Rays' high-profile reliever will be removed from WBC roster due to injury

The World Baseball Classic is set on a huge stage with a ton of pride and praise at stake. It's not quite at the level of the FIFA World Cup, but for all intents and purposes, serves as the baseball equivalent. These athletes crave this kind of competition where they can represent their native country and continue playing the sport they love. Unfortunately, the necessity is much less than the 2026 season where their well thought out contract is on the line.

Rays' Edwin Uceta will miss the World Baseball Classic due to a sore shoulder

This definitely seems like a "better safe than sorry" scenario for Edwin Uceta. However, it doesn't change the way he feels about this unfortunate exit. "Obviously very upset that I can't represent my country, but it's a decision that we had to make for the start of the season", said Edwin Uceta through interpreter Kevin Vera. Uceta was born and raised in Los Almacigos, Dominican Republic. This small village is home to about 20,000 people and they, like the rest of the Latin nation, love their baseball.

The Dominican Republic fell well below expectation during this tournament in 2023 as they were left out of the playoff round. Venezuela was able to claim their group due to the efforts of Anthony Santander and Luis Arraez. This year, they will be playing with a vengeance as their home country expects nothing less than hoisting a trophy at the finale.

Therefore, this loss does hurt them significantly as their strength is certainly their offense headlined by Juan Soto and Fernando Tatis Jr. Their bullpen contains less star-power as Seranthony Dominguez and Carlos Estevez will lead the charge. Uceta's arm will be missed throughout this tournament, especially in the playoff round.

In 76 innings last season, the 28-year-old hurler went 10-3 with a 3.79 ERA. He struggled to begin the season, but settled in really well as you can see by those respectable statistics. His 2024 campaign was even more efficient as the right-handed relief pitcher tossed 41.2 innings to close out the season. In that small sample size, the Dominican native was nearly flawless as he performed to the tune of a 1.51 ERA which included a disastrous outing (and a benches clearing fight) against the Phillies.