Before the MLB season starts, the World Baseball Classic will keep us all entertained for several weeks.
Even the days leading up to the tournament that starts on March 8 have been exciting, and MLB Network had a whole show on Thursday to reveal the rosters of the 20 countries.
Puerto Rico is one of the countries that will participate.
One of the usual suspects when it comes to WBC participations, Puerto Rico was close to winning its first title in 2013 but lost the final game to the Dominican Republic.
10 years later, they have announced a solid roster all around and are looking for vindication.
It won’t be easy, since they are in the same pool as powerhouses such as the Dominican Republic and Venezuela, plus Nicaragua and Israel, but they will give it a shot.
They have the personnel to make things really interesting.
¡ESTO ES PR! 🇵🇷
El #TeamRubio está listo para el #WorldBaseballClassic 2023. 💪 pic.twitter.com/Om5KqIH2Uh
— MLB Puerto Rico (@MLBPuertoRico) February 9, 2023
They have several arms with MLB experience, such as Hector Santiago, Dereck Rodriguez, Alex Claudio, Emilio Pagan, Alexis Diaz, and Jose de Leon.
Of course, the biggest stars on the pitching side are starters Marcus Stroman and Jose Berrios, and relief pitcher Edwin Diaz.
Diaz had a 1.31 ERA last season and struck out 118 hitters over 62 frames.
Puerto Rico’s on-field and spiritual leader, however, will be Francisco Lindor.
Carlos Correa won’t play, but Lindor is an authentic offensive and defensive star in his prime and always puts his country first.
He will be ready to give his all to help Puerto Rico reach its objectives.
Kiké Hernandez, Jose Miranda, Lindor, Eddie Rosario, Javier Baez, Martin Maldonado, Christian Vazquez, and MJ Melendez all have big-league pedigree when it comes to position players.
We don’t know if Puerto Rico will win the Classic, but they sure will be competitive.
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