The United States is gearing up for the World Baseball Classic and has already gotten commitments from some superstars. However, Boston Red Sox stars Garrett Crochet and Roman Anthony are not expected to join the team, Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow told MassLive’s Chris Cotillo.
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The Red Sox have one player representing Team USA already, Garrett Whitlock, so this isn’t the organization refusing all of its players participating in the tournament. Instead, it is the organization proceeding with caution in regard to two of its most important players.
Earlier this year, Crochet expressed a desire to pitch for Team USA, but after exceeding 213 innings last season, the Red Sox will keep him at spring training. They likely do not want him pitching any more high-leverage innings than he needs to.
As for Anthony, he is one of the best young players in baseball and could have represented Team USA or Team Italy. However, he suffered an oblique injury late in the year, and the Red Sox are proceeding with caution there.
“Coming off the injury, we’ll be pretty sensitive to that,” Breslow told Cotillo. Breslow noted that Anthony has been medically cleared.
However, with the Red Sox signed Anthony to an eight-year, $130 million extension earlier this year, it is no surprise that they want him at spring training coming off of his injury.
Not having Crochet is a bigger loss than not having Anthony for Team USA. They already have Corbin Carroll, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Aaron Judge in the outfield, but the only confirmed starting pitchers they have so far are Paul Skenes and Matthew Boyd.
Skenes and Boyd are great, but starting pitching is a clear need for the United States. Two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal is eligible to represent Team USA, but given that he is one year away from free agency, he may not want to risk injury when he is projected to become the highest-paid pitcher in history.
Team USA still has options, but Crochet would have been a phenomenal addition. He was the American League Cy Young Award runner-up and posted a 2.59 ERA in 32 starts.
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WBN WBC: https://worldbaseball.com/league/wbc/
Photo: Boston Red Sox’s Garrett Crochet pitches during a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Monday, May 26, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)
