Where foreign, domestic Giants stars stand with upcoming World Baseball Classic originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
ORLANDO — The large conference room on the second floor of the Signia by Hilton hotel was filled with smiles on Tuesday afternoon. Podiums were set up for every country participating in next spring’s World Baseball Classic, with flags behind the managers and general managers who talked about the rosters they hope to put together.
The emotions are a bit different for many of the 30 teams providing the players, though, and that includes the Giants.
Basically their entire core is on the initial lists — about 50 players for most WBC teams — that have been put together. While Jung Hoo Lee (South Korea) is considered a lock to play and Heliot Ramos (Puerto Rico) is a likely choice, the fates of guys like Rafael Devers (Dominican Republic), Willy Adames (Dominican Republic) and Matt Chapman are to be decided.
The biggest question for the Giants, however, is what they will allow with ace Logan Webb. President of baseball operations Buster Posey chose his words carefully when asked about the possibility of his most important pitcher participating, noting that “it’s a great event” but adding that the industry has seen “that it can derail some pitchers, just because there’s no way to replicate getting yourself ready for what’s essentially a playoff baseball atmosphere in early March.”
The Giants are in an interesting spot with Webb. Team USA wants him on the staff and he has expressed interest in pitching alongside Paul Skenes and other stars. He is in the middle of a long-term contract, which mostly takes away the concerns that some agents have about letting their pitchers participate. Posey himself participated in 2017 and has fond memories of winning that tournament and getting to play with stars from other teams.
At the same time, there’s little doubt that Webb is the Giants’ most indispensable player. It has become automatic that he’ll give them 200 innings and Cy Young-caliber stats. If something goes wrong in the WBC and he’s forced to miss significant time in 2026, you can forget about any hopes of making noise in October.
Posey has had discussions with Team USA manager Mark DeRosa, and while the two are former teammates, this is one area where they don’t agree. Asked about Webb on Tuesday, DeRosa deferred to former MLB executive Michael Hill, who is putting Team USA together. Hill has finalized most of his lineup but said the staff is a work in progress.
“Logan Webb is obviously one of those names under consideration,” he said. “We want our best on Team USA, hopefully.”
Posey brought up that Clayton Kershaw and Adam Wainwright participated later in their careers and said he thinks that’s a great way to go when it comes to getting marquee pitching on the WBC rosters. What would he tell Webb, who recently turned 29 and could get other opportunities?
“You just have a thoughtful conversation with them around it and present the upside and potential downside, as well,” he said. “Look, I got to play in it. It’s a great event. The way I see it, there’s definitely more risk for a pitcher than a position player.”
Posey noted it’s hard for pitchers to dial it back at all in those games, especially in the big-time atmospheres against teams like Japan or the Dominican Republic. For position players, all of whom are just looking for at-bats in the spring, it’s easier to go at the right pace.
Devers and Adames are on the initial list for the Dominican Republic, but Nelson Cruz, their GM, mentioned that he has a lot of shortstop options. Some Giants officials felt during the season that Devers might skip this one, but Cruz said he remains an option. Other Giants are much likelier.
Lee will be the star for South Korea, although that delegation said their officials have not had conversations with the Giants yet. Kai-Wei Teng (Chinese Taipei) will likely participate for a second time. His country’s manager smiled and said Teng is their best MLB-ready pitcher. Jose Butto (Venezuela) also is a strong bet.
Chapman is on the initial list for Team USA and Carlos Beltran said “of course, of course” when asked if he wants Ramos in his outfield. Because there is a lot of flexibility with rosters, others might become eligible for teams and choose to participate. Tristan Beck, for example, might end up pitching for Great Britain.
Regardless of how many players participate, there will be some level of disruption for Tony Vitello’s first big-league camp. He figures to lose at least two or three key players to the WBC, and many others in the organization will be joining behind the scenes, like trainer Dave Groeschner (USA) and multiple members of the PR staff.
Vitello, though, isn’t concerned. It’s a long season and he will have plenty of time to get to know everyone in the organization and on his roster. He’s also a huge fan of the event in general.
“Any time you’ve got something going on, there’s pros and cons. I think there’s certainly cons to it,” he said. “I just think the event is phenomenal. So the guys that choose to or the guys in a quality enough position with their body and arm to try to compete in that, I’m all for it. I think the fallout is kind of worth the squeeze.”
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