A’s Liam Hendriks opts out of WBC to focus on season
Another A’s player has decided to withdraw from the World Baseball Classic, citing a desire to correctly prepare for the regular season.
On Sunday, Oakland slugger Khris Davis stepped away from Team Mexico, saying he felt overextended and wanted to focus on his commitment to the A’s, and Saturday, reliever Liam Hendriks did the same, leaving Team Australia two days before he was expected to depart for WBC play in Japan.
“I’ve been wanting to go in my heart, but when I really sat down and thought about it, I’m not quite I’m where I want to be when it comes to pitching in competitive games yet,” Hendriks said.
Hendriks said he hopes to pitch for Australia in the second round should the team advance to play in San Diego next month.
Manager Bob Melvin said, Obviously, the most important thing is getting ready for your team and if he feels like this affects that - looking at the travel and everything, it’s immense.
The A’s still have three players in camp slated to go to the WBC: reliever John Axford with Canada, reliever Santiago Casilla with the Dominican Republic and non-roster catcher Ryan Lavarnway with Israel.