The Milwaukee Brewers have a handful of players participating in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. This includes Devin Williams, Rowdy Tellez, Luis Urias, and Abraham Toro. Reports have indicated that Sal Frelick will play as well. Today, a report came out indicating that Freddy Peralta will not participate in the WBC.
Moises Fabian was the first to report this news. It was later again reiterated by Shawn Spradling.
Moises Fabian reported that Freddy Peralta will not participate in the 2023 WBC.
Fabian indicated that Peralta will not participate due to having a back shoulder strain last year. Peralta did miss just over two months of the 2022 season due to a LAT strain. He returned to the Brewers on a limited basis and a month after returning he ended up back on the IL with shoulder inflammation.
In total, Peralta made 17 starts last year during his injury filled season and pitched just 78 innings. His ERA ended up at 3.58 and he held opposing batters to a .190 batting average against.
Having missed a large portion of last season, it would make sense that Peralta would want focus on building his arm up within the confines of the Brewers spring training camp. The WBC is competitive and may not be the greatest environment for a pitcher who is looking for a bounce back season from a health perspective.
However, Peralta did previously have some strong words about potentially representing the Dominican Republic in this years WBC. Here is what he said at the Brewers Hot Stove & Cold Brews event.
“Playing for my country, representing my country is the best. It’s something when I was growing up as a little kid, I was watching those games and it was fun watching. Imagine playing and contributing to the team winning. Also, that kind of competition is what we’re looking for as a country. We know the USA has a great team, but we also have a great one too. Let’s see what’s going to happen.”
For now, this is just a report. Pitchers report to camp in a few weeks, so we should officially know Peraltas plans soon.
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