Rockies pitcher Kyle Freeland will pitch for Team USA in next year's World Baseball Classic

Instead of spending all spring with the Rockies at spring training next year, Kyle Freeland will spend time with Team USA defending its World Baseball Classic title.

Freeland was selected to represent Team USA on Friday. 

The United States will join national teams from 19 other nations in the first World Baseball Classic since 2017. The WBC was originally set to be played in 2021, but was delayed due to the COVID pandemic. 

The U.S. won the tournament in 2017, bringing home its first title. 

Team USA will play in Pool C, along with Mexico, Colombia, Canada, and Great Britain. Stadiums in Japan, Taiwan, and the United States will host the tournament between March 8th and March 21st. The championship series will be played at LoanDepot Park, home of the Miami Marlins, on March 19th-21st. 

Freeland is in just his sixth year in the Majors but already ranks ninth all-time in Rockies history in wins, and his 114 ERA+ is the second highest mark in franchise history. 

Rosters will be finalized later this winter. So far, Team USA's roster looks like this: 

C: J.T. Realmuto, Will Smith
1B: Pete Alonso, Paul Goldschmidt
2B: Trevor Story
SS: Tim Anderson
3B: Nolan Arenado, Bobby Witt Jr.
OF: Mookie Betts, Cedric Mullins, Mike Trout, Kyle Tucker
SP: Nestor Cortes, Kyle Freeland, Merrill Kelly, Brady Singer, Adam Wainwright, Logan Webb
RP: David Bednar, Ryan Pressly, Dillon Tate, Devin Williams