Los Angeles Dodgers franchise star Clayton Kershaw (34) is expected to participate in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) to be held in March next year.
On the 20th (Korean time), the American Professional Baseball Major League (MLB) announced on its social media account, “Kershaw, who won the Cy Young Award three times, the Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) once, and the World Series championship title once, is going all-in to the WBC.” announced.
Kershaw is the key left-handed pitcher representing MLB. He made his big-league debut in a Dodgers uniform in 2008 and left a lot to be desired.
He ranked first in the National League ERA for four consecutive years from 2011 to 2014, and received three Cy Young Awards for the best pitcher during this period.
In 2014, he went 21-3 with a 1.77 earned run average and won the MVP trophy.
However, Kershaw has been sluggish since 2019 due to frequent injuries and poor performance. He recently signed a one-year, $20 million free agent contract 메이저놀이터 with the Dodgers. Even after the 2021 season, the Dodgers signed a one-year short-term contract with Kershaw.
Kershaw rolled up his sleeves, saying that he would throw the ball as a member of the U.S. national team, although his physical condition is unstable enough to pitch less than 130 innings for two consecutive years.
This is Kershaw’s first WBC appearance. He refused to participate in the 4th tournament in 2017 and the 3rd tournament in 2013.
With Kershaw’s addition, the number of players included in the preliminary roster for the WBC USA team has increased to 30.
The roster for each WBC team is 28, and each team must submit a preliminary list of 35 players to the WBC Organizing Committee during this month.
Kershaw, Nestor Cortes (New York Yankees), Nathan Ivaldi (FA), Kyle Freeland (Colorado Rockies), Merrill Kelly (Arizona Diamondbacks), Lance Lynn (Chicago White Sox), Adam Wayne Wright, Miles Mycolors (St. Louis Cardinals), Brady Singer (Kansas City Royals), and Logan Webb (San Francisco Giants) were named.
Bullpen resources include David Bednar (Pittsburgh Pirates), Dylan Tate (Baltimore Orioles), Devin Williams (Milwaukee Brewers), Daniel Bard (Colorado), Nick Martinez (San Diego Padres), Adam Otterbino (Boston Red Sox), Ryan Presley (Houston Astros) included.
As for the catcher, JT Realmuto (Philadelphia Phillies) and Will Smith (Dodgers) announced their intention to join.
First baseman Pete Alonso (New York Mets), Paul Goldschmidt (St. Louis), second baseman Trevor Story (Boston), shortstop Tim Anderson (Chicago), Trea Turner (Philadelphia), third baseman Nolan Eranado (St. Louis), Bobby Witt Jr. (Kansas City), outfielders Mike Trout (Los Angeles Angels), Mookie Betts (Dodgers), Cedric Mullins (Baltimore), and Kyle Tucker (Houston) were also on the reserve list.
The United States will play WBC Group C matches against Mexico, Colombia, Canada, and Great Britain in Phoenix, Arizona, from March 11 next year.