Major League Baseball (MLB) commissioner Rob Manfred told reporters ahead of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) Championship game between Japan and USA on Tuesday that he wants to see more star players, especially pitchers, compete in the tourn tournament in the future.

"It's great the guys that we have," Manfred said. "But I'd like to see pitching staffs that are of the same quality as our position players."

Japan defeated USA 3-2 in Tuesday's game at LoanDepot Park in Miami, Florida, to win their third WBC title. 2021 American League (AL) Most Valuable Player, pitcher Shohei Ohtani was on Japan's roster and he faced a series of star players, including first baseman Pete Alonso and shortstop Tim Anderson on USA's side.

However, more star pitchers didn't participate in this year's WBC for various reasons. Considering that the 2023 MLB regular season will begin on March 30, teams understandably want to make sure their players stay healthy and prepared.

The New York Mets have lost their closer Edwin Diaz who suffered a torn patella tendon while celebrating Puerto Rico's 5-2 win over the Dominican Republic last week. No team wants to repeat that.

"It's not lobbying. It's having facts to support it – that pitching in high-leverage situations like these are, that actually helps players develop," Manfred told reporters. "We have talked about timing until your head hurts. It's just no perfect time. We can't really do it during the playoffs because so many players would be down. We have talked about something in the middle of the season. I think on balance, although it's not perfect, this is probably the right place for it."

The MLB has introduced new rules for the 2023 season, including a pitch clock, shift restrictions and bigger bases, but the WBC didn't utilize them, just like many other leagues around the world.

"On one hand, we are prepared to make adjustments based on input," Manfred said. "On the other hand, we wanna give it a chance to see how it plays out exactly over a period of adjustment in some regular-season games before we make any significant alterations."