WBC Team Preview: Netherlands

Andruw Jones, who in January became the first player born in Curacao to be elected to the Hall of Fame, will manage the Netherlands. Making it extra special, his son Druw Jones, the second overall pick of the 2022 draft, will play for him. The younger Jones hit five homers, stole 28 bases and posted a .694 OPS for the Diamondbacks’ High-A affiliate last season. He is a center fielder like his dad.

Notable Players

The lineup will include Ozzie Albies, Xander Bogaerts, Jurickson Profar and Ceddanne Rafaela. Profar’s brother, Juremi, a 30-year-old who played 11 years in the minors and in foreign leagues and last played in 2024, is an infielder. Didi Gregorius, who is 36 and last played in 2022 for the Phillies, is also on the squad.

Kenley Jansen, 38, the active MLB career saves leader (476), will close. It will be his fourth WBC representing the Dutch. In his first in 2009, he played catcher, which was his position in the Dodgers’ minor-league system before he switched to pitcher.

Shairon Martis, who started 19 games for the Nationals in 2008-09 and made six appearances for the Twins in 2013, is on the pitching staff. Martis, 38, threw the only no-hitter in WBC history in 2006 against Panama. He was 18 and has appeared in every WBC since except for the 2009 tournament, which the Nats didn’t give him permission to play in.

Mets prospect Jamdrick Cornelia, 20, of Curacao, is in the bullpen. The left-hander pitched to a 2.76 ERA over 32 2/3 innings in the Dominican Summer League last year.

Notable Coaches

Jones, 48, will have another ex-Brave as his pitching coach in Jair Jurrjens. They weren’t quite teammates, though their careers overlapped. Jones was a Brave from 1996-2007 before signing with the Dodgers as a free agent and Jurrjens played for Atlanta from 2008-2012.

WBC History

The Netherlands have appeared in all five WBC tournaments, advancing as far as the semifinals in 2013 and 2017. In 2013, they lost to eventual champion Dominican Republic and in 2017 they lost to Puerto Rico in 11 innings when Eddie Rosario drove in Carlos Correa with a walk-off sacrifice fly.

In 2023, they split four games in pool play and failed to advance because of tiebreakers.

Pool

The Netherlands are in Pool D, with the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Israel and Nicaragua. Their first game is against Venezuela on March 6 at loanDepot park in Miami. The top two teams from each of the four pools advance to the quarterfinals. The Dominican Republic and Venezuela, each flush with MLB talent, are expected to advance from Pool D. Netherlands is considered the best of the other three teams in the pool.

The post WBC Team Preview: Netherlands appeared first on Metsmerized Online.