McNeil is 1-for-8 in the tournament.

The post WBC Game Thread: Puerto Rico, USA Go For Second Wins appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Nolan Arenado. Photo via USA Today

Both USA and Puerto Rico are set to play their second games of the World Baseball Classic.

In game one for the United States, they defeated Great Britain 6-2. Adam Wainwright was credited with the win, and the USA was led by Kyle Schwarber and his two-run home run offensively.

Meanwhile, Puerto Rico defeated Nicaragua 9-1 on Saturday. Marcus Stroman picked up the win, and Mets’ shortstop Francisco Lindor had a two-hit, one RBI game.

Venezuela vs. Puerto Rico, 7:00 PM EST

Team Puerto Rico will look to start their tournament with a 2-0 record in Pool D. Lindor and former Mets’ infielder Javier Báez will have to contend with former Marlins’ starter Pablo López on the mound. Puerto Rico will turn to Jose Berrios.

Offensively, Venezuela (1-0) is led by Ronald Acuña Jr., Jose Altuve, and Luis Arráez. Current Mets’ third baseman Eduardo Escobar will bat ninth for the team.

The game will broadcast on Fox Sports 1.

USA vs. Mexico, 10:00 PM EST

USA will contend with a Mexico (0-1) team that lost to Columbia in extra innings on Saturday.

Nick Martinez is expected to get the start for USA. They will once again lead on a prolific offense led by Mike Trout Mookie Betts, Nolan Arenado, among others. In the first game, Jeff McNeil was hitless and Pete Alonso did not start.

As for Mexico, they will turn to Patrick Sandoval. Offensively, Mexico is led by Randy Arozarena, Joey Menses, and Isaac Paredes. Catcher Austin Barnes contributed a two-hit performance on Saturday as well.

The game will broadcast on FOX Sports 1.

The post WBC Game Thread: USA, Puerto Rico Ready For Game Two appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The World Baseball Classic officially started late Tuesday night in America Pool A and B play. This has taken place in Japan and Taiwan with teams like Japan, Italy, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Cuba, and more trying to advance to the knockout stage.

Now, it’s time for Pool C and D to start.

These pools are highlighted by the United States, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and more, with many Mets joining WBC play today. Games take place in Arizona and Florida. Starting at noon, there are seven games that start play on Saturday. Here are some of the highlights:

Nicaragua vs. Puerto Rico, 12:00 PM EST

Team Puerto Rico, led by Francisco Lindor in the leadoff spot, plays Nicaragua at noon Saturday.

Marcus Stroman takes the bump for PR in Game 1 after playing for Team USA–and winning MVP–in 2017. Edwin Díaz will man the back of the bullpen for the squad, and he said he won’t pitch on back-to-back days. Other MLB talent in this game includes: Javier Báez, Kiké Hernandez, Erasmo Ramirez, Eddie Rosario, JC Ramirez and… Johneshwy Fargas!

The game is broadcast on Fox Sports 2.

Dominican Republic vs. Venezuela, 7:00 PM EST

Team Dominican Republic–arguably the most stacked team in the WBC–plays against Eduardo Escobar and Team Venezuela.

Sandy Alcantara, the reigning NL Cy Young, will pitch for the DR, and Martin Perez is a formidable No. 1 for Venezuela. DR’s lineup is stacked with MLB stars like Juan Soto, Manny Machado, Rafael Devers, Teoscar Hernandez, Willy Adames, Wander Franco, Julio Rodriguez, Ketel Marte, and much more. Team Venezuela is a strong competitor with players like Ronald Acuña Jr., Andres Gimenez, Jose Altuve, Miguel Cabrera, Omar Narváez, and Luis Arraez manning the lineup.

This game is probably the best head-to-head matchup today. It’s broadcast on Fox Sports 1.

Great Britain vs. USA, 9:00 PM EST

Team USA and its insane lineup–where Pete Alonso is a backup and Jeff McNeil bats at the back end–plays Great Britain at 9 p.m. Saturday. (All of their pool games start at 9 or 10 p.m.)

Adam Wainwright will start for Team USA, and the hope is a lineup that has Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt, J.T. Realmuto, and Trea Turner will put him up early against a weak Great Britain team. On the Mets end, Adam Ottavino appears in the bullpen. Brooks Raley was scheduled to be part of the bullpen, but he left an exhibition game Friday night with an injury. It was called a “precautionary” removal. Former Met Adam Loup replaced him.

This game is broadcast on FOX.

The post WBC Game Thread: USA, Puerto Rico Start Play appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

Good morning, Mets fans!

Francisco Lindor was named the captain of Team Puerto Rico for the World Baseball Classic. The vote was conducted by the players. The team, led by long-time Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, is headed off to Miami to play exhibition games this week before beginning Pool Play against Nicaragua on Friday.

Latest Mets News

José Quintana has a small stress fracture in his left fifth rib on his left side, the Mets said on Monday. Quintana is headed back to New York to undergo testing. The team does not have a timeline for recovery yet.

Steve Cohen tweeted that he wanted a bigger scoreboard at Citi Field, and the progress at the stadium shows that the scoreboard is much larger than it was previously. Cohen mentioned that at times he would have to squint to see the board in the past.

Here’s a look at the new Citi Field scoreboard.

As Steve Cohen said, he got what he wanted.

📸: @z_mul_ https://t.co/JORGfkFlrD pic.twitter.com/4DXX7AwCsI

— Metsmerized Online (@Metsmerized) March 6, 2023

Latest MLB News

Justin Turner was hit in the face by a pitch from Matt Manning of the Tigers, forcing the 38-year-old to be hospitalized. According to his wife, Turner had to get 16 stitches but didn’t suffer any fractures. He’s being monitored for a concussion, but he’s stable, alert, and in good spirits.

Tommy Kahnle is dealing with biceps tendinitis, a similar issue to what he battled in 2018. Kahnle told Bryan Hoch of MLB.com that he thinks it will take about a month to clear up.

Dodgers All-Star Tony Gonsolin rolled his ankle while coming off the field for infield drills on Monday morning. The team says he has a left ankle sprain and likely won’t pitch as scheduled on Wednesday.

Latest on MMO

Mathew Brownstein sat down with Hall of Famer Greg Maddox for an MMO Exclusive interview.

The MMO staff discusses whether Max Scherzer of Justin Verlander should start Opening Day.

On This Date in Mets History

2010: In a spring training contest against the Nationals, Omir Santos hits an inside-the-park grand slam in the bottom of the second inning. The play started with a ground ball down the third-base line, but the ball gets stuck under the left-field fence, allowing Santos to circle the bases.

2019: The Mets sign two-time All-Star Carlos Gómez to a minor-league contract, bringing him back to his original organization. Gómez is coming off a disappointing season with the Rays in 2018, hitting just .208/.298/.336 with nine homers in 408 plate appearances.

Birthdays: Galen Cisco (87), Mauro Gozzo (57), Jeff Kent (55)

The post Morning Briefing: Francisco Lindor Named Captain of Team Puerto Rico appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

This year, Puerto Rico hopes that the third time is the charm in the World Baseball Classic. After being the runner-ups in 2013 and 2017, Puerto Rico wants to capture that elusive first title and they will have a new manager in former St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina.

Puerto Rico’s WBC will begin on March 11 when they take on Nicaragua in Miami, Florida (noon ET, FS2) in the opening game of Pool D, a pool that also features Israel, Venezuela, and the early favorites in the Dominican Republic. The plus for Puerto Rico is that they do not have to play the D.R. until the final day of group play on March 15. If they are 3-0 at that point, then they will likely only be playing for seeding.

Of course, there are two New York Mets players on this roster in shortstop Francisco Lindor, closer Edwin Diaz, and right-handed pitching prospect Dominic Hamel. However, this roster has plenty of former Mets as well, such as infielder Javier Báez and starter Marcus Stroman. Let’s take a closer look at Team Puerto Rico.

But, before we do, here is the Pool D Games Schedule for March 2023 in Miami.

Projected Starting Lineup

 C Christian Vázquez/Martín Maldonado

 1B José Miranda

 2B Javier Báez

 SS Francisco Lindor

 3B Emmanuel Rivera

 LF Eddie Rosario

CF Kiké Hernández

RF Nelson Velázquez

DH Neftali Soto

Back in 2017, the Puerto Rico offense hit 11 home runs in the tournament. They will have to find a way to duplicate that power this year when you consider that 8 of those 11 home runs were hit by players that aren’t in this year’s version of the WBC. The other three were hit by the middle infield duo of Lindor and Báez.

Lindor and Báez already have great chemistry together when it comes to their defense, so there should be one or two plays that either one of them makes that changes the outcome of a game.

Báez needs a bounceback 2023 after a rough first season in Detroit last year where he had a slash line of .238/.278/.393 with 17 home runs, 67 RBIs, and an OPS+ of 93. This tournament could be the opportunity to get his 2023 year started on a great note.

As for Lindor, he is coming off of his first season in which he drove in over 100+ runs in his career and his .449 slugging percentage was the highest that he had since he was with Cleveland back in 2019.

At catcher, they have three major leaguers in Christian Vázquez, Martín Maldonado, and MJ Melendez. Melendez could be a good option against lefties as he had a slash line of .295/.357/.482 and a .839 OPS in 60 games against lefties last year (.193/.299/.365/.664 against righties in 120 games). Vázquez and Melendez were two of the ten catchers in baseball a year ago who had more than 100 hits, so they can provide some offense at the position.

Moving towards the outfield, Kiké Hernández will be a good versatile option for Yadier Molina’s squad. He can play at all three outfield spots and has good experience performing on the big stage (.269/.351/.550, 13 home runs, 27 RBIs in 69 career postseason games). Of course, this outfield also has another former NLCS MVP in Eddie Rosario (2021).

Jonathan Hui-USA TODAY Sports

Projected Rotation

Marcus Stroman

José Berríos

Dereck Rodríguez

Héctor Santiago 

Dominic Hamel

If Puerto Rico is going to make another run to the championship round this year, it’s going to be because of their pitching. This year, they will have Marcus Stroman in their rotation after Stroman beat them in the championship back in 2017 with Team USA and was later named MVP of the WBC.

During the tournament, Stroman went 1-1 with a 2.35 ERA and had 9 K’s to 2 walks in 15.1 innings of work (3 starts).In his first season in Chicago last year, Stroman threw his fewest amount of innings (138.2) since 2018 with the Blue Jays (102.1), and the 119 K’s he had were the second-lowest of his career. This could be the kind of tournament that also gets his 2023 off to a better start as the expectations get higher for the Cubs.

Another pitcher in the rotation that needs a strong 2023 is José Berríos. Berríos made two starts in the 2017 WBC and was 1-0 with 10 K’s to 2 walks in 6.2 innings. However, his ERA ended up being 8.10. Last year, Berríos gave up the most hits he has ever given up in a single season (199) and had the highest FIP of his career (4.55). If Stroman and Berríos can find their A stuff in this tournament, then Puerto Rico can make a deep run.

The other name to watch is Mets prospect Dominic Hamel. The Third Round pick in 2021 had 11 strikeouts per 9 innings a year with High-A Brooklyn and Low-A St. Lucie. Hamel got promoted to Brooklyn on July 4  and still ended up being second on the team in strikeouts (74). Opponents hit just .180 against him en route to being named the Mets Minor League Pitcher of the Year.

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Bullpen

Edwin Díaz

Alexis Díaz

Jorge López

Anthony Maldonado

Jovani Moran

Nicholas Padilla

Emilio Pagán

Fernando Cruz

José De León

Yacksel Ríos

Duane Underwood Jr.

If I had to pick a strength for Team Puerto Rico, it would be the bullpen. They have three pitchers that could be a closer on any given day. Obviously, it starts with Mets closer Edwin Díaz, who had 2 saves in 4 games in the 2017 WBC. In his historic All-Star season a year ago, he had a FIP of 0.90 and an ERA of 1.31 to go with 32 saves in 61 games.

If Edwin isn’t the closer, then his brother Alexis Díaz could be an option. The Reds closer brings heat out of the bullpen to go with a nasty slider. The 26-year-old is coming off of a rookie season in which he had 83 K’s, a 1.84 ERA, and an ERA+ of 244 in 59 games with a struggling Reds squad.

Jorge López would be another option if the Díaz brothers aren’t available to close. The now 30-year-old had 23 saves a year ago in his first primary year as closer with the Orioles and Twins and he made his first All-Star appearance.

One prospect who should be intriguing to watch in this tournament out of the bullpen is 25-year-old right-hander Anthony Maldonado. Maldonado was a 11^th Round pick of the Marlins in 2019. While he is not on their Top-30 prospect list, he had a great end to 2022 in Triple-A Jacksonville after he was promoted in late August (1.74 ERA, 3 saves, 28 strikeouts, 5 walks in 20.2 innings).

When To Watch

The first chance to watch Team Puerto Rico will be on March 8 when they play an exhibition game against the Boston Red Sox (6:05 PM ET, NESN).

As for their WBC schedule, here are the four games they are scheduled to play:

• March 11 vs. Nicaragua
• March 12 vs. Venezuela (7 p.m, FS1)
• March 13 vs. Israel (7 p.m, FS1)
• March 15 vs. Dominican Republic

While this Puerto Rico squad may lack the talent that they have had in past tournaments, they still are one of the favorites to at least come out of Pool D and if they finish second, they would most likely be facing Team USA in the quarterfinals if the USA finishes first in Pool C.

The post Previewing The 2023 World Baseball Classic: Team Puerto Rico appeared first on Metsmerized Online.