The general manager of the Dominican Republic team reported that the preliminary roster of 35 players will be announced in January
The main message sent by Nelson Cruzgeneral manager of the Dominican team for the 2023 World Baseball Classic, is that there is no official restriction for the wide group of players to choose from given the talent that the Caribbean country has.
“We don’t have any official restrictions But between now and March a lot happens. We are optimistic that the conformation of the players we have to be part of the team is still intact”, declared the active player and manager at a press conference about the national team.
However, Cruz also called for caution because there is still a long time (approximately two months) to offer a final list and pointed out that anything can happen referring to injuries that could occur.
“We hope in God that they do not suffer any injury and that the teams do not put up any obstacles in the event that a player arrives with some type of discomfort at the training camps… There are many things that can vary and that can influence a team put restrictions on a player,” said Nelson Cruz.
The management of the Dominican Republic team has scheduled for the month of January to offer a first list of 35 players, who will be selected from the preliminary roster of 50 that could be released this week and of which some names have already been announced.
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February would be the month where the final 30-player roster would be published, an arduous task according to Cruz due to the large amount of talent available in the country.
“The most difficult thing will be the formation of the final roster. With the number of talented players we have, it will be hard to choose. I want God to give me the wisdom to make the right decision and it will be a joint decision,” added Cruz.
The Dominican general manager also added that at the moment there is no player “who does not want to go” to the Classic and reiterated that the desire to louis castillopitcher for the Mariners, is positive and “is in the best willingness to play” despite reports that his MLB organization would be opposed to the Dominican joining the March 2023 event.
