A day after Ji-Man Choi was dropped from Korea’s roster in the World Baseball Classic after the Pittsburgh Pirates made a medical objection, the club appears to have given right-hander Roansy Contreras the OK to play in the WBC.
Contreras was added to the roster of the Dominican Republic, per a report Tuesday from Martin Rodriguez of Deportes SIN.
Translated…
— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) February 7, 2023
Sources: Pirates pitcher Roansy Contreras will be on the 35-player roster that the Dominican Republic will present ???????? for the world baseball classic. https://t.co/WeVGQgfRSZ
Acquired from the New York Yankees as part of the four-player package for Jameson Taillon in January 2021, Contreras is considered one of the top young pitchers in baseball. As a rookie for the Pirates last season, the 23-year-old was 5-5 with a 3.79 ERA and 1.27 WHIP, 86 strikeouts and 39 walks in 95 innings in 21 games (18 starts).
The WBC will be played from March 8-21, and the Dominican Republic will play in a loaded Pool D with Israel, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico and Venezuela from March 11-15 at loanDepot Park in Miami.
The Pirates prevented Choi from playing for Korea, as he is recovering from surgery to remove bone chips from his right elbow. Choi said in a statement that he was “devastated” that Korea removed him from its roster on Monday.
