Category: Baseball

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue is pleased to present a Cubs-centric look at baseball’s colorful past. Here’s a handy Cubs timeline, to help you follow the various narrative paths.

“Maybe I called it wrong, but it’s official.” — Tom Connolly, HoF Umpire.

Happy Birthday, Dale Long*, who held a significant record while he was a Pirate,and other stories.10,000 BCB points if you can identify that record.

Today in baseball history:

• 1887 – At Hot Springs, Arkansas, Albert Spalding meets with the Chicago White Stockings players and exacts from each man a pledge of total abstinence from drinking during the coming season. With the entire outfield gone from last year’s team and pitcher Jim McCormick holding out at home in New Jersey, the champion White Stockings will have to rely on young players. (2)
• 1895 – Babe Ruth is born in Baltimore, Maryland. Ruth, who is considered by many to be the greatest player of all time, will start his career as a successful pitcher before amassing 714 home runs with 2217 RBI and a lifetime batting average of .342 on his way to Hall of Fame election in 1936.
• 1934 – New York sportswriter and broadcaster Ford Frick is named the public relations director of the National League. In nine months, Frick will become the league’s President and will later become commissioner, succeeding Happy Chandler. Frick had previously played an instrumental role in promoting the birth of the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. (2)
• 1958 – Ted Williams signs with the Red Sox for $135,000, making him the highest-paid player in major-league history at the time. (1,2)
• 1995 – US President Bill Clinton‘s deadline for a resolution to the baseball strike passes without a resolution. On January 26th, Clinton had told the players and owners to resume bargaining and reach an agreement by today. The strike will continue for nearly two more months. (2)

Cubs Birthdays:Walt Huntzinger, Dale Long*, Smoky Burgess, Travis Wood. Also notable: Babe Ruth HOF.

The Dale Long story.

Today in History:

• 1508 – Maximilian I proclaimed Holy Roman Emperor, 1st Emperor in centuries not to be crowned by the Pope.
• 1778 – Britain declares war on France. France recognizes USA, signs Treaty of Alliance in Paris, 1st US treaty.
• 1867 – American financier and philanthropist George Peabody establishes the Peabody Education Fund to provide improvements to existing schools in poor areas of the southern USA.
• 1951 – Radio commentator Paul Harvey arrested for trying to sneak into Argonne National Laboratory, a nuclear test site located 20 miles (32 km) west of Chicago.
• 2020 – Date of the first COVID-19 related death in the US (confirmed by the CDC April 21).

Common sources:

• (1) — Today in Baseball History.
• (2) — Baseball Reference.
• (3) — Society for American Baseball Research.
• (4) — Baseball Hall of Fame.
• (5) — This Day in Chicago Cubs history.
• (6) — Wikipedia.
• (7) — The British Museum
• (8) — For world history.

*pictured.

Some of these items spread from site to site without being fact-checked, and that is why we ask for verifiable sources, in order to help correct the record.

Well, baseball is coming soon. How soon? Depends on what you mean by baseball. Do you mean pitchers and catchers reporting? Or does baseball start when the whole team reports? Or is it when the games start? When the games that mean something start? And if it’s the games that mean something, do you count the World Baseball Classic, or just the games that count for the MLB standings?

Anyway, baseball is coming soon. Onto the links.

Phillies news:

The Phillies have some position battles to be fought out in Clearwater.

The Phillies are projected to be pretty good in 2026. Here’s how they could end up even better.

Lochlahn March, of the Philadelphia Inquirer’s baseball beat, did an Ask Me Anything. ($)

MLB news:

World Baseball Classic rosters have been announced. MLB.com takes a look at team USA, Japan, and the Dominican Republic.

Tarik Skubal and the Tigers clashed at arbitration, and the two-time Cy winner came out on top.

The MLB Players Association signed a deal allowing for the creation of AI versions of big leaguers.

Dusty Baker has some advice for new faces in the managerial world.

Baseball Prospectus is widely regarded as one of the best sites for prospect analysis. While most major publications have already released their lists of the top prospects in baseball, BP didn’t release theirs until this Wednesday.

Four of the five Brewers who made the list are consensus top prospects. The fifth is a recent draftee who hasn’t appeared on any other list this offseason.

No. 3 Jesus Made

No surprises here. Made hasn’t been ranked lower than fourth by any of the main prospect publications. He has one of the highest ceilings in the game and has only gotten better while rising through the minors. For more on Made, check out my recaps of the Baseball America and MLB Pipeline lists.

No. 30 Luis Peña

Peña is ranked slightly lower than on many other lists — MLB Pipeline, ESPN, and The Athletic’s Keith Law had him ranked either No. 26 or 27. Baseball America had him at No. 45. Peña has just as much upside as Made does, especially if he figures out defensive concerns. With his speed and arm, he might be a better centerfielder than he is a shortstop. Peña’s numbers also fell off a bit in High-A, so a strong first couple of months of the season would have him even higher by the time midseason prospect rankings come out.

No. 41 Jett Williams

Williams, acquired from the Mets in the trade that sent Freddy Peralta and Tobias Myers to New York, seems like a quintessential Brewers prospect. His best traits are his speed, his on-base ability, his swing decisions, and his baserunning. He’s a well-rounded, versatile prospect who can play both middle infield positions and the outfield. I won’t say too much more about Williams because I have a film breakdown coming — if that interests you, check BCB next week.

No. 75 Andrew Fischer

Fischer hasn’t been on any other list that I’ve covered, but he was ranked the top third base prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline earlier this offseason. He was widely hailed as a great pick by the Brewers at No. 20 overall and has done nothing but live up to that billing in his limited time with the organization. Fischer is a developed hitter who spent three years in college (at Duke, Ole Miss, and finally the University of Tennessee) and hit at least .285 every season. Scouting reports leading up to the 2025 draft detailed his mature approach, his ability to drive the ball to all fields, and his propensity to make hard contact. He hit .341 in his final collegiate season with 25 home runs and an insane .497 on-base percentage.

Upon joining the Brewers, Fischer went straight to High-A Wisconsin and slashed .311/.402/.446 (.848 OPS) in 19 games. To put it succinctly, he has the makings of a player who could rise very, very quickly through the farm system — something Baseball Prospectus probably took into consideration ranking him this high. BP also tends to weigh analytics pretty heavily. Despite a limited sample size, Fischer has already been making hard contact and generating high exit velocities — two things that stood out about his profile in college. There’s a world where he more than justifies this ranking after a full season of minor league ball.

No. 76 Brandon Sproat

Sproat, like Made, Peña, and Williams, is pretty much universally considered a top 100 prospect in baseball. He’s been a top prospect for a couple of years now, but fell in the rankings compared to last year (No. 39). To be fair, his season-long numbers weren’t great in 2025 — an ERA over 4 isn’t exactly eye-popping. Despite that, the signs are there that Sproat could become a valuable piece for the Brewers in 2026. He had a rough start to 2025, but pitched extremely well (2.44 ERA, 30% strikeout rate) over his last 11 Triple-A starts. His September call-up didn’t go all that well (4.79 ERA), but it’s hard to take much away from just four starts.

For more on Sproat, check out the Baseball America article linked at the top. Like Williams, I have an article coming on him, so I don’t want to say too much…

The 2026 T20 Cricket World Cup is set to begin in India and Sri Lanka on Feb. 7.

While most Americans might not be acquainted with the sport, they may have gotten a glimpse into the sport in 2024 when Team USA pulled off a miraculous defeat of the usual cricket power Pakistan on June 7, 2024, in Dallas.

According to many cricket experts, the USA's win over Pakistan is considered to be one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport.

A chance at repeating history is on the table for the U.S., as it is slotted in the same group as Pakistan for the World Cup, along with India, Nambia and the Netherlands. The U.S. and Pakistan face off on Tuesday, Feb. 10, at the Singhalese Sports Club in Sri Lanka.

As the World Cup approaches, here's what fans need to know about the similarities and differences between cricket and America's pastime: baseball.

The 2026 Yankees have a lot riding on their stars repeating the quality seasons that they put up in 2025, but there’s a select few that they would like to see rebounds from. No one fits that latter category more than Anthony Volpe, who was brutally bad at the plate for months at a time and endured a dreadful season at shortstop for the first time after posting excellent defense at a minimum in his previous two seasons. Of course, now we know that he was playing through a shoulder injury for most of the year, but a third-straight underwhelming season offensively has put him in the hot seat entering 2026.

Volpe’s expected to miss the start of the season as he recovers from shoulder surgery, but he should be ready to go sometime around May-June. When he returns, it’s likely that the Yankees will give him the starting shortstop gig back unless José Caballero manages to put on an otherworldly performance in his stead. Should he disappoint a fourth time in a row, even a Yankees front office that has been enamored with Volpe’s potential for years would find it prudent to chase an upgrade, but what would qualify as a “good” season for Volpe, or at least good enough to warrant keeping him in the plans for the future?

One of the biggest detriments for Volpe has been his inability to get on base, whether that’s because he’s struggled to generate good contact or work walks. Getting above a .300 OBP mark isn’t exactly a sign of a future star, but it would be a first for Volpe in his career if he could do so this year. Getting on the basepaths would enable him to use one of his best tools as well — his speed. Volpe started his career red-hot timing steal attempts, nabbing 13 bags without getting caught by May. Since then he’s struggled to pick his spots, perhaps because of how inconsistently he’s had the opportunity to, and it resulted in him taking just 18 bags last year. Jumping back into that 25-30 range of steals would go a long way to making the bottom of the Yankees’ lineup more threatening.

Of course there’s always the question of Volpe’s power. He aimed to drive the ball out of the park in his rookie campaign, hit a respectable 21 bombs but struggled to do much else on contact, and then flipped his strategy completely in 2024 becoming more of an even-plane swinger. His power plummeted, and the tradeoff didn’t do too much for his ability to find the gap as he hit .243 and bumped his OBP up only 10 points despite the sizeable batting average jump. Last year he went into the season aiming for more of a middle ground, but the injury prevented him from showcasing whether he had found a suitable way to attack pitchers. Perhaps a jump in statistical performance wouldn’t be as big of an indicator for a good year for Volpe so much as merely finding consistency and knowing that he’s found his form at last. Is there a particular benchmark you’d set for Volpe that he’d need to beat to regain some faith, or is it all in how comfortable he looks at the dish? Let us know what you think.

On the site today, Andrés leads off with a look at Michael Kopech as a high-risk, high-reward option for the bullpen. Then, Sam wishes the Bambino a happy birthday and looks at the lasting legacy he’s cast on the sport, Michael gives us the day’s season preview focused on Oswaldo Cabrera, and Estevão takes us back to the infamous Jacoby Ellsbury signing ahead of the 2014 season. Later on in the day, I’ll be back to answer your latest questions in our mailbag.

As Brewers fans, we’ve quickly become used to making it into the postseason.

After just four playoff appearances from the franchise’s inception in 1969 (as the Seattle Pilots) through their first 49 seasons, Milwaukee has now made it to October baseball in seven of the last eight seasons, including five NL Central titles.

But is it enough?

The team’s “bites of the apple” approach has clearly worked in terms of making it to the postseason, but they have yet to make it back to the World Series, with the franchise’s lone appearance coming back in 1982. The 2018 Brewers were a Game 7 win away from making it, and the 2011 and 2025 Brewers also made it to the NLCS, but nobody has won a pennant.

After Freddy Peralta became the fourth big-name pitcher traded by the team in the last four years (joining Josh Hader, Corbin Burnes, and Devin Williams), they’ll look to extend their playoff streak to four consecutive seasons in 2026 with a roster built around veterans Brandon Woodruff and Christian Yelich along with a whole bunch of youngsters, headlined by soon-to-be 22-year-old Jackson Chourio.

Is making it back to the postseason still considered a success in your book? Or do the Brewers need to take another step forward in 2026?

Weigh in in the comments, and join us throughout the month as we keep these conversations rolling into spring training. Have a question you’d like to ask in a future BCB Daily Question? Drop one in the comments, and we may use it later this month.

Two of the Yankees’ top pitching prospects will be at major league spring training for the first time, the team announced Thursday.

Both Carlos Lagrange and Ben Hess were among the non-roster invitations, with Lagrange known for hitting 103 MPH in a game last season, most of which was spent at Double-A Somerset.

The 22-year-old Lagrange is seen as someone who could make an impact in The Bronx, perhaps as early as this year.

Hess, 23, reached Double-A last year, his first season in the pros after being selected in the first round by the Yankees in 2024 out of the University of Alabama.

George Lombard Jr., considered by some to be the organization’s best overall prospect, got his second invitation to big league camp.

The 20-year-old also played primarily with Somerset in 2025 and is already seen as an elite defensive shortstop.

If Lombard’s bat improves, he could be an option in The Bronx soon.

Among the players with major league experience who will also be in Tampa are INF/OF Seth Brown, INF Paul DeJong and RHP Dylan Coleman.

If there is a rock bottom, it’s safe to say the New York Rangers reached it after their 2-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night. 

One day before this heartless defeat, the Rangers traded Artemi Panarin to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Liam Greentree and a conditional third and fourth-round pick. 

The loss of Panarin was inevitable, yet it still weighed heavily on the Rangers' players.

“He's a generational talent on the ice and I was lucky enough to play with him,” Vincent Trocheck said of Panarin. “Just picturing him having a good time at all times, dancing in the locker room, dancing on the ice.”

This game comes just about 24 hours after Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury vaguely tried to explain his vision for retooling the roster, but ultimately raised more concern given his perplexing and contradictory plan for the franchise. 

The game couldn’t have gone any more poorly for a Blueshirts team clearly battling mental demons. 

The Hurricanes outshot the Rangers 43-16, indicative of Carolina’s complete control of the contest.

“We got outplayed the whole night,” J.T. Miller said. “Wasn't good enough. Wanted to go into the break feeling good about ourselves, but it's quite the opposite right now. It sucks.”

The mood around the team postgame speaks volumes to where they are at right now. Mike Sullivan sounded as defeated as he’s been through his tumultuous Rangers tenure.  

A usually patient and even-keeled Sullivan spoke with a demoralized tone, with his patience seemingly running thin. 

The Aftermath Of The Artemi Panarin Trade And Where Rangers Go From HereThe aftermath of life without Artemi Panarin for the New York <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers">Rangers</a> has officially begun.&nbsp;

The Rangers haven’t won a home game in regulation since Nov. 24 and have only secured two victories since their triumphant Winter c=Classic win on Jan. 2.

“This is a unique circumstance. It’s unfamiliar for all of us quite honestly,” Sullivan said. “We can only control what's in our power, and that's the game right in front of us. We've got to take a certain approach that gives us an opportunity to grow and get better, and find some fulfillment through this process, even though we're in a difficult circumstance.”

Going into the Olympic break, the Rangers slot in last place in the Eastern Conference standings, 19 points out of the second wild card spot. 

The Olympic break will allow the Rangers to reset and refresh their minds, but it only delays the inevitable, in which the Blueshirts will continue to retool the roster and lose games to close out the 2025-26 season.

SNY | Phillip Martínez: The Yankees unveiled a list of 27 non-roster invitees on Thursday, led by some of the best prospects in the organization, such as George Lombard Jr., Carlos Lagrange, and Ben Hess. Veterans like Seth Brown and Paul DeJong, not to mention ultimate reclamation project Marco Luciano, will try to win a spot on the roster. Prospects Spencer Jones and Elmer Rodríguez will be in camp but aren’t non-roster invitees, since they were both added to the 40-man in November.

NY Post | Dan Martin: The Yanks continue to take advantage of the waiver wire, this time picking up right-hander Osvaldo Bido. The Braves, Rays, Marlins, Angels, and now the Yankees have all claimed Bido after his participation in the 2025 campaign with the Athletics. All of them but the Bombers have also designated him for assignment, which is why New York is now taking a chance on him.

Bido, playing in a horrible run-scoring environment in Sacramento, had a 5.87 ERA in 79.2 frames last year. However, in the A’s last season in Oakland in 2024, he had a 3.41 ERA and a 3.36 FIP in 63.1 innings, with 63 punchouts. Evidently, there’s talent in his right arm. To open up a spot on their current roster, infielder Braden Shewmake was designated for assignment.

ESPN | Buster Olney and Jeff Passan: The Yankees haven’t made too many moves this offseason, other than bringing back Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham, Amed Rosario, Tim Hill, Ryan Yarbrough, and most of their 2025 pieces. In essence, they are ‘running it back’ with a similar roster and a few new players, such as Ryan Weathers. Talking in a larger offseason roundtable, Olney warned that much of the Yankees’ 2026 success will hinge on how a few star-level players return from injury, namely how Gerrit Cole and Luis Gil look, while Passan added that not shaking things up when faced with a disappointing result isn’t necessarily a bad call, and the Yankees have reason to believe that they’re still within striking distance.

The formal release of the rosters for this spring’s World Baseball Classic named 16 members of the Seattle Mariners organization. That sum is the second-highest total of any club, trailing only the New York Mets with 17. Seattle’s WBC participants are as follows:

Brazil

RHP Pedro Da Costa Lemos

Canada

1B Josh Naylor

Columbia

UTIL Michael Arroyo
RHP Guillo Zuñiga

Dominican Republic

OF Julio Rodríguez

Israel

RHP Charlie Beilenson

Italy

OF Dominic Canzone
UTIL Miles Mastrobuoni

Mexico

RHP Andrés Muñoz
OF Randy Arozarena

Netherlands

RHP Dylan Wilson

Panama

RHP Abdiel Mendoza

South Korea

RHP Dane Dunning

United States of America

C Cal Raleigh
LHP Gabe Speier

In addition to these current M’s, no shortage of former M’s around the league represented. INF Donovan Solano will be playing for Colombia, RHP Thyago Vieira will be pumping fire for Brazil, towering RHP Phillippe Aumont continues firing for Canada, and RHP Erasmo Ramírez will defy father time for Nicaragua, among many others.

The World Baseball Classic will be played from March 5th-17th, with pool play in Houston, TX, Miami, FL, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Tokyo, Japan, and the final rounds in Miami.

SNY’s popular Mets announcing trio will live on.

In the days before pitchers and catchers officially report to spring training, Keith Hernandez agreed to a three-year contract to return to the booth, with the deal being finalized on Thursday, The Post’s Mike Puma reported.

In October, Hernandez revealed to The Post’s Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman that he wanted a three-year contract with the network and that he was not ready to give up his analyst gig just yet.

“I am not ready to retire,” Hernandez said on “The Show” podcast then. “If I do another three years, they’ve always been three-year deals, and then the three-year deal will take me to 75.

“I just turned 72 and I’m ready to do another three.”

Hernandez has been a key part of the SNY broadcast alongside play-by-play man Gary Cohen and former Mets teammate Ron Darling since the 2006 season after previously working Mets games on MSG.

He has won three Emmys (2009, 2012, 2015) for his work in the booth.

Despite being in negotiations with SNY during the offseason, Hernandez was vocal about the Mets’ moves during free agency, saying that he was left “speechless” after Pete Alonso left the team for a deal with the Orioles.

“I’m a little bit speechless,” he said during an appearance on “SportsNite” in December. “This is very explosive. In the years that I’ve been with the Mets, I have not seen this kind of moving in a new direction, I guess. It is definite — it is profound.”

Hernandez added that the Mets’ direction this offseason would revolve around pitching and defense, citing how the Amazin’s won the 1969 World Series using that blueprint.

“It’s going to be defense and also pitching,” he added. “I always look to the ’69 Mets when you have a team that won a world championship with great pitching and didn’t have a great offense … not by any stretch of the imagination.”

The Amazin’s ended up adding infielders Bo Bichette and Jorge Polanco, outfielder Eloy Jimenez, and pitchers Freddy Peralta, Tobias Myers, Devin Williams and Luke Weaver in a sizable overhaul.

Javier Báez received a two-year suspension and will not play in the 2026 World Baseball Classic due to marijuana use that triggered a failed drug test during the 2023 tournament, the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, reports.

Baez would've competed for Puerto Rico.

The Detroit Tigers shortstop tested positive for the substance during an exam conducted on March 12, 2023, which was during the WBC. His suspension, which keeps him out of World Baseball Softball Confederation events, spans from April 26, 2024 to April 26, 2026. The 2026 WBC will be played from March 5-17.

He was not suspended by the Tigers or MLB and played during the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

Both the MLB and MLB Players Association worked together to clear Baez for the WBC, but the attempt was deemed unsuccessful, according to the Detroit Free Press. In 2020, the MLB and MLBPA jointly negotiated a drug policy that permitted the use of marijuana.

The WBSC governs the WBC's drug usage rules and still prohibits marijuana.

A few weeks ago, we were able to give you some preliminary information on the Rockies’ promotional schedule for the 2026 season. It was a bit sparse, but the Rockies assured us more was coming soon.

True to their word, the Colorado Rockies announced their full promotional and theme night schedule this week.

From Star Wars Night to Bark at the Park, and a plethora of area-college themed evenings, most fan-favorites are returning the 2026 season. In addition, the Rockies are kicking off and ending the season with two new events aimed at students: a college fair for upcoming high school graduates, and a “business of baseball” for students interested in the other side of baseball operations.

You can see the full, up-to-date promotional schedule below, with links to theme nights and giveaway items where available!

Is there a theme night or promotional item that you’re particularly excited for? Is there anything you want to see that isn’t on the schedule? Let us know in the comments!

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

Javier Baez seemingly smoked his way out of the World Baseball Classic.

Baez, who was viewed as likely to play for Puerto Rico in this year’s tournament, was deemed ineligible because of his previous marijuana use, The Athletic reported on Thursday.

The three-time All-Star tested positive for the drug during the 2023 WBC, which meant he was prohibited from playing in any World Baseball Softball Confederation events for two years — from April 26, 2024 to April 26, 2026.

This year’s tournament is set to start in early March — and before the end of Baez’s ban. Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association attempted to restore his eligibility, but the WBSC did not budge on its drug policy, according to The Athletic.

MLB has permitted the use of marijuana since the 2020 season, which means that Baez did not break any of the league’s rules and will not face any discipline from them.

This comes as Team Puerto Rico has faced multiple challenges in building its roster for the WBC, as numerous players, including Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor, were not cleared to play due to insurance reasons.

A statement from the players association said Lindor — who underwent debridement surgery on his right elbow in October — was “disappointed” over not being able to represent Puerto Rico this year but reiterated he would be ready for spring training.

“Francisco is obviously disappointed that he will be unable to participate,” the players’ association statement read. “However, because of WBC insurance constraints, he is ineligible to play in WBC games.

“He will participate fully in all spring training activities.”

In addition to Lindor, Astros third baseman Carlos Correa, Blue Jays pitcher Jose Berrios and Twins catcher Victor Caratini are among some players who are unable to play, with officials from Team Puerto Rico saying that withdrawing the squad was “on the table.”

“That option is on the table,” Joey Sola, Team Puerto Rico’s operations manager, told The Athletic on Sunday.

“It obviously will depend upon if we can figure out the substitute players,” he added.

March means spring training, roster battles, and this year, a reminder that baseball is very much a global sport. The World Baseball Classic is back, with players representing their native land (or, in some cases, the lands of their ancestors). So many Royals players won’t be in camp early on, they’ll be playing in games that can take on a postseason atmosphere.

Which members of the organization are trading games in Surprise for the WBC spotlight?

Team USA

Team USA brings a stacked squad to celebrate the nation’s semiquincentennial this year. Leading the team will be Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., on the team for a second time. Last time around in 2023, he was still green and sat the bench while the more established stars took the field. This time, he’ll be one of those stars, part of a dangerous lineup of sluggers that includes Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper, Alex Bregman, Cal Raleigh, and Pete Crow-Armstrong.

Joining Bobby on Team USA is Royals pitcher Michael Wacha. Also on the pitching staff are former Royals Gabe Speier and Brad Keller. They’ll be joined by Joe Ryan, Mason Miller, and Tarik Skubal, with a rookie in Nolan McLean, and a retired future Hall of Famer in Clayton Kershaw.

Team Venezuela

El Capitán, Salvador Perez, will be leading the Venezuelan squad with fellow Royals All-Star Maikel Garcia. They’ll be joined by Garcia’s cousin, Braves star outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. Slugger Eugenio Suárez, Jackson Chourio, Gleyber Torres, and brothers William and Willson Contreras will all be featured in the lineup. The pitching staff will feature Pablo López, Ranger Suárez, and Germán Márquez, as well as former Royals pitcher Angel Zerpa and Andrés Machado.

Team Dominican Republic

The Dominican team could also be a contender for the championship with a team of stars that includes Ketel Marte, Manny Machado, Julio Rodríguez, Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis, Jr., and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Manager Albert Pujols will have a tough time deciding which stars should be in the lineup. The team also has some veterans, like former Royals first baseman Carlos Santana.

The pitching staff is pretty loaded as well, with Sandy Alcantara, Cristopher Sánchez, and Luis Severino. Closing things out will be the MLB saves leader from last year, Royals reliever Carlos Estévez.

Team Puerto Rico

The Puerto Rican team has been beset by issues with getting players insured, which has caused some players to pull out. Still, they will field a formidable roster that includes Royals pitcher Seth Lugo. Other top arms include Edwin Diaz, Fernando Cruz, and Jorge Lopez. The lineup boasts Nolan Arenado, Heliot Ramos, and Willi Castro. Former Royals MJ Melendez, Emmanuel Rivera, and Martín Maldonado will also be on the lineup.

Team Italy

A pair of paisanos from Kansas City will slug for Team Italy – Vinnie Pasquantino and Jac Caglianone. Vinnie hit for the Italians in the last World Baseball Classic. They’ll be joined by former Royals pitcher Michael Lorenzen, Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola, and White Sox catcher Kyle Teel.

Other Royals on rosters include infielder Abraham Toro and pitcher Eric Cerantola on Team Canada, catcher Jorge Alfaro on Team Colombia, catcher Omar Hernandez on Team Cuba, pitcher Eli Morgan on Team Italy, and pitcher Oscar Rayo on Team Nicaragua. Other former Royals include Cheslor Cuthbert (Nicaragua) and Nate Eaton (Great Britain). You can find complete rosters here, and players divided by MLB team here.

Altogether, there are 190 big leaguers on 20 team rosters, including 78 All-Stars. The tournament kicks off on March 5 (March 4 at 9 p.m. CT) in Tokyo.