The participation of MLB players in the World Baseball Classic has been a particularly hot topic of late. More fuel has been poured into that subject in light of the injuries of New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz and Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve while playing for their respective countries in the tournament. But if you ask Tyler Glasnow of the Tampa Bay Rays, the risk of picking up injuries in the WBC shouldn't discourage players from wanting to don their national colors.

In a recent appearance on the Chris Rose Sports, Tyler Glasnow gave his reasoning as to why he is not having any second thoughts about desiring to one day play in the World Baseball Classic.

“I think because everyone is trying to…our pitchers at this point are going for five innings, right? So would you rather have someone do four or five innings in spring? Or would you have someone do four or five innings in games that matter? To each his own, but there's no difference,” Tyler Glasnow said. “Both people are trying to get ready for the season. And then one is probably more meaningful in terms of like competition-wise, like it's a lot more ‘win now' type environment which could be argued that's much better for going into a season. The ability to play for your team is insane. If you do only live one life, you kind of have to collect your deathbed tokens and I think looking back on like you having the opportunity to play in World Baseball Classic and you don't because you're afraid of whatever when the workloads aren't the same it doesn't make sense to me. I think that's, I'm going to try and play in four years for sure. I think it's such a meaningful thing to be part of.”

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
tigers rays prediction

Nathanial Duffett ·

Tigers Rays prediction, Tigers Rays pick, Tigers Rays odds, Tigers Rays how to watch

Bryan Logan ·

Photo: Dave Roberts in Dodgers jersey coaching saying "About time!", Tyler Glasnow pitching beside him in Dodgers jersey

Quinn Allen ·

The next World Baseball Classic will be in 2026, which means Tyler Glasnow will be 34 by then. As long as he remains healthy, he will have that shot of realizing his dream of playing for Team USA the next time the WBC rolls around.

For now, Tyler Glasnow will look to recover as soon as he can from an oblique injury he suffered while throwing late last February. He will be missing the start of the 2023 MLB season, with the Rays expecting him to be out at least six to eight weeks after the injury.