But Pujols won’t see one of his Angels teammates at the event.

Reigning AL Rookie of the Year and MVP runner-up Mike Trout will skip the WBC for Team USA to focus on a normal spring training, his agent, Craig Landis, told the Los Angeles Times. Last spring, Trout battled an illness that caused him to lose 20 pounds. The outfielder ended up starting the season in Triple A.

Pujols, meanwhile, had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in October, something the Angels described as a minor cleanup procedure.

The first baseman’s agent, Dan Lozano, told MLB.com that Pujols “feels great so far” in his recovery. When asked if Pujols would play in the WBC, Lozano told the website, “At this point, yes.”

In other WBC news, Miami Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton has committed to play for Team USA, sources told CBSSports.com.

The website also reported that Bruce Chen, a left-hander for the Kansas City Royals, has committed to play for China in the WBC. That would make him the first major-league player to participate for China in the tournament.

Chen pitched for Panama in the 2009 WBC. He was born in Panama City but is of Chinese descent.

First-round play in the WBC begins March 2. Provisional rosters for all 16 nations will be announced Thursday.

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Their continuing correspondence is frank, and Van Gundy has been open about his assessment of the center. Speaking in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Van Gundy was equally blunt, saying Howard’s April back surgery is a definite factor in the center’s performance curve with his new team.

Not so many months ago, there was a moment, or maybe even a few minutes, where Kobe Bryant seemed to lose faith, writes Ramona Shelburne. Story

“I don’t think he looks quite as explosive or as quick as he has in the past,” Van Gundy told the newspaper. “Now, he’s still above almost everyone in the league at that size athletically, but he has not totally looked like himself to me.”

The Lakers acquired Howard in a trade with Orlando in August, three months after the Magic fired Van Gundy not long after reports surfaced that Howard had orchestrated the coach’s ouster.

Howard and Van Gundy repaired their relationship, however, and keep in touch as Van Gundy works for NBC Sports as a college basketball analyst.

The Lakers improved to 15-15 with a win Friday, their sixth in seventh games, with Kobe Bryant again leading the offense with 27 points.

Howard, though, had 21 points and 14 rebounds and is averaging 17.6 points and 11.8 boards.

“It’s a big adjustment for him going from being the guy to not only being the No. 2 guy but really a No. 2 guy that really doesn’t get the ball very much at all,” Van Gundy said. “It’s a different deal and an adjustment he has to make. Those kind of things take time.”

Howard was fined $35,000 last week by the NBA for a flagrant foul 2 against Denver’s Kenneth Faried and has vowed to “do a better job of keeping my composure and not getting frustrated and also remember that I’m playing for my teammates at all times and stay on the right path.” Howard was ejected when he jammed his hand in Faried’s face as the Denver forward drove the lane during the Lakers’ loss Wednesday.

“I think Dwight is going to be more than willing to make the adjustment,” Van Gundy told the Times of his playing more of a supporting role. “But it’s still an adjustment and it takes time mentally too because your ego — and ego is not a bad thing, it’s a good thing, you need it to be great in this league — tells you that you’re supposed to be the man and having to adjust to playing off somebody else is not an easy thing.”

Howard has offered up to Van Gundy his own reasons for the Lakers’ struggles this season.

“The only thing he’s really gotten into was, he wants their defense to be better,” Van Gundy said.

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