Adam Ottavino set to join Team USA
A good bullpen is usually loaded with guys who can throw a nasty slider and Team USA just added one of the game's very best. On Thursday, the federation announced that Mets reliever Adam Ottavino has committed to the squad for this spring's World Baseball Classic.
The 37-year-old reliever is coming off one of his best big league seasons, posting a 2.06 ERA and striking out 10.8 batters per nine innings for the Mets in 2022. A lot of that is thanks to his slider, which limited batters to a .165 average last season and generated whiffs 38 percent of the time he threw it.
Rosters will be finalized later this winter, but here is how Team USA's roster currently looks:
C: J.T. Realmuto, Will Smith
1B: Pete Alonso, Paul Goldschmidt
2B: Trevor Story
SS: Tim Anderson, Bobby Witt Jr.
3B: Nolan Arenado
OF: Mookie Betts, Cedric Mullins, Mike Trout, Kyle Tucker
SP: Nestor Cortes, Nathan Eovaldi, Kyle Freeland, Merrill Kelly, Lance Lynn, Miles Mikolas, Brady Singer, Adam Wainwright, Logan Webb
RP: Daniel Bard, David Bednar, Nick Martinez, Adam Ottavino, Ryan Pressly, Dillon Tate, Devin Williams
Team USA will begin its title defense on March 11 in Phoenix, taking on Mexico, Colombia, Canada and Great Britain in Pool C.