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When you go to watch the Mets play in Port St. Lucie during the month of March you could see a very different infield than the one that will start on Opening Day. First baseman Pete Alonso (USA), second baseman Jeff McNeil (USA), shortstop Francisco Lindor (Puerto Rico), and third baseman Eduardo Escobar (Venezuela) are all expected to play in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

The WBC will return for the first time since 2017 because the pandemic wiped out the scheduled 2021 iteration. The US beat Puerto Rico at Dodgers Stadium in 2017 to take first place in the last WBC with Japan finishing third and the Netherlands fourth. Former Met Marcus Stroman won the MVP as he helped Team USA win the 2017 WBC.

In addition to the infielders listed above, outfielder Starling Marte (Dominican Republic), infielder Mark Vientos (Nicaragua), and Edwin Díaz (Puerto Rico) round out the list of Mets players that have committed to playing in the WBC. Mets pitcher Yoan López has also indicated he might pitch for Team Cuba. Outfielder Brandon Nimmo played for Italy in 2017, veteran reliever David Robertson played for Team USA, and recently signed starter Kodai Senga played for Japan that year as well.

Former Mets legend Mike Piazza will manage Team Italy this time. Former Mets manager Jerry Manuel will be the bench coach for a USA team that has Mark DeRosa as manager, Ken Griffey Jr.as the hitting coach, and Andy Pettitte as the pitching coach.

The Mets will host Team Nicaragua on March 8 and Team Venezuela on March 9 at Clover Field in Port St. Lucie for exhibition games.

The WBC gets underway on March 8 with Pool A games taking place in Taiwan. Pool B then starts on March 9 in Japan, Pool C. The last two Pools, Pool C in Phoenix, Arizona, and Pool D in Miami, Florida will both start on March 11.

Here are the teams in each Pool:

Pool A

  • Taiwan
  • Cuba
  • Netherlands
  • Italy
  • Panama

Pool B

  • Japan
  • Korea
  • China
  • Australia
  • Czech Republic

Pool C

  • USA
  • Mexico
  • Colombia
  • Canada
  • Great Britain

Pool D

  • Dominican Republic
  • Puerto Rico
  • Venezuela
  • Nicaragua
  • Israel

The quarterfinals will take place in Japan and Miami with the rest of the tournament finishing in Miami including the championship on March 21. Fox Sports has the exclusive TV coverage of the tournament.

We will keep you updated on Mets players that will be participating in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.