The sixth iteration of the World Baseball Classic will begin soon, continuing one HELL of a sports stretch over the next few weeks. I mean, we’ve got the Olympics, Super Bowl, and Grapefruit League action–the holy trinity, if you ask me–coming right up.
WBC rosters were released Thursday night, exactly a month before the action starts on March 5. Luckily for us, the Red Sox will be sending a healthy delegation to represent a total of 13 of the 20 teams competing in the international competition. 14 players across the Sox’s major and minor league levels will be playing in the WBC; that’s an increase over the 11 players we sent for the 2023 tourney, so I guess that’s cool.
If you’re looking for a guide to point to where your rooting interest should lie — with regards to the Red Sox — then look no further.
United States: Garrett Whitlock
Just one player in Boston’s system will be representing the Stars and Stripes in 2026, but it’s one of our better players. Whitlock earned his way onto Team USA on the back of a 183 ERA+ in 2025. The runners-up in the previous tourney will hope that execution will carry over to give the Americans their second WBC title.
The speedy outfielder will once again represent our neighbors to the south. Mexico acted as a sort of Cinderella last time around; they nearly knocked off the eventual champions in the semifinals back in 2023. No official word on whether or not Duran will be bringing the sombrero back into the dugout next month.
Venezuela: Wilyer Abreu, Willson Contreras, and Ranger Suárez
Venezuela boasts the most amount of Boston-based talent in the 2026 WBC, as a trio of Sox will represent their home country. It’ll be fun to watch new additions Contreras and Suárez in action, while I’m hoping that Wilyer will be able to display some power to get me excited for the upcoming MLB season.
Dominican Republic: Brayan Bello
After a (generally speaking) solid 2025 campaign, the 26-year-old righty got the nod from one of the tournament’s favorites. La República Dominicana certainly has the offensive firepower to hang with the best of the best, but Bello could play a very important role in their title chase; will he be able to elevate his game and get off to the best start possible in 2026 after a frustrating end to the previous season?
The Macho Man himself is back with the defending champs. We were getting our first taste of Yoshida back in the last WBC in 2023, after he inked his deal with the Sox in December of 2022. Since then, things haven’t been………….consistent, let’s leave it at that. Regardless, he’ll have a chance to help Samurai Japan win their second straight WBC championship and fourth overall.
Netherlands: Ceddanne Rafaela
The Dutch are the quintessential “Hey, they could make a big run” WBC team. Maybe the Netherlands seems like an unassuming baseball nation, but all of the islands that make up the lion’s share of the team (Xander Bogaerts’ home of Aruba and Ceddy’s home of Curaçao, for example) have some incredible players. Perhaps the best center fielder in the world will be representing Holland in 2026 — maybe we can call him “The Flying Dutchman” for this tourney?
G-Reg knows a thing or two about this thing of ours. After posting a sub-3.00 ERA across 67 (don’t laugh) innings, Weissert will be one of the key components of the Italians’ bullpen. Gli Azzurri has some legit names (Vinnie Pasquantino, Aaron Nola if he ever decides to snap out of whatever funk he’s in, etc.). They could be a dark horse.
Puerto Rico: Jovani Morán
While he only pitched in four innings for the Red Sox in 2025, Morán still qualifies for the list as he’ll be representing the home island of manager Alex Cora. He hasn’t had a ton of run in the majors, but he can initiate more than his fair share of swing-and-misses. If we see more of him in 2026, maybe the WBC will offer a glimmer into our future. I dunno, wishful thinking.
Great Britain: Nate Eaton and Jack Anderson
Nate Eaton could end up being more of a pivotal player for the Sox in 2026 than we currently foresee; he’s shaping up to be a top backup option for our current crop of outfielders, and injuries are to be expected across 162+ games. Before that, though, he’s going to be playing for the Union Jack. Right-handed pitcher Jack Anderson of the AAA WooSox will be as well. In 75.1 innings in Portland last year, the fourth round pick in the 2024 minor league Rule 5 draft had a 3.58 ERA. That’s neat, I guess!
Colombia: Tayron Guerrero
35-year-old Tayron Guerrero hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2019, but he gets a shout-out here because he signed a minor league deal with us last month and he will be playing for Colombia. Cool!
Chinese Taipei: Tsung-Che Cheng
A late addition to this article, as he was just claimed by the Red Sox from the Washington Nationals on Friday! The latest member of Boston’s 40-man roster will be playing for Chinese Tapei on the heels of a .209/.307/.271 campaign across nearly 400 plate appearance while playing for Pittsburgh’s AAA club in Indianapolis. Stay tuned for his “Meet The New Guy” article on OTM.
