Team USA is trying to avenge their loss against Japan in the 2023 World Baseball Classic by creating the Avengers on both sides of the ball in 2026.
The WBC is a baseball event usually held every three to four years, where 20 teams from across the world build rosters to compete against each other. The winners get a championship trophy and also a split of up to $3 million. In 2026, the event will take place from March 5th to March 17th.
Team USA has had star-studded lineups before, but this time around, they have the pitching for it. The starters haven’t been announced yet, other players are probably coming, but what they have currently is just asinine.
It’s usually difficult for starting pitchers of high caliber to be in the WBC because of injury concerns. This time around, they’ve gotten the creme of the crop.
The timing isn’t the greatest as the regular season starts later in the month, and it also cuts into the end of spring training. At the end of the day, players want to be able to play for their country and win the whole thing, so they take on the risk.
Injuries are obviously a concern here. Edwin Diaz tore his patellar tendon while celebrating in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and he ended up missing the entire season for the New York Mets. My rebuttal to that is that players can get injured anywhere, and that was a freak injury, unfortunately.
In 2023, Team USA’s starting rotation in the WBC was underwhelming compared to 2026 with Merrill Kelly, Adam Wainwright, Lance Lynn, and Nick Martinez, respectively.
This time around, their one and two starters are arguably the best pitchers in baseball in Tarik Skubal and Paul Skenes. They both just won the Cy Young award in their respective leagues, with Skubal winning the prestigious award for the second year in a row. Team USA also has elite depth with Logan Webb, Joe Ryan, Nolan McLean, and Matthew Boyd.
If you were worrying about who their closer is, well, it’s Mason Miller. He’s arguably the best closer in baseball, and he’s coming off a season in which he struck out 44% of the batters he faced while pumping 100 miles per hour with ease. Team USA’s bullpen also includes Garrett Whitlock, David Bednar, Griffin Jax, Garrett Cleavinger, and Clay Holmes.
It’s not hyperbole to call this the best pitching Team USA has ever had in the World Baseball Classic. The last time a starting pitcher of elite status in the prime of their career participated in the WBC was Jake Peavy in 2009. Before that, it was Roger Clemens in 2006.
Team USA has had elite lineups to sift through, but this year is like no other. They have the best hitter in baseball in Aaron Judge, who just won the American League MVP, and the runner-up coming off a 60 home run season in Cal Raleigh. You can’t forget the NL MVP runner-up in Kyle Schwarber, who just hit 56 home runs. Team USA has also gotten confirmations from hitters like Bobby Witt Jr, Gunnar Henderson, Corbin Carroll, Byron Buxton, Will Smith, Brice Turang, and Pete Crow-Armstrong.
The worst hitter there is at worst an All-Star, which is absolutely absurd. All Team USA is missing a first baseman, which in an ideal world would be one of Nick Kurtz, Bryce Harper, Pete Alonso, or Matt Olson.
This would create one of the most lethal teams to grace the sport, they have a good combination the offense and defense as well.
Team USA wants their get back after what happened last time around, with them losing to Japan after Shohei Ohtani struck out his Angels teammate at the time, captain Mike Trout.
Trea Turner put the team on his back last time around, and now this time they have a great assortment of both young and older players trying to win the whole thing.
It’s not going to be easy, as Japan and the Dominican Republic are going to have a lot to say about it. Japan also has tough pitching headlined by Ohtani if he pitches, Dodgers teammate and 2025 World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Tatsuya Imai.
The Dominican Republic lineup is also an upper echelon with names like Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr, Vladimir Guerrero Jr, and Ketel Marte. It doesn’t stop there as they also have Manny Machado, Julio Rodriguez, Jose Ramirez, Geraldo Perdomo, Junior Caminero, and Yainer Diaz.
The World Baseball Classic is going to be an absolute treat to watch. A lot of players have to go through intensive talks with their teams to be able to pitch in the event because of injury concerns. When the best of the best is pitching and hitting for every team, it’s absolute cinema.
Manager and longtime MLB player Mark DeRosa is going to have a tough job in managing this team since there are so many great players and enticing options.
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