There doesn’t appear to be a “maybe” about it anymore. Carlos Marmol will be pitching for the Dominican Republic in this year’s WBC, just weeks (well, maybe more than a month, but it’s still “weeks”) after pitching in the Dominican Winter League.
Marmol says he doesn’t see the difference in the workload he’ll see in the WBC than he would in spring training with the Cubs in the Cactus League.
I have to disagree, and say that I’m very disappointed about this. There’s a big difference between pitching in Cactus League games where, let’s be honest, nobody really cares who wins, and pitching in the World Baseball Classic. That’s competitive pitching, and it’s very different than virtual practice pitching.
It looks like Lou Piniella is going to have to be very careful with Marmol early in the season so that he doesn’t wear down prematurely down the stretch, or worse, get hurt.