NEW YORK -- The Mets will send one of the largest contingents in Major League Baseball to the World Baseball Classic next month, according to rosters released Wednesday.
Jeurys Familia and Jose Reyes highlight a group of 13 Mets who are set to play in the Classic, which runs from March 6-22 at venues around the globe. Other Mets set to participate include Seth Lugo, Gavin Cecchini, Brandon Nimmo, Hansel Robles, Ty Kelly, Rene Rivera and T.J. Rivera, as well as a quartet of prospects yet to make their big league debuts.
• World Baseball Classic tickets
The World Baseball Classic runs from March 6-22. In the U.S., games will air live exclusively in English on MLB Network and on an authenticated basis via MLBNetwork.com/watch, while ESPN Deportes and WatchESPN will provide the exclusive Spanish-language coverage. MLB.TV Premium subscribers in the U.S. will have access to watch every tournament game live on any of the streaming service's 400-plus supported devices. Internationally, the tournament will be distributed across all forms of television, internet, mobile and radio in territories excluding the U.S., Puerto Rico and Japan. Get tickets for games at Marlins Park, Tokyo Dome, Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, Estadio Charros de Jalisco in Mexico, Petco Park, as well as the Championship Round at Dodger Stadium, while complete coverage -- including schedules, video, stats and gear -- is available at WorldBaseballClassic.com.
The brightest Mets stars set to compete are Familia and Reyes, who will both play for their native Dominican Republic. Reyes is no stranger to the World Baseball Classic, having appeared in all three previous versions of the tournament. Familia is a first-timer, trying to help the Dominican team defend its 2013 title.
• Rules for 2017 WBC
The Mets will watch Familia's workload in particular, considering their closer's 230 regular-season appearances and 233 innings over the past three seasons. Familia may miss time at the beginning of this season to serve a suspension in accordance with MLB's domestic abuse policy, though the Commissioner's Office has not yet announced anything to that end.
:: 2017 World Baseball Classic ::
Robles, a cog in the Mets' bullpen the past two seasons, will join Familia and Reyes on the Dominican team.
Though Lugo, Cecchini, Nimmo, Kelly and T.J. Rivera were all born in the United States, they will play for other World Baseball Classic teams by virtue of their heritage. For Cecchini and Nimmo, that means Team Italy. Lugo and Rivera will play for Team Puerto Rico. And Kelly will play for Team Israel, after joining a goodwill trip to the country late in December.
Also appearing for Puerto Rico will be Rene Rivera, the Mets' likely backup catcher heading into this season.
In addition, reliever Noel Salas -- who reportedly agreed to a contract with the Mets on Friday -- will be participating in the World Baseball Classic for Mexico.
Mets prospects set to appear on Classic rosters include Xorge Carrillo for Mexico, Nabil Crismatt for Colombia and two players in the designated pitcher pool (DPP): Nelmerson Angela for the Netherlands and Ezequiel Zabaleta for Colombia.
A team can use up to 10 designated pitchers, but can't have more than two on its active roster at a time. Those "active" DPs can be replaced at the beginning of each of the next two rounds, but only by another DP. Once a DP has been replaced, he cannot return to the active roster for a subsequent round. Using Team USA as an example, Danny Duffy and Tanner Roark are the active DPs for the first round of pool play, so they can be replaced on the roster before the second round or the championship round, but only by one of the team's other DPs. And if a DP joins for the second round, he can be replaced for the championship round, but only by another DP.