Via George King, Dominican Republic team GM Moises Alou has interest in Yankees bench coach Tony Pena to manage in next spring’s World Baseball Classic. Alou met with Pena at Yankee Stadium yesterday.
Brian Cashman said he would grant Pena — who is not under contract for next season anyway — permission to manage in the WBC even though Alou has not yet made any kind of formal request. I know Pena plays a big role in Spring Training, particularly with his brutal catching drills, but there’s no reason not to let him run his home country’s team during the event. As long as the Yankees don’t sent any pitchers to the WBC, it’s cool with me.