Worldwide Sports News

The 2026 World Baseball Classic is set to begin in less than three months, as Team USA is looking to avenge a runner-up finish at the hands of Shohei Ohtani and Japan back in 2023.

Manager Mark DeRosa heads up the American squad, a team that is headlined by several big-name stars. Let’s take a quick look at MLB players participating in the upcoming event, beginning with Team USA. Note: Rosters are not yet finalized, meaning there will surely be additions to this list in the coming weeks. I’ll try to keep this updated over time.

USA

• RHP David Bednar (Yankees)
• SP Matthew Boyd (Cubs)
• 3B Alex Bregman (Cubs)
• OF Byron Buxton (Twins)
• OF Corbin Carroll (D-backs)
• RP Garrett Cleavinger (Rays)
• INF Ernie Clement (Blue Jays)
• OF Pete Crow-Armstrong (Cubs)
• SS Gunnar Henderson (Orioles)
• RHP Clay Holmes (Mets)
• RP Griffin Jax (Rays)
• OF Aaron Judge (Yankees)
• RHP Brad Keller (Phillies)
• LHP Clayton Kershaw (retiring after WBC)
• RHP Nolan McLean (Mets)
• RHP Mason Miller (Padres)
• C Cal Raleigh (Mariners)
• RHP Joe Ryan (Twins)
• DH Kyle Schwarber (Phillies)
• RHP Paul Skenes (Pirates)
• LHP Tarik Skubal (Tigers)
• C Will Smith (Dodgers)
• LHP Gabe Speier (Mariners)
• 2B Brice Turang (Brewers)
• RHP Logan Webb (Giants)
• RP Garrett Whitlock (Red Sox)
• SS Bobby Witt Jr. (Royals)

Team USA is not short on big names, as the team is headlined by reigning AL MVP (and three-time winner) Aaron Judge and runner-up Cal Raleigh, who broke MLB’s record for homers by a catcher in a season. Both the AL Cy Young (Tarik Skubal) and NL Cy Young (Paul Skenes) are also on the roster.

Players returning from the 2023 WBC roster for the US include designated hitter Kyle Schwarber, catcher Will Smith, and shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.

The Brewers’ lone representative in the 2026 WBC, as it stands, is infielder Brice Turang, who is coming off the best season of his young career. Turang, 26, accumulated 5.6 bWAR in 2025, hitting .288/.359/.435 with 18 homers, 81 RBIs, 97 runs, and 24 steals while finishing as a finalist at second base for both the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards.

Australia

• 2B Travis Bazzana (Guardians)
• RHP Liam Hendriks (free agent)
• INF Curtis Mead (White Sox)

Australia’s roster includes veteran reliever Liam Hendriks, who is currently a free agent after spending an injury-shortened 2025 season with the Red Sox, struggling to a 6.59 ERA and 12 strikeouts over just 13 2/3 innings. Travis Bazzana is arguably a bigger name than Hendriks despite having not yet reached the majors with Cleveland. The 2024 No. 1 overall pick and MLB’s No. 17 prospect split time across three levels in 2025, hitting .245/.389/.424 with nine homers, 39 RBIs, 71 runs, and 12 steals in 84 games.

Bonus: Former Brewer Dave Nilsson, who played for Milwaukee from 1992-1999 and earned an All-Star appearance in his final MLB season, is the manager of Australia.

Brazil

• INF Bo Bichette (Mets)

Canada

• OF Owen Caissie (Marlins)
• 1B Josh Naylor (Mariners)
• C Bo Naylor (Guardians)
• RHP Matt Brash (Mariners)
• SS Otto Lopez (Marlins)
• LHP James Paxton (retired)
• RHP Cal Quantrill (free agent)
• RHP Michael Soroka (D-backs)
• C Liam Hicks (Marlins)
• 1B Tyler Black (Brewers)
• RHP Jameson Taillon (Cubs)

Colombia

• LHP Jose Quintana (free agent)
• 3B Gio Urshela (free agent)
• RHP Julio Teherán (free agent)

Cuba

• OF Andy Pages (Dodgers)
• 3B Yoán Moncada (Angels)
• RHP Yariel Rodríguez (Blue Jays)
• INF Andy Ibáñez (Dodgers)

Dominican Republic

• RHP Sandy Alcantara (Marlins)
• RHP Brayan Bello (Red Sox)
• 3B Junior Caminero (Rays)
• SS/OF Oneil Cruz (Pirates)
• 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Blue Jays)
• LHP Cristopher Sánchez (Phillies)
• OF Juan Soto (Mets)
• OF Fernando Tatis Jr. (Padres)

Junior Caminero is the headliner on the D.R.’s roster. The 22-year-old third baseman had a breakout 2025 season, accumulating 4.4 bWAR as he hit .264/.311/.535 with 45 homers, 110 RBIs, and 93 runs, garnering an All-Star spot and a ninth-place AL MVP finish.

Great Britain

• LHP Aroldis Chapman (Red Sox)
• C Harry Ford (Nationals)

Israel

• OF Harrison Bader (Giants)
• RHP Dean Kremer (Orioles)
• C Garrett Stubbs (Phillies)

Team Israel is led by Giants outfielder Harrison Bader, who had a great season between the Twins and Phillies in 2025, totaling 3.9 bWAR as he hit .277/.347/.449 with 17 homers, 54 RBIs, 61 runs, and 11 steals to go with strong defense. Dean Kremer of the Orioles and Garrett Stubbs of the Phillies both return from the 2023 team.

Italy

• 1B Vinnie Pasquantino (Royals)
• OF Jac Caglianone (Royals)
• RHP Adam Ottavino (free agent)

First baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, or “Pasquatch” as he’s affectionately known, will represent Team Italy for the second consecutive WBC in 2026. He’s had a solid four-year career with K.C., hitting .266/.330/.456 with 70 career homers across 424 games.

Japan

• DH/RHP Shohei Ohtani (Dodgers)
• LHP Yusei Kikuchi (Angels)
• LHP Yuki Matsui (Padres)
• INF Munetaka Murakami (White Sox)
• INF Kazuma Okamoto (Blue Jays)
• RHP Tomoyuki Sugano (free agent)
• OF Seiya Suzuki (Cubs)
• RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Dodgers)

I don’t think I need to say much more about Shohei Ohtani at this point. Everyone knows he’s the best player on the planet at this point, and no other player (with the possible exception of Aaron Judge) is even close to being in that conversation. Ohtani helped lead Japan to the title in 2023 and will look to do so once again in 2026. Dodger teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto is also on the roster.

Mexico

• 1B Jonathan Aranda (Rays)
• OF Randy Arozarena (Mariners)
• OF Jarren Duran (Red Sox)
• C Alejandro Kirk (Blue Jays)
• RHP Andrés Muñoz (Mariners)
• 1B Rowdy Tellez (free agent)
• INF Luis Urías (free agent)
• INF Ramón Urías (free agent)
• RHP Taijuan Walker (Phillies)

Randy Arozarena and Jarren Duran both return to the Team Mexico roster after participating in the 2023 WBC. Arozarena was a star in that edition, hitting .450/.607/.900 with a homer, six doubles, nine RBIs, eight runs, and six walks in four games. Duran is, notably, a name that has come up often in trade rumors this offseason, as Boston looks to deal from their outfield depth.

Netherlands

• OF Ceddanne Rafaela (Red Sox)

Nicaragua

• 3B Mark Vientos (Mets)

Mets third baseman Mark Vientos is the lone MLB player on Nicaragua’s roster, though he’s coming off a disappointing season after a breakout campaign in 2024.

Bonus: Milwaukee pitching prospect Carlos Rodriguez was on the 2023 Nicaragua WBC roster, pitching four innings of one-run ball (2.25 ERA). We’ll see if he’s on the team once again in 2026.

Panama

• LHP Logan Allen (Guardians)
• C Miguel Amaya (Cubs)
• C Iván Herrera (Cardinals)

Puerto Rico

• 3B Nolan Arenado (D-backs)
• UTIL Willi Castro (Rockies)
• SS/3B Carlos Correa (Astros)
• RP Fernando Cruz (Yankees)
• OF Riley Greene (Tigers)
• SS Francisco Lindor (Mets)
• SP Seth Lugo (Royals)
• OF George Springer (Blue Jays)

The Mets train continues, as shortstop Francisco Lindor is included on Puerto Rico’s roster. Lindor had a solid 2023 WBC with the team, hitting .450/.500/.550 with a triple, five RBIs, six runs, and a steal over five games.

Venezuela

• OF Wilyer Abreu (Red Sox)
• OF Ronald Acuña Jr. (Braves)
• OF Jackson Chourio (Brewers)
• INF Maikel Garcia (Royals)
• C Salvador Perez (Royals)
• SS Ezequiel Tovar (Rockies)

The 14-year veteran catcher Salvador Perez will participate in his fourth WBC with Venezuela, this time as the team captain. Across eight career WBC games, he’s hit .346/.393/.808 with two homers and eight RBIs.

Fifth in the series. Today we look at the Cubs’newly-anointed utility man.

Matt Shaw is a controversial figure in Cubdom right now. Not for his political beliefs (at this time), but because the signing of Alex Bregman necessarily leads to a change of position for the young man, and because it looks a bit like fan favorite and team leader Nico Hoerner is going somewhere else after this season to facilitate Shaw’s transference to second base, should there be a 2027 season.

The chance of that is non-zero, but that won’t be our focus.

Shaw had two different seasons in one. His first half was iffy — the entire third base contingent were not very good, and none of them got to midseason, except for Shaw, who took over the spot, made a lot of really good defensive plays, and held his own with the bat. His slash line of .226/.295/.394, with a bWAR of 3.1, isn’t anything to write home about, but it’s leagues better than Jon Berti was turning in.

Indeed his bWAR figure is in the same ballpark as Bregman’s 2025 (3.5 bWAR). Bregman’s numbers were reduced due to injury. Shaw’s were bolstered by his very good second half. Fangraphs, who aren’t as influenced by defensive numbers, awarded Shaw 1.5 fWAR, while Bregman garnered 3.5 fWAR.

We’ll have to see how Shaw adjusts to a utility role. Team management has said that he’ll spend some time in the outfield, which would lead me to think that Kevin Alcántara will be spending the bulk of his time in Iowa, provided that Tyler Austin’s power shows up, which would make Austin the backup 1B/DH, as noted in his profile.

It would not surprise me if Shaw flourishes in that role. He certainly has the speed and athleticism to get the job done. I wouldn’t vote against his chances.

The 2009 season marked a transitional year for the Yankees, coming off the final season in the original Yankee Stadium and the team’s first season without a postseason appearance since 1995. The team’s aging core was still producing, but veteran slugger Jason Giambi’s contract expired after the season, leaving a hole at the cold corner.

Thankfully, there was a marquee first baseman available on the market: Mark Teixeira. The switch-hitting slugger and Gold Glover was coming off an MVP-caliber season — he had been traded from the Braves to the Angels at the trade deadline, which wiped out his vote share because of the change in leagues. Several teams attempted to woo Teixeira, but the Yankees were ultimately successful, inking him to an eight-year pact. Tex would be one of the most important contributors to the 2009 team which baptized the new Yankee Stadium with the franchise’s 27th championship. While he struggled with injuries on the back half of the deal, he was a fearsome presence in the heart of the Yankee lineup for most of those eight years.

Mark Teixeira
Signing Date: January 6, 2009
Contract: 8 years, $180 million

Teixeira was born on April 11, 1980 in Annapolis, Maryland and attended Mount St. Joseph High School in Baltimore. He excelled enough there for the Red Sox to take a flyer on him with a ninth-round pick in the 1998 Draft, but he chose to honor his commitment to Georgia Tech, where he became one of the top college hitters in the country.

Now a consensus first-round talent, Teixeira was selected fifth overall in 2001 by the rebuilding Texas Rangers. It wouldn’t take long for him to blossom in the bigs. He made the Rangers’ roster out of spring training in 2003 and from that point forward was a lock to slug at least 25 home runs a season. By 2005, he had already exceeded 100 career homers, reached the All-Star Game, and taken home a pair of Silver Sluggers as well as a Gold Glove. But he wouldn’t reach the postseason until 2008, at which point Teixeira had been traded at the deadline twice in as many seasons; first from the Rangers to the Braves for a king’s ransom, then from Atlanta to the Angels.

That offseason, Teixeira entered free agency as the best hitter on the market. The Angels were interested in bringing him back, but several other teams made big offers. The Red Sox, who had drafted him back in high school, were in the mix — though Teixeira had vocally criticized Boston in the past for their pre-draft negotiations with him. The Nationals and Orioles both tried for the Marylander who grew up close to both Baltimore and DC.

Eventually, the Angels and Red Sox got cold feet, providing an opening for the Yankees. Teixeira, who idolized Don Mattingly growing up, ultimately chose the Bronx as the place to continue his career. The eight-year, $180 million agreement, announced right before the holidays, was made official on January 6th. Teixeira joined starting pitchers CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett as part of a gargantuan free agent haul as the team awaited the grand opening of the brand new Yankee Stadium.

Teixeira proved a perfect fit in the Bronx, providing a strong baseline of production at the plate with sterling first-base defense, but also capable of entering incendiary stretches in which he was impossible to pitch to. Like the rest of the team, Teixiera took a bit to get going in April, but was the AL’s best hitter in May, smashing 13 home runs with a .330/.391/.748 slash line. He made the All-Star Game and then was an even better hitter in the second half, finishing the year with 39 homers and 122 RBI. He finished second in MVP voting behind Minnesota’s Joe Mauer.

Mauer and the Twins, of course, would meet Teixeira and the Bombers in the ALDS. The Yankees took Game 1, but Game 2 would be a battle requiring extra innings. In the bottom of the 11th, Teixeira smashed a line drive down the left field line and over the wall for a walk-off home run to put New York in the driver’s seat.

Teixeira struggled in the playoffs despite the early highlight, but the Yankees took down his former team, the Angels, in the ALCS, and hosted the Phillies in the World Series. After Philadelphia snatched the series lead in Game 1, a homer from Teixeira off Pedro Martinez tied Game 2 and lit the spark for an eventual Yankee win. Finally in Game 6, Tex provided an RBI single in the fifth to help bring the Commissioner’s Trophy back to the Bronx.

The Yankees would not return to the Fall Classic again during Teixeira’s tenure, but his presence at the heart of the order helped extend a window which appeared to be closing before his arrival. In 2010, he registered another strong season, with an .856 OPS, 33 home runs, and his second Gold Glove in as many seasons at first base. Unfortunately, Teixeira struggled again in the playoffs before a hamstring injury put him on the shelf. The Rangers, the franchise which had drafted him nine years before and was now a powerhouse, kicked the Yankees out in the ALCS in six games.

In 2012, Teixeira began to struggle with injuries. He suffered from a persistent cough that plagued him throughout the early part of the season, then endured a pair of DL stints for calf injuries late in the season. He returned in time for the postseason and hit well, but with no home runs, and the Yankees were swept by the Tigers in a demoralizing ALCS.

That marked the final postseason run of Teixeira’s career. The Yankees entered a somnambulant period after 2012, overloaded with veterans who couldn’t stay on the field. Teixeira was one of them, only playing 15 games in 2013 after injuring his wrist during the World Baseball Classic. In 2014, Teixeira’s production dropped as he again dealt with hamstring and wrist injuries. New York missed the postseason both years.

Entering the 2015 season, it appeared Tex’s halcyon days had come to an end. But in his age-35 campaign, the embattled first baseman authored a terrific comeback campaign, returning to the All-Star Game for the first time since ‘09. He finished the year with 31 home runs, a total which would have been even higher had it not been for August 17th. That night, with the Twins in town, Teixeira fouled a ball off his leg and staggered out of the box. He left the game and was diagnosed with a bone bruise, but after several weeks of tests and negative X-rays, was finally found to have suffered a shin fracture. That would spell the end of what had been a stirring resurgence.

Then, at last, came 2016, the final year of Teixeira’s deal. His final ride was an unproductive slog, in which his average hovered around .200 and his formerly prodigious power wilted, even as he slugged his 400th career homer on July 4th in San Diego. In August, he announced in a press conference that he would retire at the end of the season. But he did have one last magical moment in him: a walk-off grand slam against the Red Sox in one of the final games of his career.

The main objective for Teixeira in coming to New York was to win. He did, right away, playing an instrumental role on a championship team. Despite failing to return to the mountaintop in his successive years in the Bronx, Teixeira provided high-quality play on offense and defense for as long as his body would allow him to do so. He retired as an accomplished and dedicated 14-year major leaguer with nothing left to prove.

See more of the “50 Most Notable Yankees Free Agent Signings in 50 Years” series here.

It is prospect list season! The Royals have a few names that rank highly on lists, providing reasons for optimism. But despite signs of improvement, it is clear that the team still needs more progress to become a sustainable winner.

Baseball America is the gold standard of prospect lists, release their 2026 update last week. They are quite high on Royals catcher Carter Jensen, ranking him #11 among all prospects. Other than Bobby Witt Jr.’s #3 ranking in 2022, it is the highest a Royals prospect has ranked in a Baseball America preseason ranking in the last dozen years. Jensen hit .290/.377/.501 with 20 home runs in 111 games across Double-A and Triple-A, then joined the Royals in September and impressed, hitting .300/.391/.550 with three home runs in 20 games.

Pitcher Kendry Chourio also broke into the top 100 prospect list at #82, after being aggressively promoted this year. He went from the Dominican Summer League, to the Arizona Complex League, finishing with six starts at Low-A Columbia, all at age 17. With the Fireflies, he posted a 5.16 ERA but with 24 strikeouts and just 4 walks in 22.2 innings. The publication singles him out as a prospect who could be a riser this year, writing he “blends now stuff with uncommon poise into a skill set,” and that a strong season could give him “a case as the sport’s best pitching prospect.”

Baseball America pre-season top 100 rankings for Royals prospects

Just missing the top 100 prospect list was pitcher David Shields, who also impressed this year at a very young age. The 18-year-old left-hander posted a sensational 2.01 ERA with 81 strikeouts and just 15 walks in 71.2 innings. In their article about the prospects that just missed, Josh Norris writes that he “doesn’t have the kind of blow-away stuff as some of the other pitchers in the minors, but his pitchability and command should help him become a mid-rotation starter in a few years.”

MLB Pipeline also came out with their prospect list last week, with Jensen ranked #18 and former first-round pick Blake Mitchell ranked #75. Mitchell had a tough start to his 2025 season, suffering a wrist injury in spring training that kept him out for the first half of the season. When he returned, he continued to show a very patient eye at the plate, but his power was sapped as it often is for players returning from wrist injuries. The 20-year-old catcher hit .207/.372/.296 with two home runs in 49 games for High-A Quad Cities. Mitchell was ranked #48 by the publication last year, and was ranked #75 by Baseball America last year before falling off their list this season.

Keith Law has high praise for Jensen, ranking him #10 overall. He writes the 22-year-old is a “legit Rookie of the Year candidate this year as a true catcher who could hit 20 homers with a strong OBP, and with 3-plus WAR potential right away thanks to the defense and positional adjustment.” He ranks Mitchell #56, despite what he calls a “lost year.” Law believes Mitchell is “the best defensive catcher in the Royals’ system, a plus receiver and framer with at least a 60 arm, and has the raw power to be a regular at the position even if he doesn’t hit for a high average.” He also ranks Chourio #61, writing that although there are injury concerns when a pitcher his age throws so hard, he is “everything you’d want to see in a young pitching prospect, including the potential upside of 80 command.”

Kiley McDaniel at ESPN had Jensen as the only Royals prospect in his top 100 list at #25, but he ranked Kendry Chourio (#124), Josh Hammond (#132), and Blake Mitchell (#143) in his 101-200 list. He had high praise for Chourio, writing the right-hander “has the elements to become a front-line starter I’m looking for: enough velocity, plenty of command, the potential for three above-average pitch shapes and surface number performance.” But he adds that the right-hander needs to tweak his “breaking ball shapes.” Curiously omitted from the ranking is Shields.

As for the overall state of the Royals’ farm system, they still seem to rank in the bottom third. McDaniel ranks them #24, praising top prospects Jensen and Chourio and their draft picks of Hammond and pitcher Michael Lombardi. But he writes, “the rest of the system is made up of mostly role players and higher-variance types.”

Jon Hoefling of USA Today came out with a farm system ranking last week, putting the Royals at #26, writing, “they might have a dry spell of great prospects coming to the big leagues for a few years. However, in his top five list of Royals prospects, he omits Chourio or Shields, instead listing Jensen, Mitchell, 2025 first-round picks Sean Gamble and Josh Hammond, and 19-year-old shortstop Yandel Ricardo.

MLB Pipeline last August ranked the Royals #26, although they write the Royals had “one of the most interesting and dynamic international classes of 2025” that netted Chourio. A recent MLB Pipeline poll of executives regarding relative strengths of farm systems did not mention the Royals at all. Kiley McDaniel at ESPN ranked the Royals #27 last August, writing, “Hammond and Gamble could be the high-end prospects needed to pull this system out of the bottom third of the league.”

Prospects1500 ranked the Royals #26 at the end of last season, writing that if “Kendry Chourio continues his breakout and Blake Mitchell can bounce back after an injury-filled 2025, the top of this system could look stronger this time next year. Fangraphs has farm system rankings based on Future Value metrics of top prospects in each system, ranking the Royals 28th.

The Royals are one of six clubs to place just two prospects on the Baseball America list, with the Diamondbacks, Braves, Cubs, Phillies, and Rangers. Three clubs – the Rockies, Angels, and Padres – have just one prospect, and the Astros have none.

You could argue that the Royals’ farm system ranking is low because they graduated players to the big league roster. But that isn’t quite accurate. Jac Caglianone has graduated from lists, but other homegrown players have been in the big leagues for a significant amount of time – Bobby Witt Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino, and Maikel Garcia have all spent at least three full seasons in the big leagues. Noah Cameron and Freddy Fermin are the only significant players who have debuted in the last three seasons. Besides, a successful small market team needs to continually produce prospects to build a sustainable winner. Having a farm system that has dry spells will lead to a thin roster.

But there is reason to think things are turning a corner for the Royals. They have taken a more data-driven approach since J.J. Picollo took the helm, and have been more aggressive in spending in the international market, landing top prospects like Ricardo, Chourio, and shortstop Warren Calcaño. Scouting director Brian Bridges took over after the 2023 season, and his first two draft classes have an intriguing mix of prospects that includes Caglianone, Shields, Gamble, Hammond, and pitcher Drew Beam.

Still, the Royals have a long way to go before they are even close to the top farm systems in baseball. And unlike the free agent market, the financial disparities haven’t made it impossible for small-market teams to compete for prospects. The Guardians are tied for the most prospects on Baseball America’s list with six, with the Brewers and Marlins close behind at five. Kiley McDaniel tweeted that the Brewers will rank #1 when he comes out with his overall farm system rankings.

Until the Royals can consistently produce impact talent year after year, and not just rely on the occasional standout prospect, the farm will remain closer to the bottom than the top of industry rankings. Progress is evident, but sustainability remains the real test.

The Arizona Cardinals coaching search could stretch through the Super Bowl.

In a recent report, coming out late last night, the team has scheduled another interview with Klint Kubiak, the Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator.

So, the Cardinals have been waiting and taking their time trying to get another shot at Kubiak, but so are the Las Vegas Raiders.

Both teams will have to do a quick sales job, before Kubiak returns his focus to the Seahawks in their quest for another Super Bowl.

The question becomes, what do the Cardinals have to offer over the Raiders?

If Kubiak was to turn towards the Cardinals, I think the biggest thing it would signal, at least to the Raiders, is a lack of belief in likely first overall pick Fernando Mendoza. While there is a debate on the rest of the roster, their is an unquestioned reality that having Mendoza if you believe he can be a franchise guy, is better than the Cardinals options at quarterback, thus negating basically all other roster construction questions.

If Kubiak decides to go back to Seattle to wait until the next coaching cycle, then it would say a lot about both moribund franchises.

The problem seems to be, that all the “insiders” continue to say it isn’t likely Kubiak would come to Arizona, so are the Cardinals wasting their time?

Is pursuing Kubiak the right move? What do you think?