In the waning hours before most of the 20 participating teams began the quest for a World Baseball Classic titles, the Dominican Republic lost a former World Series Most Valuable Player.
After leaving the D.R.’s scrimmage against the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday due to injury, Jeremy Peña’s status for the WBC was in jeopardy. On Thursday, Chandler Rome of The Athletic confirmed that Peña suffered a fractured right ring finger, which would keep him out of action for the entire tournament and possibly the start of the Major League Baseball regular season.
Per Rome, the Astros’ medical staff will reevaluate Peña in two weeks. If he is unable to play by opening day, the Astros may be glad they hung onto all of their infielders this winter, as third baseman Isaac Paredes has been particularly caught up in trade rumors for the past few months.
The D.R., meanwhile, is blessed to have one of the deepest middle infields ever assembled on a world stage. Without Peña in the picture, Arizona Diamondbacks star Geraldo Perdomo becomes the only true shortstop on the roster and should be expected to play whenever manager Albert Pujols wants his best roster on the field.
New York Yankees utility player Amed Rosario is the only other player on the roster with significant shortstop experience. As of Thursday afternoon, the D.R. had not named a replacement for Peña on the active roster.
Last season, Peña broke out with an .840 OPS and 5.6 bWAR in 125 games. He’s also shown himself to be capable of dominating under a microscope, as he took home the 2022 World Series MVP with 10 hits and a 1.023 OPS in six games.
Though the Dominicans are as well-equipped as any team to deal with a loss like Peña, it’s a tough pill to swallow regardless. Meanwhile, Astros fans will have to sweat it out for the time being, as any time missed during the regular season could have ramifications for the year-end standings.
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