From our friend Nick Collias of MLB Trade Rumors was reading the Dominican Republic newspaper El Caribe this morning and passes along a pretty interesting interview with Rays closer Fernando Rodney. Who is going to play in the World Baseball Classic for the D.R. and does not care what the Rays have to say about it. From Collias:
Fernando Rodney was asked if he’s playing by Neftali Ruiz at the dominican paper El Caribe and said, “I want to represent the country. It will be a pleasure to be there in the dominican uniform.” Asked about gaining permission from the Rays, Rodney replied, “You don’t have to ask permission to represent your country.”
I’ve not yet seen any reports about teams discouraging, let alone ordering their players against playing in the WBC, but it’s interesting to see Rodney heading this off at the pass.
