Puerto Rico slowly but surely getting their team together

Is Puerto Rico ready for the World Baseball Classic in one month? No. 

The Serie del Caribe is going on right now and that is holding the team back from getting the pieces neccesary to make the run they made in 2013 ready to go. Los Criollos de Caguas won the LBPRC this year and went to face teams from the Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico and Venezuela in a series of games hosted this year by Mexico. A good amount of players could come from that same roster and be written into the roster that will be play in the WBC.

Alex Cora, former MLB infielder, is the general manager of team Puerto Rico and has had a tough task in convincing top MLB talent such as George Springer, Jake Arrieta, Marcus Stroman, and Nolan Arenado to play for the team. 2013 manager Edwin Rodriguez is back to lead the Puerto Ricans back to the final and win the title they felt they deserved but couldn't pull it off against the Dominicans in 2013. 

Players have been either doing their own offseason workouts or hanging out in Puerto Rico getting ready. Reliever from the Texas Rangers, Alex Claudio has been staying fit with the AA teams from Puerto Rico and has now started pitching in simulated games. Joe Jimenez and Edwin Diaz have been running camps in the island staying loose with other players and even kids throughout the Christmas time. Ivan de Jesus Jr. is going off in the winter league and now in the Caribbean Series as well.

The roster close to the Monday deadline has a better look than it did a couple months ago.

Pitchers: Hiram Burgos, Joe Jimenez, Edwin Diaz, Alex Claudio, Seth Lugo, Hector Santiago, Jose O. Berrios, Jose De Leon, Giovanni Soto, Joseph Colon, Orlando Roman, Miguel Mejia, Jorge Lopez
Infielders: Carlos Correa, Javier Baez, Francisco Lindor, T.J. Rivera, Kennys Vargas, Ivan de Jesus Jr.
Outfielders: Carlos Beltran, Eddie Rosario, Kike Hernandez, Angel Pagan, Reymond Fuentes 
Catchers: Yadier Molina, Rene Rivera, Roberto Perez

For more updates on team Puerto Rico follow @CornerSpots on twitter