Thanks. But no thanks.
Pretty much, that was the message delivered to Tampa Bay Rays‘ pitcher Chris Archer, who has been told by the USA Team in the World Baseball Classic that won’t be using him in the semifinals or potentially in the finals.
Archer threw four innings of hitless baseball in his first game, and he has said he was looking forward to pitching again. But the USA team will go in a different direction.
“I don’t know what happened other than maybe they think there’s a better option,” Archer told the Tampa Bay Times. “I don’t disagree, I think everybody there is capable of doing something special. But I was definitely looking forward to pitching.”
Team USA plans to start Nats pitcher Tanner Roark Tuesday, and has Marcus Stroman lined up if it gets to the final Wednesday.
Archer was the starting pitcher in Team USA’s WBC opener March 10 against Colombia, but he has not pitched since in the tournament. The right-hander returned to the Rays this past week and pitched Thursday in a minor league game as part of a plan to keep him on track to potentially pitch again for the U.S.
