Thursday saw the arrival of all 20 rosters set to compete in the 2026 World Baseball Classic. As expected, the United States was the most star-studded, with a handful of other teams possessing the talent usually needed to make a deep run.
Team USA is the strong favorite to shake off its dramatic loss to the Japan at +110 with BetMGM, followed by Japan (+325) and the Dominican Republic (+350). The next closest country to that trio is Venezuela at +1400.
Per MLB.com’s Sarah Langs, the rosters collectively feature a record 78 players who have been named to an MLB All-Star team, with 36 of them making the cut last year. Naturally, many of those are on the tournament’s top teams — the U.S., the D.R. and Venezuela collectively account for 50 of those players.
The stars will be out at the 2026 World Baseball Classic, but with some absences. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
(Mitchell Leff via Getty Images)
Here’s every single All-Star currently slated to play when the WBC begins March 5. Obviously, the term All-Star doesn’t quite mean they are currently a star. Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge and Tarik Skubal are there, yes, but so is 44-year-old Alexei Ramírez, who made the game once in 2014 and is still playing in the Cuban leagues.
Full rosters are available on MLB’s website.
United States (22)
Pitchers: David Bednar (New York Yankees), Matthew Boyd (Chicago Cubs), Clay Holmes (New York Mets), Clayton Kershaw (retired), Mason Miller (San Diego Padres), Joe Ryan (Minnesota Twins), Paul Skenes (Pittsburgh Pirates), Tarik Skubal (Detroit Tigers), Michael Wacha (Kansas City Royals), Logan Webb (San Francisco Giants)
Infielders: Alex Bregman (Chicago Cubs), Paul Goldschmidt (free agent), Bryce Harper (Philadelphia Phillies), Gunnar Henderson (Gunnar Henderson), Cal Raleigh (Seattle Mariners), Will Smith (Los Angeles Dodgers), Bobby Witt Jr. (Kansas City Royals)
Outfielders: Byron Buxton (Minnesota Twins), Corbin Carroll (Arizona Diamondbacks), Pete Crow-Armstrong (Chicago Cubs), Aaron Judge (New York Yankees)
Designated hitter: Kyle Schwarber (Philadelphia Phillies)
Dominican Republic (16)
Pitchers: Sandy Alcantara (Miami Marlins), Camilo Doval (New York Yankees), Carlos Estévez (Kansas City Royals), Cristopher Sánchez (Philadelphia Phillies), Luis Severino (Athletics), Gregory Soto (Pittsburgh Pirates)
Infielders: Junior Caminero (Tampa Bay Rays), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Toronto Blue Jays), Manny Machado (San Diego Padres), Ketel Marte (Arizona Diamondbacks), Jeremy Peña (Houston Astros), Geraldo Perdomo (Arizona Diamondbacks), Carlos Santana (Arizona Diamondbacks)
Outfielders: Julio Rodríguez (Seattle Mariners), Juan Soto (New York Mets), Fernando Tatis Jr. (San Diego Padres)
Venezuela (12)
Pitchers: Pablo López (Minnesota Twins), Germán Márquez (free agent), Ranger Suárez (Boston Red Sox)
Infielders: Luis Arráez (San Francisco Giants), William Contreras (Milwaukee Brewers), Willson Contreras (Boston Red Sox), Maikel Garcia (Kansas City Royals), Andrés Giménez (Toronto Blue Jays), Salvador Perez (Kansas City Royals), Eugenio Suárez (Cincinnati Reds), Gleyber Torres (Detroit Tigers)
Outfielders: Ronald Acuña Jr. (Atlanta Braves)
Puerto Rico (6)
Pitchers: Edwin Díaz (Los Angeles Dodgers), Jorge López (free agent), Seth Lugo (Kansas City Royals)
Infielders: Nolan Arenado (Arizona Diamondbacks)
Outfielders: Willi Castro (Colorado Rockies), Heliot Ramos (San Francisco Giants)
Mexico (5)
Pitchers: Andrés Muñoz (Seattle Mariners), Taijuan Walker (Philadelphia Phillies)
Infielders: Alejandro Kirk (Toronto Blue Jays)
Outfielders: Randy Arozarena (Seattle Mariners), Jarren Duran (Boston Red Sox)
Netherlands (4)
Pitchers: Kenley Jansen (Detroit Tigers)
Infielders: Ozzie Albies (Atlanta Braves), Xander Bogaerts (San Diego Padres)
Outfielders: Jurickson Profar (Atlanta Braves)
Colombia (3)
Pitchers: Jose Quintana (free agent), Julio Teheran (free agent)
Infielders: Elias Díaz (free agent)
Japan (3)
Pitchers: Yusei Kikuchi (Los Angeles Angels), Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Los Angeles Dodgers)
Designated hitter: Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Dodgers)
Canada (2)
Pitchers: Michael Soroka (Arizona Diamondbacks)
Infielders: Josh Naylor (Seattle Mariners)
Italy (2)
Pitchers: Michael Lorenson (Colorado Rockies)
Infielders: Aaron Nola (Philadelphia Phillies)
Great Britain (1)
Infielders: Jazz Chisholm Jr. (New York Yankees)
Cuba (1)
Alexei Ramírez (Vegueros de Pinar del Río)
Korea (1)
Pitchers: Hyun-jin Ryu (Hanwha Eagles)
Australia, Brazil, Chinese Taipei, Czechia, Israel, Nicaragua, Panama (0)
The above six teams don’t have an All-Star, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t worth watching. There are fun stories all over.
Australia, for example, has Travis Bazzana, the first overall pick of the 2024 MLB Draft. Brazil infielder Vitor Ito currently works as an interpreter for the Hanshin Tigers in Japan. And if you like players with day jobs, you’ll love the Czechs.
There are some notable absences, though. Injuries were obviously a factor for some players, but insurance adjusters have played a surprisingly large role in deciding some rosters. Francisco Lindor was set to captain Puerto Rico but can’t compete now, and Carlos Correa is also out. Javier Baez missed out on the same team, for very different reasons.
The two players who decided the last tournament, former teammates Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout, also won’t be filling the same roles. Ohtani will be hitting-only this year in the WBC, while Trout isn’t on the U.S. roster.
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