Just before the 2023 MLB season, the fifth edition of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) will take place, in March.
Many countries have been announcing player commitments to their roster, and Team Mexico didn’t want to be left out.
On Thursday, it was revealed that Team Mexico would be adding two star players to their WBC roster: Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias and Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena.
Julio Urías and Randy Arozarena intend to play for Team Mexico in the #WorldBaseballClassic! pic.twitter.com/yw2ONDq7z8
— MLB (@MLB) October 6, 2022
Urias was MLB’s ERA leader this year and won the World Series with the Dodgers in 2020.
He is one of their many aces, and will surely lead Mexico’s rotation in the WBC.
Arozarena was born and raised in Pinar del Rio, Cuba.
However, he defected the country and arrived in Mexico in 2016.
Arozarena And Urias Are Two World-Class Reinforcements For Mexico
There, he started to slowly build a professional baseball career.
He played in the Mérida Winter League, the Norte de México League, and with the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League.
He was also a member of the Mayos de Navojoa of the Mexican Pacific League.
Mexico adopted Arozarena and he made it his second home.
Now, he will be representing it in baseball’s biggest international tournament.
Team Mexico has some really interesting players, if everyone commits to playing.
They could have Alex Verdugo, Luis Gonzalez, Joey Meneses, Jose Urquidy, Luis Cessa, Manny Banuelos, Andres Munos, Gio Gallegos, Joakim Soria, Alejandro Kirk, Luis Urias, Ramon Urias, Isaac Paredes, and of course Urias and Arozarena.
That’s a really solid team that could make a surprising run at the title, depending on who plays.
Team Mexico could put together a competitive team, as it looks for its first title in the competition.
