White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski hopes to fulfill an opportunity he’s never had since signing a professional contract out of high school.
Pierzynski said he would accept an offer to play for the U.S. in the World Baseball Classic this spring if selected to the final 28-man roster.
“It would be a great honor to represent my country,” Pierzynski said Monday. “I never had an opportunity to do so because I didn’t go to college.”
Pierzynski, 32, is one of four catchers on the provisional U.S. roster. Each of the 16 countries participating in the WBC must carry at least two catchers and 13 pitchers when final rosters are submitted Feb. 24.
Pierzynski is the most experienced among a group of U.S. catchers that includes the Braves’ Brian McCann, the Mets’ Brian Schneider and the Rockies’ Chris Iannetta.
If selected, Pierzynski could miss up to three weeks of spring training should the U.S. advance to the WBC final, set for March 21-23 at Dodger Stadium.
But he is familiar with most of the members of the projected pitching staff, and his brief departure would give non-roster invitees Chris Stewart and Corky Miller more time to compete for the backup role.
Pierzynski plans to attend the Super Bowl, not far from his Orlando home, and won’t be at this weekend’s SoxFest.
Arm-saving plans: Staff ace Mark Buehrle will be handled with the same care as last spring, which helped him to pitch at least 200 innings for the eighth consecutive season.
Pitching coach Don Cooper said Buehrle could skip at least one spring start and receive extra rest between starts early in the regular season in an effort to ensure his health.
“That’s a plan no one remembers,” Cooper said. “We set him up not to kill him in spring training.
“We gave him [extra] days during the season, and that [worked] out great because we had him fresher down the end when he won games we needed him to win.”
Buehrle’s 218 2/3 innings were his most since he hurled an American League-leading 236 2/3 innings in 2005. Buehrle received extra rest before four of five starts in April and May. He was 4-1 with a 2.29 ERA in six starts in September, including a 2-0 mark and 2.77 ERA in two starts on three days’ rest.
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mgonzales@tribune.com
