Report: Andy Pettitte will not participate in World Baseball Classic

Pettitte has decided not to pitch in the World Baseball Classic. (US Presswire)

Andy Pettitte will not participate in the upcoming World Baseball Classic, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports. The veteran left-hander had been on the fence about pitching for former manager Joe Torre in the tournament or staying with the Yankees for spring training.

Pettitte, 40, was not on the Team USA roster that was released earlier this month. The team had an open roster spot however, and he had until Feb. 20th to decided if he would participate. Braves right-hander Kris Medlen withdrew from the WBC last week, meaning Team USA now has two roster spots to fill.

Justin Verlander could be one possibility, and Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski told Rosenthal it will be "his decision if he chooses to pitch or not to pitch (for Team USA)." Officially, teams are unable to prevent their players from participating in the WBC unless they are coming off injury.

For more baseball news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnBaseball on Twitter, subscribe to the RSS feed and "like" us on Facebook. Also, individually interact with us on Twitter: @MattSnyder27, @daynperry and @mikeaxisa.