Team USA isn’t taking their tight loss in the last World Baseball Classic lying down. Though some of the top American stars have routinely sat out the WBC, some of the USA’s best are joining forces for 2026. Fittingly, then-teammates Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout faced off with the WBC on the line, and Ohtani struck Trout out to win the title for Japan. But Trout’s got reinforcements this time, and he’s going to be part of arguably the best American team this tournament has ever seen.
Stars continue to sign on for Team USA at WBC
The roster was already pretty star-studded, but now, the best pitcher in the world is going to represent Team USA. Tarik Skubal, whether he plays for the Detroit Tigers or not, is the reigning Cy Young (twice in a row) and will now headline the Americans’ pitching staff.
Skubal is the latest commitment to the team, but he’s not the only reigning Cy Young to have signed up. Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes, who won Rookie of the Year the season before his NL Cy Young award, is also on the roster already. Those two will be joined by Matthew Boyd of the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox hurler Garrett Whitlock.
David Bednar, New York Yankees closer, is also joining the roster. He was teammates with Skenes until the Pirates traded him to the Yankees at last year’s trade deadline, and he took the closer role from both Devin Williams and Luke Weaver.
Over the past two years, both award-winning, Skubal has gone 31-10 while leading the entire sport in strikeouts (469) and WHIP (0.91). Skubal, who finds himself in trade rumors despite all this, is second in ERA (2.30), innings pitched (387.1), and opponent OPS (.558) across those two seasons. Put simply, there really hasn’t been a better pitcher in the sport, and now Team USA will have his services.
Pitching Woes
This remedies one of the biggest issues with Team USA. In 2023, they had tons of talent on offense, but the pitching was lackluster. How could they compete with Japan’s Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani, and Roki Sasaki? Clayton Kershaw, Lance Lynn, Merrill Kelly, and Adam Wainwright were not a good rotation in that year.
The United States will face off with Britain, Brazil, Italy, and Mexico in Group B. The first round will be held March 6-11 at Houston’s Daikin Park. The last time the Americans won the WBC was in 2017, when they were led by Marcus Stroman (WBC MVP), Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, and others.
Clay Holmes, Jason Adam, Mason Miller, Joe Ryan, and others are also on the pitching staff already.
Team USA is forming a stacked roster
Aside from the pitching, which is slowly but surely becoming a real strength for Team USA, the Americans have one of the best rosters they’ve ever had. They’re captained by New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge. He is joined by:
- Kansas City Royals SS Bobby Witt Jr.
- Seattle Mariners C Cal Raleigh
- Chicago Cubs OF Pete Crow-Armstrong
- Arizona Diamondbacks OF Corbin Carroll
- Philadelphia Phillies DH Kyle Schwarber
- Los Angeles Dodgers C Will Smith
- Baltimore Orioles INF Gunnar Henderson
- Milwaukee Brewers 2B Brice Turang
You could make the argument that the Americans have the two best shortstops in baseball as well as the two best catchers. They also have the best player (Judge) and a top- two DH in Schwarber. Having Turang, Crow-Armstrong, and other American MLB stars who will join in the future to round out the roster is a huge win. The Americans will have a good shot at getting revenge next year.
Related Posts
