Jonathan Schoop arrived in the Orioles' clubhouse for the first time this spring knowing his time here will be short. The second baseman will leave spring training Feb. 28 to play for Team Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic.
The Netherlands advanced to the semifinals in 2013, but the Curacao native is hopeful his team will do even better this year.
"In 2013, I was in Triple-A. Everybody was in the minor leagues. Only [Angels shortstop] Andrelton Simmons was in the big leagues," Schoop said. "Now we have, like, five guys in the big leagues and more experience. I think we're going to go farther this year. I hope so."
Schoop and Simmons return to the team, and they'll be joined by fellow major league infielders Xander Bogaerts (Boston), Didi Gregorius (New York Yankees) and Jurickson Profar (Texas). Schoop's younger brother, Sharlon, an Orioles minor league infielder, is also on the team.
