World Baseball Classic at-a-glance

March 5, 2017 at 5:38AM
Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Hector Santiago (53) wore his glove on his head as he walked out to the backfields for a warmup Thursday at the start of workouts. ] AARON LAVINSKY ï aaron.lavinsky@startribune.com Minnesota Twins pitchers and catchers took part in Spring Training on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017 at CenturyLink Sports Complex in Fort Myers, Fla.
Santiago (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC

What: International tournament that takes place every four years. This is the fourth edition.

When: Monday through March 22.

TV: MLB Network.

Format: Top two teams in each pool advance to play at two round-robin sites (Tokyo and San Diego). The top two at each round-robin site advance to the finals at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

Favorites: The Dominican Republic, the 2013 champion, is loaded again. Venezuela has plenty of offense but needs pitching to come through.

U.S. outlook: Jim Leyland will manage a team with a lineup full of stars such as Andrew McCutchen, Giancarlo Stanton and Buster Posey (if healthy). Starting pitching might be an issue without injured Max Scherzer and Sonny Gray.

Pool A in Seoul: Israel, Korea, Netherlands, Taiwan.

Pool B in Tokyo: Australia, China, Cuba, Japan.

Pool C in Miami: Canada, Colombia, Dominican Republic, United States.

Pool D in Guadalajara, Mexico: Italy, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela.

TWINS IN THE WBC

Australia: The Aussies have pitchers Todd Van Steensel and Lachlan Wells and OF Aaron Whitefield.

Colombia: Pitcher Yohan Pino and 1B Reynaldo Rodriguez are playing for the WBC first-timers.

Puerto Rico: 1B Kennys Vargas, OF Eddie Rosario and pitchers Jose Berrios and Hector Santiago are part of a roster that also includes shortstops Carlos Correa and Francisco Lindor.

other players of note

Australia: Former Twins infielder Luke Hughes.

Canada: Former Twins 1B Justin Morneau.

Israel: 1B Ike Davis, son of former Twins pitcher Ron Davis; ex-Twins Sam Fuld, OF, and Jason Marquis, P.

Italy: Former Twins Drew Butera, C, and Chris Colabello, 1B.

Netherlands: 7-foot-1 pitcher Loek Van Mil, a former Twins farmhand.

STAFF, NEWS SERVICE REPORTS

Minnesota Twins first baseman Kennys Vargas (19) made a face for the camera while taking a rest Tuesday. ] AARON LAVINSKY ï aaron.lavinsky@startribune.com Minnesota Twins players took part in Spring Training on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017 at CenturyLink Sports Complex in Fort Myers, Fla.
Vargas (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
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