Eovaldi and Lynn are 'All in' for Team USA
The embarrassment of riches that is Team USA's World Baseball Classic roster just got a few more additions. On Wednesday, starting pitchers Nathan Eovaldi and Lance Lynn committed to the team for this spring's tournament.
Eovaldi, the hero of the 2018 World Series for the Red Sox and currently a free agent, battled injuries last year en route to a 6-3 record with a 3.87 ERA across 20 starts. The right-hander has been one of the game's best at limiting free passes, holding the opposition to a second best in baseball 1.64 BB/9 since 2020 (min. 300 IP).
Lynn, who has three top-6 Cy Young Award finishes since 2019, returned from knee surgery in June and posted a 3.99 ERA in 121 2/3 IP last season. The White Sox starter is one of the most durable hurlers when healthy, though: From 2019-21, Lynn's 449 1/3 IP were fifth among all Major League starters.
Rosters won't be finalized until 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, 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.