On March 8, the Giants are scheduled to scrimmage Team USA in Scottsdale Stadium as they prepare for the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Logan Webb will have teammates on both sides.
Webb, the Giants ace, committed to pitch for a Team USA squad that’s shaping up to be a Dream Team. Webb will join Merrill Kelly, Nestor Cortes and Adam Wainwright — the latter two joined this week — in the rotation.
Team USA, the defending WBC champions, are led by captain Mike Trout in addition to National League MVP Paul Goldschmidt, Mookie Betts, Pete Alonso, Nolan Arenado, J.T. Realmuto, Trea Turner, Trevor Story, Kyle Tucker, Tim Anderson, Cedric Mullins and Bobby Witt Jr..
The roster is subject to change — Bryce Harper committed but has since gotten elbow surgery — until it’s officially announced, but these players have publicly agreed to represent America.
Webb, 26, went 15-9 with a 2.90 ERA in 2022, building off a breakout 2021 campaign. The Rocklin, CA native pitched a career high 192.1 innings and finished 11th in NL Cy Young voting.
Longtime MLB manager Mark DeRosa is serving as USA’s manager for the 2023 tournament. His staff includes Ken Griffey Jr. and Andy Pettite as hitting and pitching coaches, respectively. Former Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti is USA’s bullpen coach.
Games will be held from March 8 to March 21 across the globe in Miami, Phoenix, Tokyo and Taiwan. The expanded field of 20 includes teams from Japan, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Israel, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Colombia, Mexico, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, China, Korea, Czech Republic, Italy, Chinese Taipai, Cuba, Panama and Netherlands.