The 2023 World Baseball Classic is starting to take shape.
We have the entire pool of 20 teams that will take part in the fifth edition of the tournament, and each country is filling out its roster with the best available players.
On Tuesday, Team USA secured two nice additions to their rotation: New York Yankees’ star Nestor Cortes Jr. and St. Louis Cardinals veteran Adam Wainwright.
Waino is #ALLIN for the #WorldBaseballClassic. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/Np3la2V3E7
— MLB (@MLB) November 29, 2022
On the position player side of things, the American team is loaded with talent, with catchers J.T. Realmuto and Will Smith, first basemen Pete Alonso and Paul Goldschmidt, second baseman Trevor Story, third basemen Nolan Arenado and Bobby Witt Jr., plus shortstop Tim Anderson.
Outfielders Mookie Betts, Bryce Harper, Cedric Mullins, Mike Trout, and Kyle Tucker had also announced their presence.
The pitching was a little light, though, with Merrill Kelly, David Bednar, Dillon Tate, and Devin Williams confirmed until today.
The USA rotation got two great pitchers in Cortes and Wainwright.
2023 Will Be A Special Year for Wainwright
The 41-year-old Wainwright gets to represent his country one last time: he announced that 2023 would be his final season in the big leagues.
What a better way to go out than leading your country to a World Baseball Classic championship?
That’s surely what he is shooting for.
Wainwright showed in 2022 that he still has it.
In 191.2 innings with the Cards, he had a 3.71 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP.
His numbers could have been even better, but an injury probably affected his performance in the second half.
2023, therefore, will be a big year for Waino.
He will get to represent Team USA, then pitch in front of his fans for one last season.
