USA BASEBALL ANNOUNCES 2017 WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC ROSTER

By Jerry Del Priore and USA Baseball

Durham, N.C. – USA Baseball announced on Wednesday the 28-man roster for the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

For New York Mets fans, Team USA features one former first round pick, Michael Fulmer (designated pool pitcher), and two Ex-Mets, right-handed pitcher Tyler Clippard and second baseman Daniel Murphy.

Plus, former Mets manager Willie Randolph, who will serve as third base coach for Team USA, and the squad’s General Manager Joe Torre, another Ex-Met Manager.

“We’re excited to kick off the 2017 World Baseball Classic with the announcement of our roster,” said Paul Seiler, Executive Director and CEO of USA Baseball. “USA Baseball strives to compete at the highest level on the international stage and we are thrilled to welcome a group of stellar athletes who will work tirelessly towards a World Baseball Classic title for the United States.”

For the first time, teams will be able to select up to two pitchers from the designated pitcher pool who will join the roster following each round of the tournament.  These players will not immediately join Team USA in the first round but are available for designation upon advancing.

USA Baseball’s 2017 World Baseball Classic roster include:

Name, Position, MLB Club, Birthplace:

Christian Archer, RHP, Tampa Bay Rays, Raleigh, N.C.

Nolan Arenado, 3B, Colorado Rockies, Newport Beach, Calif.

Alex Bregman, INF, Houston Astros, Albuquerque, N.M.

Matt Carpenter, 3B, St. Louis Cardinals, Galveston, Texas

Tyler Clippard, RHP, New York Yankees, Lexington, Ky.

Brandon Crawford, SS, San Francisco Giants, Mountain View, Calif.

Danny Duffy, (D.P.P.) LHP, Kansas City Royals, Goleta, Calif.

Sam Dyson, RHP, Texas Rangers, Tampa, Fla.

A.J. Ellis, C, Miami Marlins, Cape Girardeau, Mo.

Mychal Givens, RHP, Baltimore Orioles, Tampa, Fla.

Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, Arizona Diamondbacks, Wilmington, Del.

Luke Gregerson, RHP, Houston Astros, Park Ridge, Ill.

Eric Hosmer, 1B, Kansas City Royals, South Miami, Fla.

Adam Jones, OF, Baltimore Orioles, San Diego, Calif.

Nate Jones, RHP, Chicago White Sox, Butler, Ky.

Ian Kinsler, 2B, Detroit Tigers, Tucson, Ariz.

Jonathan Lucroy, C, Texas Rangers, Eustis, Fla.

Andrew McCutchen, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates, Fort Meade, Fla.

Jake McGee, LHP, Colorado Rockies, San Jose, Calif.

Andrew Miller, LHP, Cleveland Indians, Gainesville, Fla.

Daniel Murphy, 2B, Washington Nationals, Jacksonville, Fla.

Pat Neshek, RHP, Philadelphia Phillies, Madison, Wis.

Buster Posey, C, San Francisco Giants, Leesburg, Ga.

Tanner Roark, (D.P.P.) RHP, Washington Nationals, Wilmington, Ill.

David Robertson, RHP, Chicago White Sox, Birmingham, Ala.

Giancarlo Stanton, OF, Miami Marlins, Panorama, Calif.

Marcus Stroman, RHP, Toronto Blue Jays, Medford, N.Y.

Christian Yelich, OF, Miami Marlins, Thousand Oaks, Calif.

Designated Pitcher Pool:

Brett Cecil, LHP, St. Louis Cardinals, Dunkirk, Md.

Michael Fulmer, RHP, Detroit Indians, Oklahoma City, Okla.

Sonny Gray, RHP, Oakland Athletics, Nashville, Tenn.

J.A. Happ, LHP, Toronto Blue Jays, Peru, Ill.

Drew Smyly, LHP, Seattle Mariners, Little Rock, Ark.

Alex Wilson, RHP, Detroit Tigers, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.

USA Baseball’s World Baseball Classic team will play its first-round games as part of Pool C at Marlins Park in Miami. The U.S. will face Colombia at 6:00 pm (ET) on Friday, March 10, before taking on defending champion Dominican Republic on March 11, and Canada on March 12.