While the 2026 Olympic Winter Games commence in Milan-Cortina, we are a month away from the world’s best baseball players taking center stage.
The 2026 World Baseball Classic will take place in North America this March, leading into the regular season at the end of the month.
20 teams will compete in the WBC to earn the title as best in the world, concluding at LoanDepot Park in Miami on March 17.
The Pittsburgh Pirates will be well represented with eight players from the organization set to compete.
Reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes will lead Team USA’s rotation, alongside AL Cy Young Tarik Skubal. The two young pitchers give the USA a leg up on the competition against talented lineups from Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic.
The most represented team is the Dominican, as center fielder Oneil Cruz, closer Dennis Santana, and bullpen signee Gregory Soto will all play for their country.
Two starting infielders who will be called on in various ways to help the Pirates’ lineup are playing internationally. First baseman Spencer Horwitz will suit up for Team Israel and Nick Gonzales for Team Mexico.
Reliever Kyle Nicolas will play for Team Italy, the country currently hosting the Olympics.
One Pirate who has yet to make his MLB debut, but is on the 40-man roster, is going to compete. Right-handed pitcher Antwone Kelly was added to the team to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft and is a member of Team Netherlands.
Japan defeated the United States in the 2023 championship game, and Shohei Ohtani was named MVP. Ohtani will not pitch in this year’s tournament.
The teams are separated into four polls in San Juan (A), Houston (B), Tokyo (C), and Miami (D).
Pirates minor league players Pietro Albanez (Mexico), Emmanuel Chapman (Cuba), Po-Yu Chen (Chinese Taipei), Alessandro Ercolani (Italy), Oddanier Mosqueda (Venezuela), and Jose La Sosa (Italy) will also participate in the 2026 WBC.
The World Baseball Classic begins on March 5 and commences with the championship game at the home of the Marlins on March 17.
Pool A:
- Canada
- Columbia
- Cuba
- Panama
- Puerto Rico
Pool B:
- Brazil
- Great Britain
- Italy
- Mexico
- United States of America
Pool C:
- Australia
- Chinese Taipei
- Czechia
- Japan
- Korea
Pool D:
- Dominican Republic
- Israel
- Netherlands
- Nicaragua
- Venezuela