Blue Jays' Stroman to pitch for U.S. at next year's World Baseball Classic

Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Marcus Stroman says he will be pitching for the United States at next year's World Baseball Classic.

The Medford, N.Y., native tweeted the announcement from his verified account on Saturday.

"Very difficult decision. Sorry momma. Crazy excited to be playing for .TeamUSA in the .WBC," Stroman wrote, attaching a photo of himself in a U.S. jersey to the tweet.

Stroman's mother, Adlin Auffant, is of Puerto Rican descent.

Stroman last played for the U.S. in 2011 as a member of the collegiate national team.

The 25-year-old Stroman went 9-10 with a 4.37 earned-run average through 32 starts for the Blue Jays in 2016. He was the only Toronto starter to surpass 200 innings over the regular season.

Stroman joins an American WBC team that includes Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Chris Archer, who announced that he will be playing at the tournament over Twitter last month.

The U.S. team is in Pool C, playing in Miami alongside Canada, Colombia and defending champion Dominican Republic.

The U.S. opens the tournament against Colombia on Mar. 10. Canada plays the U.S. in the final round-robin game on Mar. 12.