Uceta (sore shoulder) won't pitch in World Baseball Classic

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- High-leverage reliever Edwin Uceta will not pitch for the Dominican Republic in the upcoming World Baseball Classic due to a sore throwing shoulder, but the Rays still expect the right-hander to be ready for Opening Day.

Rays manager Kevin Cash said Sunday that Uceta has been dealing with “a little cranky shoulder” that he brought up after reporting to Spring Training last week.

It hadn’t necessarily slowed down his preparation, as he played catch Thursday and Friday and had been throwing bullpen sessions in the Dominican Republic under the watch of bullpen coach Jorge Moncada with no issues, but he didn’t want to risk aggravating it.

“He's been doing all that. But as soon as he noted that, ‘I just feel not 100%,’ I think given how important he is to our team, our bullpen, it makes the most sense to do everything we can to keep him here, treat him and get him going at his pace, rather than ramping up really fast,” Cash said.

Last Wednesday, Uceta said he had been feeling good and didn’t alter his preseason preparation due to the World Baseball Classic. He was clearly excited to represent his country in the tournament, calling the honor “a blessing from God.”

If he had remained committed to play for the star-studded Dominican team in the WBC, Uceta would have had to leave camp in roughly two weeks to prepare for the club’s exhibition games in Santo Domingo on March 3-4. The Dominican team begins pool play in Miami on March 6.

That schedule would require more aggressive preparation. Fellow WBC-bound Rays relievers Griffin Jax and Garrett Cleavinger, for instance, advanced to facing hitters in live batting practice this weekend. In previous years, the Rays haven’t always had their top bullpen arms throw live BP this early in camp.

Without the deadline of his WBC departure looming, Cash said he wasn’t yet sure how the Rays will handle Uceta’s progression moving forward. With nearly six weeks to go before Tampa Bay begins the regular season in St. Louis on March 26, he expressed no worries about Uceta’s availability.

“We're totally not concerned at all and have every intention of him being ready for Opening Day,” Cash said.