After a bitter defeat in the 2023 World Baseball Classic championship game, the United States’ most potent roster yet will compete in the 2026 tournament.
The United States is, of course, the cradle and capital of baseball. The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs (NL), one of Major League Baseball’s two constituent leagues, is the oldest extant league for professional team sports. The American League (AL), following in 1901, is home to the world’s most popular baseball franchise, the New York Yankees. Though it is indeed a worldwide game, baseball will always be America’s Pastime.
However, the nation with the longest and richest history in the sport is remarkably under-decorated in international competition. Only one gold medal in five Olympic tournaments, no WBSC Premier12 titles (the Premier12 being the second-highest-level international tournament after the WBC), four Baseball World Cup titles in 24 trips to the now-defunct amateur tournament, one title in 16 Intercontinental Cups and one gold medal from fifteen appearances in the Pan American Games. In the first five World Baseball Classics, the United States only won in 2017 and was runner-up in 2023.
So, what’s happening? Why is America so comparatively poor at international baseball? I think it boils down to two factors; one is a static, fact-based issue, and the other is a systemic, cultural issue. The first factor is that scheduling gets in the way. Few things are more important to Major Leaguers than their routines, and the level of dedication required to play in MLB often means demanding schedules year-round. Many international tournaments conflict with MLB schedules, especially Olympic competition. The Premier12 occurs in November, right after the long and grueling MLB season concludes, discouraging many MLB players from participating in that event. The second cause is, in my view, the more important one – the United States has nothing to prove to the baseball world. The Majors are the world’s greatest baseball league, and no one seriously disputes that fact. While many foreign players are part of MLB rosters and often play an outsized role in MLB dialogue, the truth is that 73.5% of Major Leaguers were born in the United States – not including Puerto Rico, which is a U.S. Territory. This combination of factors has led to mixed quality of rosters in the WBC, most notably in American pitching staffs. The WBC being played during spring training presents unique risks to hurlers, who have to ease into extended workloads during the early months of the year. And because they have nothing to prove, many American pitchers have simply decided that the risks are not worth it.
Tarik Skubal, reigning American League Cy Young Award winner over the last two seasons, is a case study in this mentality. His announcement that he would be joining Team USA was met with wide support from the American baseball fanbase – who, recently, have not shared the sentiment that the WBC is a glorified exhibition – and some think that it spurred other notable American pitchers to join the team. However, the announcement on February 23rd that the Detroit Tigers’ Ace would only throw one game – against the vastly overmatched Team Great Britain, no less – has been controversial, to say the least. Skubal would obviously be a tremendous asset to the Americans in the knockout stage, as one could easily argue he’s among the best in the world right now, especially among southpaws. Instead, he’ll play it safe with a 55-pitch limit.
Luckily, Skubal seems to be an exception. Paul Skenes, the National League’s reigning Cy Young Award winner, seems entirely committed to the stars and stripes. He brings a 1.96 career ERA into the tournament, having pitched in only two MLB seasons. He made the jump from the LSU Tigers of the Southeastern Conference to the Majors in less than a year, and has torn apart the best of the best with relentless speed and raw stuff ever since. The rest of the American pitching staff are among the best to ever wear ‘USA’ across their chest. Retired future-Hall-of-Famer Clayton Kershaw, one of the greatest pitchers of all time, finally makes his first and only appearance in the World Baseball Classic. In the past, Kershaw was denied insurance for the Classic, preventing the legend from taking the mound in previous tournaments. Other notables on the American staff include Logan Webb, who has led the NL in innings pitched for three seasons in a row and led MLB in starts in back-to-back campaigns; 13-season veteran Michael Wacha, who boasts a 3.89 career ERA and 111 wins; 2023 MLB Saves leader David Bednar; Mets rookie sensation Nolan McLean who pitched to a 2.06 ERA in 2025; Twins power pitcher Joe Ryan who was an All-Star for the first time in 2025 and has racked up 719 strikeouts across his first five seasons; thousand-strikeout pitcher and 11-year veteran Matthew Boyd; and Red Sox pitcher Garrett Whitlock who was a revelation in relief last season, with a 2.25 ERA and 2.4 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) in 72 innings.
The catching staff for Team USA is a duo unlike any other in this Classic – arguably the two best backstops in the Majors at present. The Seattle Mariners’ Cal Raleigh had a 60-homer 2025 season – the first by an American Leaguer who did not play for the Yankees. He also shattered the record for home runs while playing as a catcher with 49 of his big-flies being hit while he was receiving for the M’s. His 2025 season ended with an OPS+ of 169 and was worth 7.4 WAR. Will Smith of the Los Angeles Dodgers has put up three straight All-Star seasons, and owns career tallies of 128 home runs, 442 RBI, 128 doubles and a 128 OPS+.
The rest of the infield may be the best part of the already-unprecedented roster. Two-time MVP, eight-time All-Star, and four-time Silver Slugger Bryce Harper anchors the American defense at first base. On almost any other team in the Classic, seven-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glover and five-time Silver Slugger Paul Goldschmidt would be their starting first baseman, but for this team, he’s Harper’s backup. Bobby Witt Jr. is the absolute definition of a five-tool player, bringing with him 722 hits, 151 doubles, 34 triples, 105 home runs, 148 stolen bases, two Gold Gloves and two Silver Sluggers to the tournament. Chicago Cubs standout Alex Bregman – who has a penchant for big moments in crucial playoff games – will bring his career 132 OPS+ to the left side of the infield. Baltimore’s Rookie of the Year winning Gunnar Henderson, Blue Jays postseason star Ernie Clement and Brewers all-around star Brice Turang complete the infield for the United States.
The outfield may be the only weak spot – if it can be called that – for the United States. Team captain Aaron Judge, the Yankees slugger who has become the right-handed slugger of the generation over the last nine years, was one of the most important factors in assembling this team. His commitment to play for Team USA so early in the process inspired many more Americans to join the squad, as credited by manager Mark DeRosa. Alongside the three-time MVP, two rookie sensations are playing for the U.S; the Chicago Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong and the Boston Red Sox’ Roman Anthony. Finally, Minnesota Twins two-time All-Star, Silver Slugger and Gold Glover Byron Buxton completes the squad.
Retired 16-year Major League veteran Mark DeRosa once again manages the Americans in the WBC, having led them to the championship game and a silver medal in 2023. DeRosa has no other managerial experience, instead being a lead analyst with MLB Network – a post he’s held since his retirement from playing. DeRo proved to be a solid motivator in the 2023 WBC, but his tactical decisions did draw some criticism. While it is true that the United States’ roster is the best it has ever fielded, that is also true of a great majority of the teams in the 2026 Classic.
On paper, this group is quite simply one of the greatest baseball teams of all time. Calling them a modern-day Murderer’s Row is an understatement of their potential. But until the tournament is over, their output is still just potential. The roster for the Dominican Republic, Japan, Venezuela, Mexico and perhaps more can match the output of this team over the short, sprint-to-the-finish that the WBC format mandates. And of course, the team will have to exercise the demon haunting every American team in the WBC – they will have to put the idea that this is a flashier spring training exhibition out of sight, and out of mind.
Best-case Scenario:
4-0 in pool play, winning the championship for the second time in WBC history. This is what the American roster is built for. It’s always a good sign when your best-case scenario is also among the most likely scenarios, and for Team USA, many consider it to be the most likely scenario. I might not be quite so bullish, but no one should be surprised if they dominate this tournament like few others in the Classic’s past.
Worst-case Scenario:
3-1, losing in the quarterfinal round. Not a likely scenario at all, but not impossible either. We saw in 2023 that the US can stumble out of the gate. That was not an isolated incident; the 2006 U.S. squad lost to Canada in its second game of the Classic, the 2013 team fell to Mexico in its first game, and the 2017 group fell to the Dominican Republic after nearly losing to Colombia in a one-run, extra-innings opener. Mexico is obviously the most likely to upset the Americans, and have an all-time 3-1 record over their northern neighbors in WBC play. If the team can’t get into a groove, and faces a tough opponent in the Quarterfinals – a pool winner, based on the format – they might go down as one of the most anticlimactic ball clubs ever.
The Likely Scenario:
4-0 in pool play, losing in the championship game. I know Team USA fans won’t want to hear about this possibility, but I have some doubts about this team going all the way. They will be good – probably very good. But in a potential championship matchup against the Dominican Republic (my personal pick to win the tournament), they have notable disadvantages. The Dominicans will almost certainly have the crowd advantage in Miami, and they are always in the ‘something to prove’ mindset. The electricity of the team, and the camaraderie the Dominican Republic almost always plays with are both not equalled on the American side. But to be clear, this is only ‘The Likely Scenario’ by the flip of an unevenly-weighted coin. I’d give the D.R. 52-48 odds against the United States in the title matchup.
Batter to Watch
Byron Buxton – I mean, take your pick with this lineup. Really. There are so many players worth keeping your eye on; the outfield sophomores from Boston and Chicago, the 60-homer catcher, the five-tool generational talent and the best hitter since Albert Pujols are all well worth your attention. But I want to highlight Buxton because some of the discourse concerning his selection to the team has made me realize something – his injuries have made too many people forget just how good he is at his best. Buxton’s 2025 season saw him play 126 games, the second-most of his career, during which he hit 35 home runs, drove in 83 runs, hit 21 hits, slugged .551 and put up a 139 OPS+. With only four errors across 973 innings in centerfield, Buxton’s .993 fielding percentage was second in the American League.
Pitcher to Watch
Clayton Kershaw – A living legend is spending his final appearances on the mound by pitching for his country on the sport’s biggest stage. The sendoff for Kershaw will be heartfelt and well-earned. The long list of Kershaw’s accolades and statistical achievements would only belabor the point, but I should point out that his career 154 ERA+ (over more than 2,855 innings) is the best by a starting pitcher in NL-AL history. With no contract to insure, and nothing to preserve his arm for, let’s hope we get just a little bit more of vintage Kersh.