PHILADELPHIA -- Ten Phillies will represent seven countries at the World Baseball Classic.
Six of those players are expected to make the Opening Day roster.
• World Baseball Classic Tickets
That group includes center fielder Odubel Herrera, shortstop Freddy Galvis and right-handers Jeanmar Gomez and Edubray Ramos, who will play for Venezuela. Right-hander Hector Neris will pitch for the Dominican Republic and right-hander Pat Neshek will pitch for the United States.
The four Minor Leaguers scheduled to participate are catcher Jorge Alfaro (Colombia), left-hander Nick Fanti (Italy), right-hander Kenny Koplove (Israel) and right-hander Nick Pivetta (Canada).
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Interestingly, the absence of Galvis should allow Triple-A Lehigh Valley prospect J.P. Crawford to get more playing time in Spring Training. Crawford is expected to begin the season in Triple-A, but could push Galvis for a job during the regular season.
Gomez closed for the Phillies last season, but the Phillies have said there will be a competition for the job this spring -- although Philadelphia manager Pete Mackanin said last month that Gomez still has the edge. That said, Neris has better stuff and seems like the best candidate to usurp Gomez.
• Rules for 2017 WBC
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.