Mets' Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil defend World Baseball Classic despite injuries

New York Mets star slugger Pete Alonso has defended the World Baseball Classic even though his club's closer and another big-name player went down with serious injuries during the competition. 

"I love this tournament," Alonso said on Sunday, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. "This is one of the most incredible experiences of my life." 

Alonso previously compared representing Team USA in the WBC to playing for the Mets in the MLB playoffs this past fall. That, however, was before Mets star closer Edwin Diaz suffered what will likely be a season-ending complete patellar tendon tear in his right knee as he and his Puerto Rico teammates celebrated a victory over the Dominican Republic last week. 

Diaz's injury sparked handfuls of debates about the WBC's supposed lack of importance and about how the tournament could be altered or "fixed" down the road. While Los Angeles Angels superstar Mike Trout and Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts generated headlines when they voiced their support of the current WBC format shortly after Diaz was injured, the topic of scrapping the competition entirely again arose after Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros suffered a broken thumb playing for Team Venezuela this past weekend.  

Altuve is reportedly expected to miss at least two months of action following surgery to repair the issue. 

It sounds like Mets infielder Jeff McNeil doesn't want to hear any noise from fans who would prefer for the WBC to go away so that players from their favorite MLB clubs aren't hurt in what are essentially preseason games. 

"Injuries can happen at any time," McNeil remarked. "They can happen on the back fields at Port St. Lucie (where the Mets play home spring training contests). They can happen here." 

McNeil isn't wrong regarding injuries. Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo is currently dealing with a knee and ankle sprain he experienced during a Grapefruit League game this past Friday. 

"Once the umpire says 'Play ball!' there’s always a risk," Alonso added. "Anything can happen at any given moment."

Team USA manager Mark DeRosa also lashed out at critics of the WBC. 

"If you’re not in this, you don’t get it," DeRosa said. 

Per Jeff Passan of ESPN, Team USA clinched a spot in the WBC finals with a 14-2 win over Cuba on Sunday night. The United States will face the winner of the game between Japan and Mexico that will be played on Monday evening.