Second baseman Dustin Pedroia will be one of the Red Sox playing on Team USA in this spring’s World Baseball Classic.

Providence Journal / Mary Murphy

Dustin Pedroia will honor his country this spring when he — as well as other members of the Red Sox — puts on a Team USA uniform at the upcoming World Baseball Classic. The former rookie of the year and reigning MVP told WEEI.com yesterday that he has accepted the invitation to play.

He will join a number of Boston players who will play for their respective countries during the tournament, which will be held March 5-12 at seven different sites around the globe, including Tokyo, Mexico City, Toronto, San Juan, San Diego and Miami. The semifinals and finals will be held March 21, 22 and 23 in Los Angeles.

Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka also announced he will play for Japan. The right-hander was the MVP of the inaugural tournament in 2006.

Davey Johnson and Derek Jeter were on hand at the winter meetings last week in Las Vegas and said they plan on winning the WBC after Team USA failed to get past the second round in 2006. Red Sox players Jonathan Papelbon, Jon Lester and Kevin Youkilis could also be members of Team USA. David Ortiz will play for the Dominican Republic and Jason Bay will play for Canada. Free-agent catcher Jason Varitek will likely play for Team USA, too.

During the winter meetings last week in Las Vegas, Red Sox manager Terry Francona was asked about his players’ participation in the WBC. While he understands the significance of representing your country, the manager’s only concern is the Red Sox.

“You know what,” he said. “I don’t know how it’s going to impact us yet. It’s not perfect. You know, because we have a pretty good team, we are probably going to lose, my guess will be, between seven and nine guys. That’s probably pretty close. That’s hard to run a good spring training when you have guys gone.”

Francona explained that in 2006 the club was without catcher Jason Varitek for the majority of spring training because the captain was a member of Team USA. Dusty Brown, one of the organization’s minor-league catchers replaced Varitek.

“Nothing against Dusty, and that was a great experience for him, but it’s very difficult to put in your first and third plays, your bunt plays, when guys are gone,” Francona said. “For me, it’s a nightmare when we go on the road, because we are the Red Sox and people pay good money, which I respect, to watch the games. But for us to get ready for our season, you cannot take the regulars that are left behind on every single road trip. It does not help you get ready for the season.”

Francona called it a logistical nightmare. And he’s not as concerned about the position players as he is the pitchers.

“There’s a reason you want spring training,” he added. “You want your guys to be together and you certainly worry about the pitchers, because they are not ready to compete yet, and it makes all of us nervous.

After the WBC in 2006, Team USA member and Red Sox pitcher Mike Timlin battled injuries and fatigue throughout the regular season. He said the tournament directly affected his pitching.

“It certainly had an affect on Timlin,” admitted Francona. “But just you look at it, regardless of whose team, these guys are not ready to compete. That’s why when they get to that third inning or whatever, the first count of the day, we take them out of the game. If they want to throw more we take them down to the bullpen where it’s a controlled environment. Now all of a sudden they have two on base and two out and it makes you nervous.”

Pedroia has already been a member of Team USA Baseball. He competed for his country during his collegiate days at Arizona State University. In fact he played a pair of games at Cardines Field in Newport.

jmcdonal@projo.com