Mets infielder T.J. Rivera will play for Puerto Rico in World Baseball Classic
Puerto Rico’s national team will feature a couple of standout Mets rookies from 2016.
The 2017 World Baseball Classic rosters are starting to take shape, and one more Mets player has added his name to the list. According to Fox Sport’s Jon Morosi, Mets infielder, and breakout star from 2016, T.J. Rivera, will be suiting up for Puerto Rico in next spring’s tournament. The Bronx-native’s family is original from Puerto Rico which allows Rivera to join the squad.
. @TJ_Rivera_ of @Mets is latest player committed to play for Team Puerto Rico at @WBCBaseball, source confirms. @MLB @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 28, 2016
The 28-year-old Rivera debuted with New York last year, and handled himself extremely well while he was up in the big leagues. He hit the cover off the ball hitting for a .333 average, with an on base percentage of .345 in just 113 plate appearances. His slugging percentage of .476 shows he wasn’t just hitting singles either. This kid has great potential, and if last year is an example of anything, this could just be the tip of the iceberg for him.
Puerto Rico’s national team will also feature another rookie Mets player from last year’s team, righty Seth Lugo. Lugo has also reportedly committed to joining Puerto Rico though until the rosters are formally announced, it’s not technically official. Lugo and Rivera aren’t huge pieces of the Mets’ 2017 squad, but they’re still important enough. Their absence from Spring Training with so many uncertain spots up in the infield and pitching staff will be interesting to see.
Aside from Rivera and Lugo, Asdrubal Cabrera, Jeurys Familia, and Ty Kelly will be playing in the World Baseball Classic for their respective countries as well.
Cabrera will play for Venezuela, while Familia will likely be the closer for the Dominican Republic, and Ty Kelly will be on Israel’s national team.
The World Baseball Classic kicks off March 6th in Seoul, South Korea.
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