2017 World Baseball Classic Initial List of Confirmed Players Announced by MLB

The World Baseball Classic confirmed Monday the participation of 30 players, highlighted by a list of 24 MLB All-Stars, according to MLB Communications.

Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Danny Duffy also confirmed to Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star that he planned to participate for Team USA.

"Definitely excited to wear those colors," Duffy said in a text message.

Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Marcus Stroman confirmed as well that he would play for Team USA on Twitter:

Country	Players
Canada	Russell Martin
Colombia	Jose Quintana, Julio Teheran
Dominican Republic	Adrian Beltre, Dellin Betances, Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz, Manny Machado
Mexico	Adrian Gonzalez, Oliver Perez, Roberto Osuna
Netherlands	Xander Bogaerts, Jonathan Schoop, Andrelton Simmons
Puerto Rico	Javier Baez, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Correa, Francisco Lindor, Yadier Molina
United States	Chris Archer, Nolan Arenado, Adam Jones, Andrew McCutchen, Buster Posey, Max Scherzer
Venezuela	Jose Altuve, Miguel Cabrera, Carlos Gonzalez, Felix Hernandez, Salvador Perez

Stroman was eligible to represent Puerto Rico, since his mother is of Puerto Rican descent.

Other players who were on the preliminary list but have not yet been confirmed for the United States include Noah Syndergaard, Jake Arrieta, Kris Bryant, Eric Hosmer, Ian Kinsler, Corey Kluber, Jonathan Lucroy, Andrew Miller, David Price, Giancarlo Stanton, Justin Verlander and Christian Yelich, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post in early November.

As Sherman noted, players on the list can still pull out of consideration, while those not on the list—like Mike Trout or Bryce Harper, arguably the two biggest superstars who could feature for the United States—can still be named to the final roster.

The Dominican Republic is the defending champion, winning the 2013 edition. The World Baseball Classic will be played in Miami, San Diego and Los Angeles in March 2017.

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