Dutch baseball team headed to WBC without Kenley Jansen, with Xander Bogaerts

The Dutch men’s baseball team will be without top Major League pitcher Kenley Jansen at the World Baseball Classic (WBC) next month. The 35-year-old from Curaçao was not granted permission from his new club, the Boston Red Sox, to participate in the unofficial baseball World Cup. Xander Bogaerts, who now plays in San Diego, will join the team representing the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The Red Sox want their ace to take part in the club’s Spring Training in the run-up to the American League team’s regular season. Major League Baseball’s Opening Day is set for March 30. The Red Sox kick-off their season at home in Fenway Park that date. Pitcher Pedro Strop, a free agent who won the World Series with the Chicago Cubs in 2016, is also missing from the Dutch selection for personal reasons.

Jansen was named to the Netherlands’ pre-selection, but he was left off the 30-man roster for the WBC. The 20 teams participating presented their rosters live on the MLB Network during the overnight hours in the Netherlands the night from Thursday to Friday, the selections of the twenty participating countries were presented during a live show on MLB Network.

However, Jansen can be added to the team’s roster if they advance to the final round of the WBC. The team is coached by Hensley Meulens, who is hoping to bring the Netherlands into the semi-finals and final in Miami from March 19 - 21, about ten days before the Major League season begins.

The WBC is the only one of the few tournaments in which the professionals playing for the top league in America can participate. Meulens said last month, during his first visit to the Netherlands in eight years, that many internationals who play in the United States want to play for their national teams. However, they must get permission from their clubs.

Xander Bogaerts did secure permission from his new employer, the San Diego Padres. The right-hander from Aruba recently signing an eleven-year contract worth $280 million. Now 30 years old, Bogaerts won the World Series with the Boston Red Sox in 2018 and 2013.

Other top players on the Netherlands team include Mariekson ‘Didi’ Gregorius, Andrelton Simmons and Jurickson Profar, who are currently free agents available for a Major League team. They will accompany Oranje to Taiwan, where the baseball players will play against Cuba, Panama, Taiwan and Italy in the group stage between March 8 and 12.

The top two teams in the group will advance to the quarterfinals in Tokyo. The winners will then fly to Miami for the semi-finals and finals.

Other well-known names in the Dutch selection include Jonathan Schoop (Detroit Tigers), Chadwick Tromp (Atlanta Braves), former Major League players Wladimir Balentien and Roger Bernadina, and Philadelphia Phillies Minor League prospect Jaydenn Estanista.

Meulens will also be assisted in the dugout by coaches Andruw Jones, a prospective Hall of Famer, Bert Blyleven, who was inducted in the Hall of Fame in 2011, and Tjerk Smeets. He played in the Netherlands and on the Dutch national team for several years, and also serves as the technical director for baseball association KNBSB.

Oranje will begin practicing as a team next week in Arizona ahead of the WBC.