Axford, Braun, Gallardo, Lucroy, 8 others to play in 2013 WBC (Latest: Canada, Mexico eliminated)

[TooLiveBrew]

Source: Adam McCalvy's blog

 

Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy took to Twitter this afternoon to announce that he would play for Team USA in the upcoming World Baseball Classic, the second Brewer to commit so far.

 

Outfielder Ryan Braun, who played in the WBC in 2006, told a radio audience earlier this week that he was already in training to be ready for this year’s event.

 

Lucroy, 26, was still more than a year away from debuting in the Major Leagues when the WBC last was staged. But he has since cemented his place as the Brewers’ everyday catcher, signing a long-term contract last spring and then enjoying an offensive breakout before suffering a broken right hand in May. Lucroy wound up batting .320 with 12 home runs and 58 RBIs in 96 games.

 

The Brewers expect to hear by Jan. 16 which other players will depart Maryvale Baseball Park to play in the WBC. Candidates include starters Yovani Gallardo and Marco Estrada for Team Mexico, relievers John Axford and Jim Henderson and infielder Taylor Green for Team Canada, center fielder Carlos Gomez (but probably not third baseman Aramis Ramirez) for the Dominican Republic and perhaps catcher Martin Maldonado for Puerto Rico. Japanese outfielder Norichika Aoki has already announced that he will not take part.

 

The rules dictate that teams cannot lose more than eight members of their 40-man roster to the WBC, and the Brewers’ expectation is that they will either come close to or reach that limit.

 

EDIT: McCalvy's blog post on the full list of Brewers competing -- 14 total players:

 

• Australia: Mike Walker
  
• Canada: John Axford, Nick Bucci, Taylor Green, Jim Henderson, Rene Tosoni
  
• Dominican Republic: Carlos Gómez
  
• Italy: Jeff Bianchi
  
• Mexico: Marco Estrada, Yovani Gallardo
  
• Netherlands: Hainley Statia
  
• Puerto Rico: Hiram Burgos, Martín Maldonado
  
• United States: Ryan Braun, Jonathan Lucroy

[torts]

please dont get hurt, please dont get hurt, please dont get hurt, please dont get hurt, please dont get hurt, please dont get hurt, please dont get hurt, please dont get hurt, please dont get hurt, please dont get hurt

[NYChez]

Gallardo is playing in the WBC. This worries me. Is his manager going to worry about delivering a healthy pitcher to the Brewers or doing everything he can to beat the Dominican Republic? If Gallardo gets hurt the Brewers will be lucky to win 70 games.

[monty57]

Gallardo is playing in the WBC. This worries me. Is his manager going to worry about delivering a healthy pitcher to the Brewers or doing everything he can to beat the Dominican Republic? If Gallardo gets hurt the Brewers will be lucky to win 70 games.

 

Yeah, especially when this is at a time of the year when players' bodies aren't ready for a full workload. Even after Spring Training, most teams baby the starting pitchers through the first few weeks. I think there are (MLB imposed) limits in place for how much a pitcher can be used, but the managers are going to do whatever possible to win.

[Bikeage77]

If I remember correctly pitchers were held to fairly low pitch counts, especially in the first round.

[Raw Biz]

If Gallardo gets hurt the Brewers will be lucky to win 70 games.

 

I don't think it would be quite that bad. That would mean Gallardo is a 10-13 WAR player.

[JohnBriggs12]

Mexico isn't considered one of the stronger teams. Anythings possible but I'd be surprised if he pitches all that much.

[trwi7]

Pitch limits are 65 in the first round, 80 in the second and 95 in the semi-finals and finals.

[joepepsi]

I understand the WBC is important in other countries, but as an MLB fan all it means to me is a delay to the start of the season.

[monty57]

If Gallardo gets hurt the Brewers will be lucky to win 70 games.

 

I don't think it would be quite that bad. That would mean Gallardo is a 10-13 WAR player.

 

Theoretically.

 

{Knock on wood before typing}

 

There may be a "compounding WAR." If Gallardo were out for the season, he would need to be replaced by the #6 guy, most likely Narveson or Rogers, and Narveson/Rogers would be replaced by some other guy. You'd "lose wins" going from Gallardo to the #6 guy, and "lose wins" going from the #6 guy to the #7 guy.

 

Additionally, if the rotation lines up Fiers, Estrada, Peralta, Narveson, Rogers, I would guess that there would be a lot of "bullpen burners" when a couple of starters failed to go more than five innings consecutively. A worn-out bullpen can have disasterous effects on a season, and even with Gallardo, we don't have that "stopper" who can be relied upon to throw 7-9 innings on a regular basis.

 

Add in that any other injuries to starters throughout the season (or one of the "question marks" in the rotation not playing well) would mean dipping further into our AAA depth, and it could get ugly if the #7,8,9 guys get a bunch of starts.

 

No one player is that important to a team, and saying we'd be lucky to win 70 may be a stretch, but losing either Gallardo or Braun for an extended period would pretty much destroy our playoff hopes, which are already slim.

 

That said, I like the World Baseball Classic and think it's good for the game. It just adds a little bit of extra chance for players to get hurt or (more likely) tired out going into the season. MLB thinks it's worth it, and the players generally jump at the chance to represent their country, so I will enjoy watching it. I'll just cross my fingers when Gallardo is pitching into the fifth inning when he'd be pulled after three in a ST game, or when Braun or Lucroy are going all out in the ninth inning when they'd have been out of the ST game early.

[DocLuna7]

Not to hijack this thread into a general discussion of the WBC, but does anyone else find some of the eligiblity rules for this tournament a bit odd? Basing a team off of (in some cases) the ethnicity of grandparents like the Italian team does seems a bit of a stretch.

[monty57]

Not to hijack this thread into a general discussion of the WBC, but does anyone else find some of the eligiblity rules for this tournament a bit odd? Basing a team off of (in some cases) the ethnicity of grandparents like the Italian team does seems a bit of a stretch.

 

I think they're trying to get some competitiveness to areas (like Italy) which are starting to embrace baseball, but don't stand a chance against some of the other teams out there. MLB is using the WBC as a marketing tool... it's pretty exciting for the budding Italian players to play against MLB superstars, but it's kind of nice if the score isn't 100-0. Not that a Vinny Rottino will do that much to offset a Ryan Braun, but every little bit helps.

[DocLuna7]

Not to hijack this thread into a general discussion of the WBC, but does anyone else find some of the eligiblity rules for this tournament a bit odd? Basing a team off of (in some cases) the ethnicity of grandparents like the Italian team does seems a bit of a stretch.

 

I think they're trying to get some competitiveness to areas (like Italy) which are starting to embrace baseball, but don't stand a chance against some of the other teams out there. MLB is using the WBC as a marketing tool... it's pretty exciting for the budding Italian players to play against MLB superstars, but it's kind of nice if the score isn't 100-0. Not that a Vinny Rottino will do that much to offset a Ryan Braun, but every little bit helps.

 

Yeah, I get that and agree with you that it is definitely what MLB is trying to do with the WBC. I guess it just seems a bit artificial that some countries essentially get to handicap their rosters with guys that have never even been to that country. Oh well, I am sure that we (the US) are not going to be scrambling to fill our roster with quality players. Just an obeservation on the tournament.

[bjkrautk]

Axford re-tweeted a congratulations on being named to the Canadian WBC team on Sunday.

 

[Invader3K]

I think they're trying to get some competitiveness to areas (like Italy) which are starting to embrace baseball, but don't stand a chance against some of the other teams out there. MLB is using the WBC as a marketing tool... it's pretty exciting for the budding Italian players to play against MLB superstars, but it's kind of nice if the score isn't 100-0. Not that a Vinny Rottino will do that much to offset a Ryan Braun, but every little bit helps.

 

Fun fact: Ryan Braun was eligible to play for Team Israel. Kind of glad he's sticking with Team USA, though.

[Roderick]

Mexico isn't considered one of the stronger teams. Anythings possible but I'd be surprised if he pitches all that much.

 

I think that is exactly the worry about the potential overuse of Gallardo as he is going to be their best shot at winning games.

[JohnBriggs12]

Mexico isn't considered one of the stronger teams. Anythings possible but I'd be surprised if he pitches all that much.

 

I think that is exactly the worry about the potential overuse of Gallardo as he is going to be their best shot at winning games.

 

Mexico is in the same pool as the U.S., Canada, and Italy. Pool play consists of one game against each of the other teams in your pool on consecutive days. Only the top two teams in each pool advance (play more than 3 games) to the next round. Odds are Gallardo pitches in one game and that's it. The U.S. should be overwhelming favorite to advance and on paper Canada is stronger than Mexico.

[Roderick]

Mexico isn't considered one of the stronger teams. Anythings possible but I'd be surprised if he pitches all that much.

 

I think that is exactly the worry about the potential overuse of Gallardo as he is going to be their best shot at winning games.

 

Mexico is in the same pool as the U.S., Canada, and Italy. Pool play consists of one game against each of the other teams in your pool on consecutive days. Only the top two teams in each pool advance (play more than 3 games) to the next round. Odds are Gallardo pitches in one game and that's it. The U.S. should be overwhelming favorite to advance and on paper Canada is stronger than Mexico.

 

Got it. Sounds like they should save Gallardo for the Canada game and hope.

[Thurston Fluff]

Not to be unpatriotic but it appears to me this is more a goodwill measure than a national pride event at this point. I'd rather the US picked someone else and let Israel have Braun. Even if it meant lower odds of the US winning. This is a scrimmage for us but the big show for some of these teams. Many of these players are, in a way, pioneers of baseball in their countries. If one of our players get hurt I'll be disappointed but still think it's worth it as a fan of baseball. For the most part I don't believe exhibitions count but the WBC is an exception for me.

[razzzorsharp]

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/eye-on-baseball/21569512/team-usa-announces-world-baseball-classic-roster

 

Pitching seems weak.

[SRB]

Pitching doesn't look amazing, but is it just me or is this the best U.S. starting lineup yet?

 

I always feel like the U.S. doesn't commit all of its best players because it's afraid it might lose if it did.

[Kelbysdaddy]

wow- that netherlands team has a LOT of shortstops! jurickson profar, andrelton simmons, hainley statia, Xander Bogaerts, and nick urbanus are all on the roster and their primary position is shortstop.

[jjkoestler]

Where are the ace pitchers? Kershaw, Verlander, Strasberg...

 

There are a lot of position players missing too. I thought Trout and Harper would be locks.

[DHonks]

I see Andy Gonzalez and Michael Franke both are in the event. Haven't heard Franke's name in years

[Patrick425]

What happened to this rule that McCalvey mentioned in his blog?

 

The rules dictate that teams cannot lose more than eight members of their 40-man roster to the WBC, and the Brewers’ expectation is that they will either come close to or reach that limit.

 

The Brewers have 14 players from their organization playing in this thing. 11 are on the 40 man roster.

 

I understand the WBC is important in other countries, but as an MLB fan all it means to me is a delay to the start of the season.

 

The start of the season is not delayed by this. Spring training games are starting early.