At least six Texas Rangers plan to play in World Baseball Classic

Six Rangers players have committed to play in the World Baseball Classic, which begins with first round round robin play on March 6-7.

Adrian Beltre (Dominican Republic), Jurickson Profar (Netherlands, Alex Claudio (Puerto Rico), Martin Perez (Venezuela), and Jonathan Lucroy and Sam Dyson (USA) all plan on participating. Rougned Odor has yet to confirm but he might join Venezuela if they can find a spot for him with Jose Altuve likely to start at second base. Nomar Mazara (DR) and Robinson Chirinos (Venezuela) also may decide to play.

Others have confirmed they will not play. Pitcher Yu Darvish will not pitch for Japan, citing caution for pitching in such an intense environment early in the spring after Tommy John surgery two years ago. He pitched for Japan in 2009 when they won the tournament. Elvis Andrus (Venezuela) and Shin-Soo Choo (South Korea) have also declined to play.

The first round with four pools in Miami, Tokyo, Seoul and Jalisco, Mexico begin play on March 6 and 7. The second round will be held in Tokyo and San Diego March 11-19. For a complete look at the brackets and schedule check on the official WBC site.

The three-game championship at Dodgers Stadium is scheduled for March 20-22.

This story was originally published January 23, 2017 at 1:19 AM with the headline "At least six Texas Rangers plan to play in World Baseball Classic."