Mets shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera isn’t happy with Carlos Guillen and he isn’t afraid to say it.
World Baseball Classic rosters were released Wednesday night and Cabrera was omitted from Team Venezuela’s roster. It was a surprising admission, given the fact that he had been told by Tigers’ great and team general manager Guillen that he would, in fact, be on the roster.
Cabrera told Diario Meridiano’s Jesus Ponte that he had a conversation with Guillen on Friday about being on the team, but later saw reports that indicated otherwise. Sure enough, when the rosters were announced Wednesday, Cabrera was noticeably absent.
Speaking to Ponte on Thursday, Cabrera expressed his frustrations with Guillen and manager Omar Vizquel.
Asdrubal Cabrera: “Estoy decepcionado. Vizquel hablo conmigo y me dijo que estaba en el equipo, ahora viene Carlos Guillen y me saca”
— Jesus Ponte (@Chuchoponte) February 9, 2017
“I’m disappointed,” Cabrera told Ponte. “Vizquel spoke with me and I said that was (on) the team, now comes Carlos Guillen and (I’m) out.”
Cabrera said Guillen had initially told him that he wouldn’t play a big role, only in late-game situations against left-handed hitting. He indicated that he wasn’t happy with that role, so he called Vizquel, who assured him that he would play shortstop and third base.
Cabrera was even more frustrated with the fact that he had already paid for tickets and travel for his friends and family. He said he respects Vizquel and the opinion of Guillen, but disagrees with the decision.
Asdrubal Cabrera fue dejado fuera de equipo #Venezuela [?] [?] para Clasico Mundial y no esta contento [?] [?] @ESPN_Beisbol pic.twitter.com/fEIut7BgU7
— Enrique Rojas/ESPN (@Enrique_Rojas1) February 9, 2017
Last season, Cabrera hit .280 with 62 RBIs and 23 home runs. He made only seven errors at shortstop and had a .986 fielding percentage, the fourth-best mark among all regular shortstops.
Eight current Mets and five prospects were named to World Baseball Classic rosters.
Infielder Jose Reyes and closer Jeurys Familia were the biggest names of the group and both will play for the Dominican Republic. Right-handed reliever Fernando Salas will play for Mexico, shortstop Gavin Cecchini and outfielder Brandon Nimmo for Italy, right-hander Seth Lugo, outfielder T.J. Rivera and backup catcher Rene Rivera for Puerto Rico and Ty Kelly for Israel.
New extra inning rules?
Catcher Xorge Carillo, who will be in big league camp as a non-roster invitee, will join Salas on Team Mexico, right-hander Nabil Crismatt will pitch for Team Colombia and the Mets will send two designated pitchers: Ezequiel Zabaleta (Colombia) and Nelmerson Angela (Netherlands).
Pool play for the World Baseball Classic starts March 6, in four cities around the world and concludes with the championship game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, on March 22.
Abbey Mastracco may be reached at amastracco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @abbeymastracco. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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