Riley Greene of the Detroit Tigers is coming off an All-Star season, and one of his best since breakout into the Major Leagues. While he's far from perfect, he's one of the better outfielders in the game at the moment.
With the World Baseball Classic just around the corner, Greene wants to play for Team USA. Unfortunately, according to Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free Press, Greene was rejected by Team USA.
This isn't the first time that he's been left off the Team USA roster. He wasn't a part of the 2023 team, and now three years later, he's left off the team once again. But, he does have one option: join Team Puerto Rico.
Tigers' Riley Greene rejected from Team USA World Baseball Classic roster
"If Greene wants to play in the 2026 WBC," Petzold writes, "he will need to take the field for Team Puerto Rico. He could always switch to Team USA for the 2029 WBC - as long as Team USA extends an invitation after rejecting him in the 2023 and 2026 tournaments."
Greene wants to play for Team USA, according to this report from Petzold, but as he reveals, Team USA isn't interested in bringing Greene on the roster.
GM for Team USA, Michael Hill, revealed why Greene isn't on the roster this year: "Riley is another left-handed bat, so we've talked about providing a balanced roster - not overly left-handed or right-handed."
Hill continued, "He's definitely been a name under consideration, but we want to make sure we're balanced. We're looking more right-handed at this point as we go forward."
Greene, a left-hander, doesn't have a spot on the Team USA World Baseball Classic roster at the moment. With left-handers Pete Crow-Armstrong and Corbin Carroll already in the outfield, Greene wouldn't have a clear spot.
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While he could suit up for Team Puerto Rico, thanks to his mother coming from Puerto Rico and the pursuit of Carlos Beltran of Greene for the Puerto Rican team, he has no plans to do so.
He previously played for a USA team years ago. In the 18-and-under national team at the 2018 Pan-American Championships. He hit.424 during that tournament, hitting three home runs, and was one of the best players on the roster for Team USA.
He would want to play for Team USA in 2026, but as of now, Greene has been rejected from the spot, and his only path to playing in the tournament is through Team Puerto Rico.
Barring any sudden changes, the Tigers outfielder is not expected to play in the World Baseball Classic this year, as his Team USA bid was rejected and he doesn't plan to play for Team Puerto Rico.
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