SURPRISE, Ariz. — The World Baseball Classic was a talking point in the Texas Rangers’ clubhouse Monday.
Matt Harrison praised Derek Holland’s pitching performance in Team USA’s 9-4 victory over Canada on Sunday, while Jurickson Profar had a wide smile after the Netherlands’ walk-off victory over Cuba early Monday morning sent it to the championship round.Harrison and Profar both turned down opportunities to play for their countries. Any second guesses?“I would love to do it, but the timing wasn’t right,” Harrison said. “The innings [I pitched last year] was the biggest thing for me. It looks like a lot of fun.”Profar felt he made the right decision, too, saying he’s “learned a lot” in big-league camp.Adrian Beltre, meanwhile, said he would not be joining the Dominican Republic in the second round. Beltre made the decision before he knew if he would even be eligible under the WBC rules.“I’m not going,” he said. “I don’t feel like I’m where I need to be and they don’t need me.”Beltre believes his swing still needs work, as he went 0 for 3 on Monday and is batting .211 in Cactus League games.A few WBC participants of eliminated countries are expected to trickle back into camp in the next day or two, including Elvis Andrus (Venezuela) and Engel Beltre (Spain).Jose Felix, who was a catcher on the Mexican team, has already returned. And, no, Felix was not an instigator in the Mexico-Canada brawl Saturday.“It’s part of the game,” Felix said. “I tried to separate the guys. I didn’t try to do anything.”Injury updatesMatt Harrison has been cleared to pitch and is scheduled for a two-inning start in a “B” game against the Royals on Tuesday.Harrison had been dealing with inflammation in his second toe on his left foot, and was scratched from his last scheduled start Saturday. Harrison said it took a couple days longer for a cortisone injection to kick in and he threw about 45 pitches in a bullpen session Sunday.“It’s not really a setback,” Harrison said. “I just look at it as something that happened and something that at least happened in spring training.”Kyle McClellan, another pitcher of note throwing Tuesday, will make his Cactus League debut. He is slated for one inning in the “A” game against the Brewers.McClellan is focused on getting through his outing rather than worrying about whether he’ll have enough time to compete for the fifth starter spot.“If I have another setback, I’m not going to be ready,” McClellan said. “For me, that’s the biggest thing.”Seeking adviceJustin Grimm wasn’t too pleased with how his spring training had begun and decided to reach out to an old pitching coach, Storm Davis, who is now with the Cubs’ Class A affiliate in Daytona, Fla.Davis had been the Rangers’ pitching coach at Low A Hickory in 2011, Grimm’s first professional season.“He’s always a guy I’ve been able to talk to,” Grimm said. “He’s very good with the mental side of the game.”The conversation has helped Grimm, as he allowed one run over three innings Sunday. He knows his slow start might have taken him out of serious consideration for a big-league spot, but is in a better place now.“I was worried about expectations of others instead of my own expectations,” Grimm said. “I just said, ‘Here’s where I am, and here’s where I want to be by the end of spring.’ ”Briefly• Right-hander Derek Lowe will throw live batting practice Tuesday and, if all goes well, he will pitch in his first game Friday against the Giants.• First baseman Mitch Moreland returned to the lineup Monday after sitting out two games with left quad tightness.• Ron Washington on Mike Olt’s slow start this spring: “He’s got to get the bat off his shoulder. A swinging bat is a dangerous bat.”Drew Davison, 817-390-7760 Twitter: @drewdavison
