Major League Baseball

Mariners Participating In The World Baseball Classic

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 1:44 a.m. ET

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Fansided, Alex Sommerfield/FanSided via SoDo Mojo

At least 10 Mariners -possibly 11 if newly acquired Drew Smyly gets promoted to the USA’s active roster- will be participating in the World Baseball Classic.

The 16 team tournament starts on March 6th. The first round of games will be played in Tokyo, Seoul, Miami, and Guadalajara.

The finals will take place at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on March 22nd.

This means that the Mariners participating will be away from the team for the majority of spring training before returning a few weeks before the regular season starts.

The Dominican Republic won the last WBC in 2013 after Japan had won the previous two.

For those who either won’t chosen for their respective country’s roster in the WBC or chose not participate in the tournament for whatever reason, they may be taking at the Mariners spring training camp in Peoria, Arizona.

To help you figure out where some of the Mariners will or will not be playing the next couple of months, we’ve compiled a guide for who’ll be in the WBC and who won’t be.

Sep 30, 2016; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano (22) turns a double play against the Oakland Athletics during the first inning at Safeco Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Players Who Got In

Robinson Cano

Cano will be playing for the Dominican Republic again after leading them to victory in the last WBC and taking home the MVP trophy. During that tournament Cano hit .469, slugging .781, with two homers over eight games.

Nelson Cruz

Cruz will also be playing for the Dominican Republic. He was a part of the 2013 championship team with Cano as well. During that tournament, Cruz hit .303, with four doubles playing in all eight games.

Tyler O’Neill

O’Neill will be making his first appearance for Canada in the WBC this spring. He was the mariners minor league hitting of the year last season. Canada’s first game will be against Cruz, Cano and the Dominican Republic on March ninth in Miami.

Sam Gaviglio

Naviglio is a Mariners minor league pitcher who split time between Double-A Jackson and Triple-A Tacoma last year. He started 26 games and finished with an ERA of 3.98. He will be pitching for Team Italy.

Pat Venditte

The Ambidextrous pitcher who the Mariners acquired last season will be pitching for Team Italy too. Venditte is likely to start this season in AAA for the Mariners. Italy’s first game will be against Mexico and newly acquired Mariners starter, Yovani Gallardo.

Yovani Gallardo

The 30-year-old right will be pitching for Team Mexico. This offseason the M’s traded Seth Smith to Baltimore to get Gallardo. Last season Gallardo struggled after dealing with a shoulder injury throughout the season.

Sebastian Valle

This Mariners minor league catcher was a chance to battery mates with Gallardo as he is also playing for team Mexico. Valle will be battling with another minor league catcher from the Mets for the starting spot. Last season Valle was with the Yankees AA team, before signing a minor league deal with the M’s this offseason.

Edwin Diaz

The electric young closer will be pitching for Puerto Rico in the WBC. Diaz had 88 strikeouts in 51.2 innings to go along with 18 saves after being called up last season. Puerto Rico’s first game will be against Venezuela on March 10th.

Emilio Pagan

Pagan is a Mariners minor league pitcher who last season spent time with both AA Jackson and AAA Tacoma. He posted a 2.49 ERA and 10 saves to go along with 84 strikeouts over 65 innings. He will be pitching for Puerto Rico along with Diaz.

Felix Hernandez

Last but not least, Hernandez will be pitching for Venezuela. Felix is looking for a bounce-back year after 2016 was one to forget. This is Felix’s first time pitching for Team Venezuela in the WBC since 2009 after skipping the tournament in 2013.

Sep 30, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Jean Segura (2) hits a foul ball during the third inning against the San Diego Padres at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Players who didn’t make it

Jean Segura

The new mariner who is a native of the Dominican Republic will not be playing with them this spring. He and Cano seem to get along well so this move is a surprise. The Dominican Republic will likely start Manny Machado at shortstop.

Kyle Seager

Seager will not be paying for the USA in the WBC. The US looks to rely on last season’s breakout star Nolan Arenado at third base.

Leonys Martin

Born in Cuba, Leonys will not be suiting up for Cuba. This comes as no surprise as Martin defected from Cuba and all of the players on Cuba’s WBC team are players who haven’t defected.

For those wondering about former Mariners, Ichiro will not be playing for team Japan and Dae-ho Lee will not be playing for South Korea.

Make sure to check out the Mariners that will be taking part in the world baseball classic from March 6th-22nd or catch those not participating in the WBC by following the Mariners spring training from February 25th-April 1st.

We’ll be covering both spring training and the WBC with Mariners updates if you can’t catch the games live online, on the TV or on the radio.

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