Seven Texas Rangers Join The World Baseball Classic

The World Baseball Classic is set to begin this March, and seven Texas Rangers will be participating in the tournament according to John Blake.

The Texas Rangers will be representing five different teams in the tournament. The World Baseball Classic is an international tournament that is played every four years. 16 teams will be participating in the tournament this March.

Left-handed relief pitcher Alex Claudio will play for Team Puerto Rico. The 25-year-old pitcher is coming off another strong year with the Rangers. Claudio is going to need to take on a bigger role this season in the Rangers pen, but first he’ll look to help PR win the WBC.

Infielder Jurickson Profar will join Team Netherlands this spring. Coming off his first healthy season in the Majors last season. Profar’s name has been brought up in trade rumors this off-season. Whether he’s a Ranger or not Opening Day is yet to be determined, but he’s definitely playing for the Netherlands this March.

Team Dominican Republic will get four-time All-Star third baseman Adrian Beltre. The 37-year-old is heading into his seventh season with the Rangers and continues to get better with age. Beltre will be joining many other MLB sluggers on the team DR this spring.

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Catcher Robinson Chirinos and starter Martin Perez are joining Team Venezuela. Both players are natives of Venezuela and heading into their sixth season with the Rangers. Chirinos and Perez are looking to take on bigger roles this upcoming season, but first will play for their home country.

Team USA gets relief pitcher Sam Dyson and catcher Jonathan Lucroy. This will be the second-time Lucroy has joined the tournament, he also played in 2013 with USA. 2017 is the first-time for Dyson, but both players are honored to play for team USA in the WBC.