World Baseball Classic Rosters Announced Tonight

Tonight, MLB will announce the rosters for the 2009 World Baseball Classic according to a press release from Major League Baseball. Provisional 45-man rosters for each of the 16 teams participating in the World Baseball Classic will be released today at 6 p.m. ET. That will mark 45 days to the start of the tournament, which runs from March 5-23 and will be played in seven venues in four countries or territories. This year more than 600 players inquired about filling what will ultimately be a maximum of 448 spots. As with the inaugural Classic, in 2006, this is the only international tournament in which players on the 25-man roster of each Major League team can participate. The provisional rosters were due on Friday night, and the final rosters of up to 28 players must be filed by Feb. 24. From now on, no one else can be added to those rosters. The opening game of the tournament will pit China against defending champion Japan in Tokyo Dome on March 5. Team USA will open against Ca...