Catcher Chris Iannetta and right fielder Brad Hawpe accepted invitations to play for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, which will be held in March.
Hawpe has never been part of an international team, so the invitation was an unexpected jolt in the midst of his offseason preparation. Hawpe mulled over the offer before accepting.
"I wanted to talk it over with my wife and I wanted to talk the Rockies about it," he said. "Obviously, my first loyalty right now is to my family and to the Rockies.
"I wanted to make sure that I wasn't making a decision that was going to affect either my family or the Rockies. I got the OK from them. Everybody was excited about it. Everybody's pulling for me, so that made the decision a lot easier."
Hawpe, 29, batted .283 last year with 25 home runs and 85 RBIs. He struck out 134 times in 138 games but drew 76 walks, which helped him compile a .381 on-base percentage.
For Iannetta, 25, the chance to play for Team USA continues his rapid rise. He began last season backing up Yorvit Torrealba but became the Rockies' regular catcher in May.
Iannetta, who will share Team USA's catching duties with Atlanta's Brian McCann, hit .264 last year with 18 homers, 65 RBIs and had a .390 on-base percentage.
"It was 50-50 when they first asked me to play," Iannetta said. "It sounded like a great opportunity, but I had to ask my family and my teammates what they thought. Especially, I wanted to really know what my teammates thought. The last thing I would ever want was to be a distraction during spring training.
"I definitely felt humbled by this, and it took me by surprise. But this is a great opportunity. It's pretty awesome to represent your country."
Provisional 45-man rosters for all 16 WBC teams will be announced Jan. 19. The final 28-man rosters, which will include 13 pitchers, must be set Feb. 24. Team USA begins workouts March 2.
Team USA is in a pool with Canada, Italy and Venezuela and will begin the WBC with an opening-round game March 7 against Canada in the Rogers Centre in Toronto.
If Team USA wins that pool or is the runner-up, it advances to a semifinal pool at Dolphin Stadium in Miami, where play begins March 14. The WBC finals are set for Dodger Stadium on March 21-23.
"One thing I was concerned with was being apart from my team," Hawpe said. "My No. 1 goal in baseball is to get back to the World Series and win it. My concern was how that would affect priority No. 1.
"And what I realized is spring training is nearly two months long this year. I'm going to be gone for 2 1/2 to three weeks of it, and I'm still going to there for 4 1/2 to five weeks is kind of what the math looked like.
"I said, 'You know what. I'm still going to be with my team a lot before we even get started.'"
The Rockies begin the regular season April 6 against Arizona at Chase Field.
