Garcia to play for Dominican Republic in WBC

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Infielder Leury Garcia is going to play for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic. At least he is going to be on the team. Whether or not he plays is another matter.

But Garcia has accepted an invitation to be on the Dominican Republic team even though he has never played above Double A in the Minor Leagues. The rest of the Dominican infield has significant Major League experience: Edwin Encarnacion, Robinson Cano, Hanley Ramirez, Jose Reyes, Miguel Tejada and Erick Aybar.

"I don't know myself how much I'll play, but it will be fun to be there," Garcia said. "I wanted to see what the Rangers think and they said they had no problems with me playing."

Garcia is a candidate to be the Rangers utility infielder. Jurickson Profar is also a candidate, and he decided to stay in camp because he believes it will help his chances of making the team.