How latest roster changes could impact Team USA in WBC quarterfinals

How roster changes could affect Team USA

The changes aren't exactly a surprise. Skubal was only going to make one start, so his exit was planned. Boyd had to choose between starting on Opening Day or staying on Team USA, and he chose to start Opening Day.

Holmes was asked by the New York Mets to come back to build up his pitch count, and Kershaw has not pitched yet in the tournament.

However, some of these are still some very big losses for Team USA as it prepares to face Canada in the quarterfinals on Friday night. Canada has performed well thus far in the Classic, having won Pool A with a 3-1 record and advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time in its WBC history.

Team USA also doesn't have momentum after its rally fell short against Italy on Tuesday, and now that it is dealing with roster turnover, it's going to be harder for it to regroup and get used to the changes before the next round begins.

The pitching staff is not quite as strong with Skubal, Holmes, Boyd, Wacha, Yarbrough and now off the roster. Hill, Rogers and Vest are solid additions, but it remains to be seen if they will be able to match what the other arms bring to the table. The starting rotation certainly took a few hits with these losses, and that could ultimately be bad news as they face Canada.

This could give Canada an advantage on Friday. The Americans have cooled off a little bit while they also have a lot of moving parts. Meanwhile, Canada appears to be mostly set for Friday's game.

Team USA made it to the championship game back in 2023 before losing to Japan, but there was far less uncertainty with its roster back then.

Now, there are a lot of question marks for the Americans, and the timing of this ultimately is not great. It will be interesting to see if Team USA can overcome this, but it will need to sort things out quickly if it wants to find a way to defeat Canada.