Aroldis Chapman won’t be playing in the World Baseball Classic after all.
The Red Sox closer was left off Great Britain’s roster after it was found that he “did not meet the blood lineage requirements” to play for the team, according to MassLive.
Chapman, 37, was named to the preliminary roster and expected to be eligible to play for Great Britain as his grandparents emigrated from Jamaica, which had previously been a British colony.
The eight-time All-Star is the latest big name to be ruled out of the WBC.
Team Puerto Rico has floated the idea of potentially dropping out of the tournament after several key players, including Francisco Lindor, Carlos Correa, José Berrios and Emilio Pagan, were forced to withdraw.
Venezuela has also been hit hard by insurance issues, losing José Altuve, Miguel Rojas and Carlos Narvaez.
Chapman, 37, played for Cuba in the 2009 World Baseball Classic.
The flame-throwing southpaw had one of the best seasons of his career in 2025, posting a 1.17 ERA across 61 ⅓ innings while saving 32 games for Boston.
Chapman was dominant out of the bullpen, and he received American League Cy Young and MVP votes for just the second time in his career.
After signing with Boston in free agency last winter, Chapman inked a one-year, $13.3 million extension with a mutual vesting option for 2027 with the Red Sox near the end of the 2025 season.
Playing in their second WBC, Great Britain is led by Yankees star Jazz Chisholm Jr., who did not play for the team last time around in 2023 due to injuries.
The tournament will kick off in Japan on March 5.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
