Beltre won't play for Dominican at World Baseball Classic
Mariners management says he's not healthy enough
The Seattle Mariners have told Adrian Beltre he can't play for his native Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic because he hasn't fully recovered from surgery last fall.
Beltre, the Gold Glove third baseman, said Saturday morning he had decided he was healthy enough to leave the Mariners' Arizona training camp Sunday and join his national team to train for its opening game in the tournament on March 7.
But the Mariners disagreed, saying he isn't 100 per cent following surgeries in September to repair a ligament in his left thumb and to remove bone spurs from his left, non-throwing shoulder.
"Yes, we took the decision [away]," Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik said. "We need this player, and we need this player badly, to be competitive this year.
"I feel bad about it. I know how badly he wanted to play. As I said all along, I would support him — as long as he was healthy.
"If he's not right at 100 per cent, then we as an organization couldn't afford to have a setback."
Beltre was on the final WBC roster, but he can be replaced before his nation's opener in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Poised to become a free agent in the fall
"It's disappointing," Beltre said, one day after he went two-for-three with three RBIs as a designated hitter in his first spring game.
He was obviously unhappy, but said he understood the Mariners' decision.
"I gave up my apartment because I was going to go," he said, smiling. "Yes, now I have no place to live. I'm homeless."
Zduriencik said Beltre could stay at his place during camp.
All kidding aside, this is a sensitive issue for the team and for Beltre, who can become a free agent after his $64 million US, five-year contract ends this fall.
Asked two weeks ago if this may be his last spring training with the Mariners, especially given their rebuilding mode following a 101-loss season, Beltre said: "I don't know."
Zduriencik said he hopes Beltre separates that issue from this one.
"I hope this is just something he looks at and sees this had to be the decision, for the right reason," the GM said.