World Baseball Classic teams submitted rosters Tuesday for the 2023 tournament. And the Houston Astros farm system picked up one representative for the Netherlands: Derek West. The right-handed reliever broke onto the roster by way of his mother’s ancestry.
“If I’m eligible, it’s literally by the thin skin of my teeth,” West said in December. “But I’m hoping they deem me eligible, and I’ll be excited. I know they’re looking forward to having me.”
West also told Astros Future he received an early invitation to minor-league spring training, which starts Feb. 13 in West Palm Beach, Florida. Instead of practicing with Team Netherlands in Arizona, he will continue to practice with the Astros before he departs for Taiwan on March 1.
With an early arrival, West is hopeful for an opportunity to appear in a Major League spring training game. The Grapefruit League season begins Feb. 25, giving West four opportunities to take the mound at least once for the Astros. As seen in years passed, Houston sprinkled in a handful of prospects in the early contests, before more Major Leaguers start to fill the lineup card.
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