According to
MLB.com’s Ayako Oikawa, Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette has expressed his desire to represent Brazil at next spring’s World Baseball Classic.
Bichette’s mother hails from the South American nation, and his brother Dante suited up for the team this past year during the qualification tournament in Tucson, Arizona. Bichette also has eligibility to play for the United States because of his father, but it appears he wants to play alongside his brother and represent Brazil again, doing so for the nation during the 2017 qualification tournament for the World Baseball Classic (Israel ended up winning the qualifier).
Per Oikawa’s article, Bichette
noted, “It means a lot to our whole family that my brothers and I are playing… We want to do our best to contribute to the team’s victory and draw some attention to Brazilian baseball.”
Brazil had to qualify for next year’s tournament this past spring, facing off against Colombia, Germany, and China. The two squads with the best records from the group would earn a berth at the tournament, and the nation finished with a 3-1 record, losing only to Colombia (who also qualified). To earn the second spot, the Brazilians had to beat Germany for a second time and did so with a 6-4 win. Bo’s brother Dante was on the team this time around, as well as Blue Jays prospect pitcher Eric Pardinho.
Heading into today’s contest, Bichette was sporting a .290/.326/.363 slash line with a .689 OPS and will be free agent eligible this winter. The right-handed bat has yet to hit a home run this season, but should he decide to honour that commitment next spring, he will be the biggest force on the Brazilian squad that could feature some other Major Leaguers in catcher Yan Gomes and pitcher Thyago Vieira.
Brazil will feature in Group B, which consists of the United States, Mexico, Italy, and Great Britain, with the venue set at Daikin Park in Houston, Texas. This will be the 18th ranked nations second time at the WBC, finishing 14th in 2013.
