Kelvin Kuo/USA TODAY Sports
Since its inception in 2006, the World Baseball Classic has been a fun event for hardcore fans, but it has never quite shed its reputation as a silly little World Cup wannabe. To an extent, this is understandable. Despite baseball’s global reach, soccer is by far the most popular sport in the world.
Just look at some of this year’s WBC rosters, which were revealed last night on MLB Network, and you’ll notice more U.S.-born players on the Italian team than those born in the team’s actual country. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it could be part of the reason why, say, people in Italy might not connect with a roster featuring 29 players born in the U.S. (including starting pitcher Matt Harvey!) and only five born in Italy. Also, Italy’s manager is Mike Piazza (birthplace: Norristown, Pa.).
But this doesn’t explain the relative lack of interest for the WBC compared to the World Cup in the U.S., where Major League Baseball remains more popular than Major League Soccer. The history of the event probably has something to do with this. The inaugural World Cup was played in 1930, so it’s had nearly a century to develop a following within the U.S. Meanwhile, this year’s WBC will be the fifth installment of the event.
Furthermore, the timing of the event—during spring training—has kept many MLB stars from participating. Some of those players decline because they don’t want to risk getting injured just before the start of the regular season. Others, who might be recovering from offseason surgeries or previous injuries, would rather go through a more traditional spring training instead of returning to competition early.
While there are still some notable absences (Aaron Judge, Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer) from this year’s WBC, these teams collectively have more star power than ever before. Let’s run through the rosters for some of the most exciting teams heading into the tournament.
United States
Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated
Mike Trout, Mookie Betts and Clayton Kershaw are three of the U.S. stars making their WBC debuts after deciding not to play in previous tournaments. Team USA includes several returning members from the group that won the 2017 WBC, such as Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado. Here’s how I would fill out the lineup if I were manager Mark DeRosa.
1. Mookie Betts, RF
2. Trea Turner, 2B
3. Mike Trout, CF
4. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
5. Nolan Arenado, 3B
6. Pete Alonso, DH
7. Kyle Schwarber LF
8. J.T. Realmuto, C
9. Tim Anderson, SS
The bench on this team is stacked: catcher Will Smith, infielder Bobby Witt Jr., second baseman/outfielder Jeff McNeil, outfielder Kyle Tucker, outfielder Cedric Mullins. If manager Mark DeRosa wanted a more balanced lineup (in my order, Schwarber is the only lefty), he could start Schwarber at DH, McNeil at second and Tucker in left, and move Turner over to shortstop. That lineup would look something like this:
1. Mookie Betts, RF
2. Trea Turner, SS
3. Mike Trout, CF
4. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
5. Nolan Arenado 3B
6. Kyle Schwarber, DH
7. J.T. Realmuto, C
8. Kyle Tucker, LF
9. Jeff McNeil, 2B
Sure, there is no Verlander. Scherzer or Cole on the roster, but look at the potential rotation options: Kershaw, Lance Lynn, Nestor Cortes Jr., Adam Wainwright, Miles Mikolas. The bullpen is also quite impressive, led by Devin Williams, Adam Ottavino and Ryan Pressly.
And then there’s catcher Kyle Higashioka. What a fielder.
Interestingly, starting pitcher Marcus Stroman, who won that year’s WBC MVP pitching for the U.S., is playing for Puerto Rico in this tournament.
Puerto Rico
Kelvin Kuo/USA TODAY Sports
Speaking of Team Puerto Rico, it is returning many of the stars from the roster that lost to the U.S. in the 2017 championship game. Francisco Lindor and Javier Báez once again will anchor the middle infield. José Berríos, Jorge López and Edwin Díaz are some of the returning pitchers. Shortstop Carlos Correa, who started at third base for the ’17 team, backed out earlier this week because his wife Daniella is expected to give birth to their second child during the tournament. Yadier Molina, who was Puerto Rico’s starting catcher in ’17, is the team’s manager this year. He retired from MLB last season, and I had held out hope that maybe he’d join the roster as a player/manager, if only to serve as an emergency catcher. Alas, he is not. Puerto Rico’s three catchers are Christian Vázquez, Martín Maldonado and MJ Melendez. (Fun fact: Vázquez and Maldonado were the two catchers on the ’22 Astros World Series-winning roster.)
Dominican Republic
Have you seen the Dominican Republic’s projected lineup, as constructed by MLB Network? If not, let me introduce you to what could be the most frightening batting order ever assembled:
1. Julio Rodríguez, CF
2. Juan Soto, LF
3. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B
4. Manny Machado, 3B
5. Rafael Devers, DH
6. Teoscar Hernández, RF
7. Ketel Marte, 2B
8. Jeremy Peña, SS
9. Gary Sánchez, C
It’s wild that Peña might be the third best shortstop on the team, behind Rays wunderkind Wander Franco (or, shall I say, Wanderkind?) and Willy Adames of the Brewers. This team also has NL Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara at the top of its rotation.
Japan
Man, I am shaking with excitement to see Japan’s rotation of Shohei Ohtani, Yu Darvish and Rōki Sasaki, who made headlines when he threw 17 consecutive perfect innings last season across two Nippon Professional Baseball games. Also, the lineup features Ohtani, Seiya Suzuki, Masataka Yoshida, who signed with the Red Sox this offseason, and 23-year-old lefty slugger Munetaka Murakami, 23, who set the NPB single-season home run record last season with 56 dingers. Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar is the only U.S.-born member of the team.
Venezuela
This is one of two teams that I think could make a surprise title push. Venezuela has neither the best lineup, nor the best starting pitchers, but it is really good in both places.
1. Jose Altuve, DH
2. Ronald Acuña Jr., CF
3. Luis Arraez, 1B
4. Eugenio Suárez, 3B
5. Gleyber Torres, 2B
6. Salvador Perez, C
7. Anthony Santander, RF
8. Andrés Giménez, SS
9. David Peralta, LF
Rotation options: Germán Márquez, Pablo López, Martín Pérez and Ranger Suárez
Mexico
The other darkhorse contender, Mexico’s lineup is weaker than the other top teams, but it has a really good rotation: Julio Urías, José Urquidy, Patrick Sandoval, Taijuan Walker. If this group deals, the bats (led by Alejandro Kirk and Randy Arozarena) could muster up enough offense to win some games.
Have any questions or comments for our team? Send a note to mlb@si.com.
1. THE OPENER
John W. McDonough/Sports Illustrated
“Yu Darvish has decided not to test free agency next winter. The pitcher has reportedly agreed to a six-year, $108-million extension with the Padres.
“It’s a remarkable commitment for a player who turns 37 in August. (Darvish will be 42 at the conclusion of the deal.) But it’s an appropriately big statement for the Padres, underscoring just how serious they are about competing in the NL West for the next handful of years.”
That’s how Emma Baccellieri begins her column from yesterday about Darvish’s six-year contract extension with San Diego. You can read her entire piece below:
Padres Bet Big on Yu Darvish’s Unique Tools to Age Gracefully by Emma Baccellieri
2. ICYMI
Let’s get you caught up on some of our other stories from the past week.
The Most Impactful MLB Offseason Signings by Stephanie Apstein, Emma Baccellieri and Matt Martell
We asked three of our writers which deal they thought was the best of this winter’s free agency.
Remembering the Man Who Broke Baseball’s Color Barrier Before Jackie Robinson by Sarah Vasile
Moses Fleetwood Walker’s story is often overlooked.
Before He Was a Pro Wide Receiver, A.J. Brown Was Making Money Playing Baseball by Alex Prewitt
During his time at Ole Miss, the now Eagle had a strange agreement with the Padres: He’d make a few thousand dollars here and there … provided he fulfilled one obligation.
The Dodgers Are Still Paying for Their Trevor Bauer Mistake by Tom Verducci
Los Angeles released the pitcher last month after his domestic violence suspension ended, but his signing is still impacting the organization.
What We’re Hearing Before Spring Training Starts by Tom Verducci
How Aaron Judge became even more dangerous, Tom Brady made MLB history and other nuggets from around the league.
Also, quick aside here. The image at the top of Tom’s notes column is of Judge and Brady together before a Buccaneers game in December. The third person in the photo is my college pal Jill Beckman, who worked at Penn State’s student newspaper, The Daily Collegian, with SI women’s sports editor Kristen Nelson, associate producer Sarah Vasile and me. Jill is the social media coordinator for the Bucs, so she was capturing the moment between Brady and Judge for the team.
Another former Daily Collegian staffer? Tom Verducci.
We Are… Everywhere!
3. WORTH NOTING from Matt Martell
The WBC rosters are a time to Remember Some Guys. And, well, this year’s roster reveal included many dudes whose names bring a smile to our faces. Here are some of the Guys who will be playing in this year’s WBC:
1. John Axford, Canada
2. Vance Worley, Great Britain
3. Jair Jurrjens, Kingdom of the Netherlands
4. Wladimir Balentien, Kingdom of the Netherlands
5. Oliver Pérez, Mexico
6. Cheslor Cuthbert, Nicaragua
7. Rubén Tejada, Panama
4. TRIVIA from Matt Martell
Previous Question: Salvador Perez leads all active catchers with 223 home runs. Who ranks second?
Answer: Yasmani Grandal (177)
Question: Mike Trout ranks fourth among active players with 350 home runs. Who are the three players ahead of him?
5. THE CLOSER from Emma Baccellieri
Let’s send it out with one more fun thing about the WBC: Team Czech Republic! They’re the ultimate underdogs here. They qualified for the tournament for the first time by pulling off a huge upset against Spain. Their roster is almost entirely homegrown guys with day jobs who moonlight in the Czech Extraliga. (The one exception is former A’s and Brewers utilityman Eric Sogard, whose mother is Czech.) Their manager is a neurologist! Baseball Czech shared a short film last month on the team’s journey—titled “Small Country, Big Dreams”—and it’s worth a watch. If you’re looking for a delightful underdog, it’s hard to ask for a better one.
