Nolan McLean is set to start for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic finals.
McLean Gets the Nod
McLean will be starting on Tuesday night at loanDepot park against either Italy or Venezuela. Italy and Venezuela will square off in the semifinals.
The rookie McLean has only eight starts into his MLB career. He is enthused about getting the ball in the biggest game of his baseball life.
This is McLean’s chance to redeem himself after his start against Italy in pool play went sideways. He allowed home runs to Kyle Teel and Sam Antonacci in the second inning of Team USA’s eventual 8-6 upset loss.
“Obviously I got clipped there a couple times with the homer,” McLean said. “But overall, I felt really good. As a competitor, if you work your whole life at something, you want to be put in these spots. So it’s just kind of a dream come true to be able to get the ball in such a big moment, and it’s something I want to do.”
Pitch Count Limitations
While the WBC rules permit McLean to go up to 95 pitches in the finals, the more practical, in-house “rules” put him more in the 65- to 70-pitch range.
These “rules” were formed in conjunction with the Mets’ wishes for their burgeoning young ace.
It is not uncommon for teams to have their starters on a short leash in elimination games such as this one.
Relief Options
There had been talk of adding Twins starter Joe Ryan for this game, in a piggyback plan. The Twins’ preference was to have Ryan serve as a starter, rather than come on in relief, in order to stay on his usual routine given the lower back inflammation he has experienced this spring.
Because Team USA was unable to make such a guarantee prior to the semifinals, the plans changed. Blue Jays reliever Jeff Hoffman replaced Clayton Kershaw on the active roster, in the spot that had previously been earmarked for Ryan.
That gives the U.S. a deeper relief corps, and Monday’s off-day was a major scheduling advantage for the Americans. This whole tournament set up well for them, with only one pair of games on back-to-back days for Team USA after March 6-7.
DeRosa has found a winning late-inning, high-leverage formula with David Bednar in the seventh, Garrett Whitlock in the eighth and Mason Miller in the ninth.
Regular-season concerns are not to be dismissed.