Dusty Baker's got his slugger ! On Friday afternoon, Nicaragua announced that Mark Vientos , the Mets' power-hitting third baseman, intends to play for the team at the upcoming World Baseball Classic this March. Originally born in Norwalk, Conn., Vientos is eligible for the national team through his mother, Katy Wilmore, who was born in Nicaragua.

Though rosters won't be finalized until February, this is a huge boon for the national team, whose lineup has been in need of an infusion of offense since appearing in the country's first World Baseball Classic in 2023. That year, the team's 4.91 ERA was tied with Italy for eighth in the tournament, but its offense put up just a .499 OPS -- third worst in the field.

It was a story that repeated in March's Taipei Qualifier, which Nicaragua

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