The White Sox will have solid representation in the upcoming World Baseball Classic.
NBC Sports Chicago’s Chuck Garfien revealed in a recent article that outfielder Eloy Jimenez and reliever Reynaldo Lopez have been added to Dominican Republic’s 50-man roster ahead of the 2023 tournament. The two will join fellow teammates Lance Lynn (USA), Tim Anderson (USA), Yoan Moncada (Cuba), and Luis Robert (Cuba) in participating for their home country’s team.
In his fourth season with the White Sox, Jimenez appeared in 84 games, the second-most of his career to date (122 in 2019). The 26-year-old quickly erased a slow start with a second-half power surge that boosted his season totals nicely. The likely DH of the future finished with a .295/.358/.500 batting line, 16 homers, 54 RBI, and a 144 wRC+.
Lopez, 28, continued to be a crucial piece out of the bullpen in his sixth season with the White Sox. He finished 6-4 with a 2.76 ERA (20 ER/65.1 IP) and 63 strikeouts in 61 appearances. Among AL relief pitchers, Lopez ranked third in HR/9.0 IP (0.14), fourth in BB/9.0 IP (1.56), eighth in SO/BB ratio (5.45), ninth in BR/9.0 IP (8.81), 10th in Opponents OBP (.255), and 11th in WHIP (0.96).
Though more names will likely be made official, here are the players who have reportedly committed to the Dominican Republic:
Starting Pitchers
- Sandy Alcantara
- Framber Valdez
- Cristian Javier
- Luis Castillo
Relief Pitchers
- Bryan Abreu
- Camilo Doval
- Diego Castillo
- Emmanuel Clase
- Felix Bautista
- Genesis Cabrera
- Gregory Soto
- Jhoan Duran
- Rafael Montero
- Seranthony Dominguez
- Wandy Peralta
- Yimi Garcia
- Reynaldo Lopez
Position Players
- Gary Sanchez
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
- Jose Ramirez
- Jeremy Pena
- Manny Machado
- Starling Marte
- Julio Rodriguez
- Juan Soto
- Eloy Jimenez
- Rafael Devers
- Francisco Mejia
- Ketel Marte
- Nelson Cruz (DH)
- Pedro Severino
- Robinson Cano (2B)
- Teoscar Hernandez
- Wander Franco
For the first time ever, the World Baseball Classic is expanding to 20 teams with pool play beginning this March in four cities around the globe: Phoenix, Miami, Tokyo, Japan, and Taichung, Taiwan. The quarterfinal games will take place in Tokyo and Miami, and the semifinals and championship game will be played in Miami.
The United States are the reigning champions after shutting out Puerto Rico 8-0 in 2017 for their first title. They are set to play in Pool C in Phoenix, along with Canada, Colombia, Mexico, and Great Britain.
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