MESA, Ariz. - A’s ace Sonny Gray is out of the World Baseball classic after being denied insurance coverage for the event, according to Oakland general manager David Forst.
“I know Sonny’s bummed,” Forst said. “He wanted to pitch and we were excited to let him do that.”
Gray did not comply with all criteria required for coverage, but Major League Baseball pushed hard to try to get a waiver for the right-handed starter to pitch for Team USA. As issue: Gray was on the DL for more than 60 days last year and he didn’t play in more than 10 innings after coming off the DL at the end of the season.