World Baseball Classic 2026

[basashi]

March is a great time of year to visit Tokyo - You might get tickets to the March 5 and 6 games.... but March 8 and 9 will be much harder.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

I hope that the Guardians allow Bazzana to play the WBC (to their credit, they let him play the Premier12 last year, so fingers crossed, Bazzana wears the green and gold of Australia in March). Tampa Bay didn't let Mead play the WBC in 2023.

It's going to be a very tough group from which to advance. Japan is the defending champion, and they will have quality up and down their squad (it's not just Shohei and a bunch of scrubs). Czechia have been improving rapidly since Australia beat them in 2023. Losing to Australia in 2023 cost Korea the opportunity to advance, so they'll be eager to get revenge, and they also have quality players on their roster (not to the same level of Japan, but still they're a pretty good team). Chinese Taipei should not be underestimated.

I really think that Australia's pitching will be its Achilles heel when it comes to tournament play. The development of international class pitching seems to have stalled for some time. I imagine that Hendriks will put up his hand to play after he missed the 2023 WBC through injury.

Countries that qualify for the WBC are required to name a 50-man roster by today. There's no obligation on any country to publicly announce their 50-man roster, so I doubt we'll see anything from any of the big countries or Australia on who has made the cut. The 50-man roster is to be cut to 35 by 3 December, and then the final 30-man roster is announced on 3 February 2026.

This would be my current team to represent Australia at the WBC:

1. Travis Bazzana (2B)
2. Aaron Whitefield (CF)
3. Tim Kennelly (RF)
4. Rixon Wingrove (DH)
5. Robbie Glendinning (LF)
6. Curtis Mead (1B)
7. Jarryd Dale (SS)
8. Brent Iredale (3B)
9. Robbie Perkins (C)

Bench: Ulrich Bojarski (outfield), Logan Wade (infield), Alex Hall (catcher), Chris Burke (outfield/catcher), Trent Durrington (outfield/infield)

Starters
Jack O'Loughlin
Lachlan Wells
Alex Wells
Ben Brown

50

Ben Brown

Age

33

Ht

200cm

Wt

100kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

10.7

3star

K

7.7

3star

HB

3.0

3star

M

4.8

5star

T

1.2

3star

G

2.2

5star

D

7.9

2star

K

6.3

3star

HB

1.6

1star

M

3.7

4star

T

0.9

2star

G

1.0

4star

D

8.0

2star

K

4.6

2star

HB

3.4

3star

M

4.4

4star

T

1.4

4star

G

1.2

4star

*
Lewis Thorpe

Bullpen
Liam Hendriks
Jon Kennedy
Brandan Bidois
Kyle Glogoski
Josh Hendrickson
Mitch Neunborn
Blake Townsend
Todd Van Steensel
Coen Wynne
Kai-Noa Wynyard

* So, there is a suggestion that the Chicago Cubs pitcher is eligible to represent Australia. I have not been able to confirm whether Brown is actually eligible and, if so, whether he's agreed to play for Australia at the WBC. If he's eligible and has agreed to play, then he probably replaces Thorpe as a starter, and Thorpe would go into the bullpen.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

According to news reports, Fox and its related networks will televise the World Baseball Classic 2026, obtaining US English and Spanish rights to the tournament. Seven games from the tournament, including the championship game, will be broadcast on Fox. In 2023, Fox broadcast the US opener against Great Britain, and the championship game between the US and Japan.

None of the games that Fox will broadcast will involve Australia (unless Australia defies the odds and gets to the championship game). Fox has agreed to broadcast three Pool B games that include the US, along with two quarterfinal games and the championship game from Miami's loanDepot Park. Australia is in Pool C, together with Japan, Korea, Czechia and Taiwan.

Australia is set to play its first game against Taiwan in the Tokyo Dome on 5 March 2026 at noon local time (2pm AEDT), followed by its second game against Czechia on 6 March 2026 at noon local time (2pm AEDT), then the marquee match-up against Japan on 8 March 2026 at 7pm local time (9pm AEDT) and the final pool game against Korea on 9 March 2026 at 7pm local time (9pm AEDT).

Netflix previously announced that it would have exclusive broadcasting rights to the tournament in Japan, as part of an exclusive media rights partnership with World Baseball Classic, Inc.

Fox to air 7 games from '26 World Baseball Classic

Fox and its related networks will televise next year's World Baseball Classic, obtaining U.S. English and Spanish rights to the tournament.

www.espn.com

 

[Dixie Flatline]

The KBO has finalised its 29 player domestic roster for the first 2026 training camp between 9-21 January in Saipan. Their 35 man provisional roster has already been submitted to the WBCI, and they will confirm their overseas players' participation in the training camp later.

Their 29-man roster for the training camp:



The most well-known name on that list would be LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu, who pitched with the Dodgers and the Blue Jays between 2013-2023, which included a second-place and third-place finish in the NL and AL Cy Young awards in 2019 and 2020, and some MVP votes in those two seasons. Ryu returned to Korea in February 2024 to pitch with the Eagles for eight more seasons.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

LHP Aroldis Chapman plans to pitch for Great Britain in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, if the Boston Red Sox grant him permission to do so.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

Free agent RHP Liam Hendriks intends to play for Australia in the 2026 WBC, according to Team Australia manager Dave Nilsson.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

According to a report, Australia will be able to count on 2B Travis Bazzana (Cleveland Guardians), RHP Liam Hendriks (free agent) and 1B Curtis Mead (Chicago White Sox) for the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

According to reports, the following players will line up for their respective countries as follows in the 2026 WBC:

Player	Position	Country
Jarren Duran	Outfielder	Mexico
Liam Hendriks	Relief pitcher	Australia
Elly de la Cruz	Shortstop	Dominican Republic
Randy Arozarena	Outfielder	Mexico
Brice Turang	Infielder	USA
Gunnar Henderson	Shortstop	USA
Will Smith	Catcher	USA
Kyle Schwarber	Designated hitter	USA
Junior Caminero	Third base	Dominican Republic
George Springer*	Outfielder	Puerto Rico
Nolan Arenado*	Third base	Puerto Rico
Riley Greene*	Outfielder	Puerto Rico
Carlos Correa*	Shortstop	Puerto Rico
Manny Machado	Third base	Dominican Republic
Fernando Tatis Jr	Outfielder/shortstop	Dominican Republic
Corbin Carroll	Outfielder	USA
Aaron Judge	Outfielder	USA
Bobby Witt Jr	Shortstop	USA
Pete Crow-Armstrong	Outfielder	USA
Geraldo Perdomo	Shortstop	Dominican Republic
Roki Sasaki+	Pitcher	Japan
Matthew Boyd	Starting pitcher	USA

* Carlos Beltran, the manager of Puerto Rico, confirmed that he has invited Springer, Arenado, Greene and Correa to play for Puerto Rico, but did not confirm that they will play.

+ Sasaki (as well as Shohei Ohtani) would like to play for Japan in the WBC, but it is contingent on them receiving permission from the Dodgers to play.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

 

[Dixie Flatline]

RHP Griffin Jax will represent Team USA at the WBC, according to The Athletic.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

I was mucking around with the Gamechanger app while watching the AYC U-18 championship gold medal game between Victoria and Western Australia and found a team page for Australia WBC with 30 names. I don't know how official this list of players is at the moment, although I believe that Team Australia needed to submit a list of 35 players as the preliminary squad for the WBC.

I think this will give a good insight into how Australia will line up for the World Baseball Classic.

Player	Position
Aaron Whitefield	Outfielder
Logan Wade	Infielder
Mitchell Edwards	Catcher/outfielder
Robbie Perkins	Catcher
Alex Hall	Catcher
Darryl George	Infielder
Robbie Glendinning	Infielder
Andrew Campbell	Outfielder
Briley Knight	Outfielder
Josh Guyer	Pitcher
Tim Kennelly	Outfielder
Ryan Battaglia	Catcher
Steven Kent	Pitcher
Curtis Mead	Infielder
Sam Holland	Pitcher
Liam Hendriks	Pitcher
Kyle Glogoski	Pitcher
Blake Townsend	Pitcher
Jack O'Loughlin	Pitcher
Jon Kennedy	Pitcher
Lewis Thorpe	Pitcher
Travis Bazzana	Infielder
Mitch Neunborn	Pitcher/outfielder
Coen Wynne	Pitcher
Rixon Wingrove	Infielder
Warwick Saupold	Pitcher
Liam Doolan	Pitcher
Daniel McGrath	Pitcher
Will Sherriff	Pitcher
Jake Bowey	Infielder/catcher/pitcher

 

[satty]

Australia always have the shitty luck of being in the same group as the tournament favourites.

Still can't believe we are in a group with korea, Chinese Taipei and the bloody Japanese with the god ohtani.

That is essentially 3 of the top 4 teams in the world baseball rankings in one group.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

Ehh, Taiwan isn't going to be that good, based on their announced roster. Lot of their top talent don't seem to be playing. Korea is beatable. Japan will probably cruise through the group stage unbeaten, but they will also miss some of the players that won it all in 2023, partially because the Dodgers won't let all of them play (I watched Yamamoto destroy Australia in 2023 - it was obvious he would translate to the majors).

Czechia will play some valiant baseball and they have improved, but I still think we have their measure.

It won't be a surprise if Australia doesn't get through the group, but I think Australia does have a decent chance (say, 1 in four or 1 in three) in making it to the knock-out phase.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

RHP Aaron Nola commits to playing for Team Italy in the WBC.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

All 20 rosters, including Australia's roster, will be announced tomorrow at 12pm Melbourne time. I believe MLB Network is doing a big roster release show tomorrow. I've already been told about one player in the Australia squad (found out on Monday) and I have a pretty good idea about who will make the Australian squad, at least in terms of the position players. The pitchers other than Hendriks are a little less settled.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

One player that will not be participating in the WBC will be LHP Aroldis Chapman. According to multiple reports, the Boston closer was omitted from the Great Britain roster due to eligibility issues. According to a source with knowledge of the process, Chapman's documentation failed to meet the blood lineage requirements to pitch in the tournament.

Chapman expected to qualify for Great Britain through heritage acquired through British overseas territories with his family, since his paternal grandparents emigrated from Jamaica (a British colony up until 1962) to Jamaica. However, he has been ruled ineligible to pitch for Great Britain and he will not pitch in the WBC, with the US and Cuba not being options for him.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

An emerging trend is the inability of players to secure insurance to play in the WBC. A number of high-profile players, including Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor (Puerto Rico) intended to participate in the WBC but instead will be no more than spectators after they were unable to find insurance.

It seems that Team Puerto Rico has been particularly affected by the insurance issue. In addition to Lindor, infielder Carlos Correa was forced to withdraw from the tournament after he failed to secure insurance coverage for issues relating to his injury history, while catcher Victor Caratini and pitcher Jose Berrios also withdrew for similar reasons. At one point, Puerto Rico threatened to withdraw from the WBC at the last minute, but it seems that the threat of this has receded, in part due to the drastic repercussions that would be faced by Puerto Rico should they follow through.

However, it has prompted behind-the-scenes lobbying of the insurer to review an unknown number of decisions regarding insurance for players wanting to play in the WBC.

The issue has thrown some light on the interesting and murky world of player insurance. During an MLB season, all players on a 40-man roster play on guaranteed contracts, meaning that they get paid regardless of whether they are injured or not. However, the WBC is a different kettle of fish. The WBC is organised by the MLB, and the subsidiary that runs the WBC takes out insurance policies on contracts of all 40-man roster players playing in the WBC. If a player is hurt while playing for his country, his MLB team receives financial compensation for the time missed. This was relevant to the Mets after the 2023 tournament when RHP Edwin Diaz tore the patellar tendon in his right knee while celebrating a save for Puerto Rico and missed the season.

National Financial Partners handles the requests for insurance coverage on an individual player basis, evaluating whether a player's injury history is "low risk", "moderate" or "chronic". Further, players 37 years or older are automatically ruled ineligible for insurance. A player is ranked as having a "chronic" injury history if they have spent at least 60 days on an IL during the previous season, or have been injured for two of their team's last three games the previous season, or have underwent at least two surgeries during the course of their career, or have underwent surgery following the previous season.

Effectively, the insurer insures the value of the contract, not the player. So the richer the contract, the harder it is for the player to obtain insurance. Accordingly, since Lindor was ranked as a player with a "chronic" injury history and has six years and $204.6 million on his contract, he was denied insurance coverage, while OF Byron Buxton (USA) was able to obtain insurance despite his injury history because he only has three years and $45.4 million to pitch.

Further, there will be no repeat of the final at-bat of the 2023 tournament. DH/RHP Shohei Ohtani has received insurance to play, but only as a designated hitter, meaning that he will not pitch in the WBC this year.

Players that are denied insurance have four options. The first is not to play. The second is to waive insurance and risk losing salary in the event they suffer an injury. Thirdly, they take out insurance at their own cost. Fourthly, they receive a waiver from their club. The last option is rarely utilised, but it did happen when the Tigers agreed to pay DH Miguel Cabrera his full salary even if he was injured playing for Venezuela ahead of what was his last MLB season.

More often, the player simply does not play, such as LHP Clayton Kershaw, who had committed to pitch for Team USA but was unable to obtain insurance prior to the 2023 WBC and withdrew from the squad. In response, it appears that Team USA has targeted players who are less likely to run into problems obtaining insurance, meaning that OF Mike Trout and 1B Bryce Harper are unlikely to play a role in the 2026 WBC (Harper announced that he would play on social media, but has not been confirmed as playing by Team USA).

 

[Dixie Flatline]

Got the time wrong. The rosters are now being unveiled on mlb.com. The US team is currently being announced by its manager, Mark DeRosa.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

Team Japan roster now posted.



They're currently announcing Korea's roster.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

Australia's squad announced. I'm personally stoked, as I know a couple of them through club baseball (one of them coaches my son privately, and the other coaches my friend's son privately). Knew about the selection of my son's coach on Monday, but it wasn't meant to be made public until today. The big surprise is that Liam Hendriks has NOT been selected for Team Australia, despite making it clear that he wanted to pitch for Australia in the WBC. The lack of baseball clearly counted against him.

Full squad:

World Baseball Classic Roster | World Baseball Classic

The official site of the World Baseball Classic.

www.mlb.com

Position players

Chris Burke (C/OF) - Melbourne Aces
Mitchell Edwards (C/LF) - Adelaide Giants
Alex Hall (C/1B/LF) - Perth Heat
Robbie Perkins (C/LF) - Brisbane Heat
Travis Bazzana (2B) - Cleveland Guardians (minors)
George Callil (SS/2B) - Evansville (Frontier League)
Jarryd Dale (SS/2B/3B) - Kia Tigers (KBO)
Max Durrington (2B/OF) - Brisbane Bandits/Athletics (minors)
Robbie Glendinning (SS/2B/3B) - Adelaide Giants
Curtis Mead (3B/2B/1B) - Chicago White Sox
Logan Wade (SS/2B/LF) - Brisbane Bandits
Rixon Wingrove (1B/LF/RF) - Brisbane Bandits
Ulrich Bojarski (OF) - Melbourne Aces
Tim Kennelly (3B/RF/C) - Perth Heat
Aaron Whitefield (OF) - Melbourne Aces

Pitchers

Kieren Hall (RHP) - Perth Heat
Ky Hampton (RHP) - Adelaide Giants
Josh Hendrickson (LHP) - High Point (Atlantic League)
Sam Holland (RHP) - Brisbane Bandits
Jon Kennedy (LHP) - Brisbane Bandits
Connor MacDonald (RHP) - Brisbane Bandits
Cooper Morgan (LHP) - Adelaide Giants
Mitch Neunborn (RHP) - Philadelphia Phillies (minors)
Jack O'Loughlin (LHP) - Adelaide Giants
Warwick Saupold (RHP) - Perth Heat
Blake Townsend (LHP) - Texas Rangers (minors)
Todd van Steensel (RHP) - Adelaide Giants
Alex Wells (LHP) - Sydney Blue Sox
Lachlan Wells (LHP) - LG Twins (KBO)
Coen Wynne (RHP) - Sydney Blue Sox

 

[Dixie Flatline]

In Australia, the Australia games will be broadcast on ESPN and Disney+.

Australia plays Taiwan on 5 March at 2pm AEDT, then Czechia on 6 March at 2pm AEDT. The big game against Japan is prime time baseball (9pm AEDT on 8 March) and then the pool ends with a game against South Korea on 9 March at 9pm AEDT.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

The WBC allows countries to have a designated pitcher pool. Each country can put up to six pitchers on the list as potential pitchers to call up after the initial round. Teams can then replace up to four pitchers following the first round and then up to two pitchers after the quarter final.

The following pitchers have been nominated by Australia for their designated pitcher pool:

RHP Cameron Gibbens
LHP Kailen Hamson
RHP Liam Hendriks
LHP Lewis Thorpe
RHP Kai-Noa Wynyard

These pitchers are ready in reserve for their World Baseball Classic clubs

After the official 30-man World Baseball Classic rosters were announced last week, there was just one question left ahead of the tournament’s opening on March 4: Who would be listed in the Designated Pitcher Pools (DPP)? The way the DPP works is that each federation can place up to six

www.mlb.com

 

[brucetiki]

In Australia, the Australia games will be broadcast on ESPN and Disney+.

Australia plays Taiwan on 5 March at 2pm AEDT, then Czechia on 6 March at 2pm AEDT. The big game against Japan is prime time baseball (9pm AEDT on 8 March) and then the pool ends with a game against South Korea on 9 March at 9pm AEDT.

Other matches will also be available through the ESPN app/Disney+ (ala how you can access NHL matches).

I suspect it will be the MLB International feed and not the Fox Sports (US) feeds for the US based matches

 

[brucetiki]

View attachment 2407914

March is a great time of year to visit Tokyo - You might get tickets to the March 5 and 6 games.... but March 8 and 9 will be much harder.

I'm heading over to Japan on Friday, and to our complete and utter surprise, scored tickets in the international ballot for the Australia v Japan match! Also going to Australia v Korea.

I heard on the commentary during the Australia v BayStars warm up match that the Emperor will be in attendance for the Australia v Japan match - first time in something like 67 years since an Emperor has attended a professional match in Japan.

Going to be surreal seeing the likes of Shohei Ohtani up against guys that played in the ABL this season. Heck, Jack O'Loughlin played club ball for Port Adelaide in the ABL pre-season.

Also, looks like ticket sales have been solid for all matches - the only matches with tickets available are Korea v Czechia, Australia v Czechia and Australia v Korea.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

I was told a couple of weeks ago by someone who used to pitch in the Twins organisation and previously pitched in the ABL that Hendriks asked not to be selected for the team because he'd just signed a minor league contract with the Twins and is focused on completing spring training with the Twins to try to win a roster spot for opening day.

I asked my son's pitching coach how he'd approach pitching to Ohtani (it would be a left-on-left match-up so it could actually happen). He said with a grin that it'd be a free at-bat. If Ohtani hit a home run, then that's the expected outcome, so what could he do. If he struck out Ohtani, then he'd be elated at beating the best player in the world.