The United States will start St. Louis Cardinals veteran right-hander Adam Wainwright in its 2023 World Baseball Classic against Great Britain on Saturday, Jon Morosi reports.
Wainwright, 41, is coming off a 2022 season for the Cardinals in which he pitched to a 3.71 ERA/103 ERA+ in 191 2/3 innings. However, Wainwright struggled badly down the stretch, and this spring has put up a 7.20 ERA in two starts. Wainwright's velocity has also been down significantly this spring, which the pitcher and his team recently attributed, at least in part, to issues with his finger and glute muscle. That said, Wainwright has long been without premium velocity, and such a diminished fastball likely reflects the aging process to some extent.
Wainwright gets the nod over fellow Team USA starting pitchers like Lance Lynn of the White Sox, Miles Mikolas of the Cardinals, Brady Singer of the Royals, Merrill Kelly of the Diamondbacks, and Kyle Freeland of the Rockies. While the U.S. lineup will be stuffed with stars like Mookie Betts, Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt, and Trea Turner, the rotation is very much a question mark.
The Great Britain squad that Wainwright will oppose figures to be weakest in a Pool C that also includes Mexico, Canada, and Colombia. A start against the U.K. should provide Wainwright as much of a soft landing as possible and thus lessen the need for him to rediscover that missing velo in a hurry.
In order to advance, a team needs to finish in the top two of pool play. Here's everything you need to know about Team USA and about the WBC in general.
