It is time once again for the World Baseball Classic, where players from Major League Baseball and elsewhere around the world represent their countries.
The tournament has an international appeal that has continued to grow every time the event has been held since its inauguration in 2006. In 2023, the championship game featured a moment for the ages with a showdown between then-teammates Shohei Ohtani, pitching for Japan, and Mike Trout, hitting for Team USA.
In the bottom of the ninth of a one-run game, it was Ohtani, the best player in the game, against Trout, the best player in baseball for about a 10-year period. Ohtani struck out Trout to further establish his legend as one of the greatest players ever.
Baseball is called “America’s Pastime,” but Japan is the only country that has won the WBC tournament more than once. Japan has won three times, and they get just about every one of their best players to represent their country. There is a sense of nationalistic pride and the expectation that their very best will participate – including those who are playing in MLB.
MLB teams, with feet held to the fire, would admit that they would prefer their players not depart spring training to participate in the event and put their health at risk in any way that could compromise their ability to play during the season.
Most general managers would tell you that they love the WBC and they want players to participate – as long as they are your players and not mine.
Remember: Astros second baseman Jose Altuve, while playing for Team Venezuela, was hit by a pitch in the 2023 WBC and broke his hand, which caused him to miss significant time. Mets closer Edwin Diaz, while playing for Team Puerto Rico, tore his patellar tendon in a celebration at the same event and was lost for the season.
All players who participate in the WBC are insured, so their clubs are financially protected if there is an injury. But that only covers salary. It doesn’t make up for how much less talented a team may be if an injured star can’t perform once the MLB season starts, or the revenue lost if big names aren’t in the lineup for an extended period.
Generally, players who are in the final year of their contract and looking at a big deal the next off-season haven’t participated in the WBC, so as not to put their payday at risk. In those cases, the player’s agent is the team’s ally because the agent doesn’t want to lose out on a mega-deal and their commission.
Detroit Tigers lefty Tarik Skubal is arguably the best pitcher in the game. He has won back-to-back American League Cy Young Awards. He will be a free agent after this season and is looking for a deal north of $400 million. He has decided to participate with the United States, but he is only going to make one start and throw three innings at most against Great Britain. He is trying to satisfy that burning desire to represent his country, while also protecting his own best interests.
The reality is that the WBC is pretty safe for position players. A player can get hurt in a spring training game in the same way they could during the WBC. Sure, Altuve was hit by a pitch and broke his hand, but that could have happened in a spring game with the Astros.
The bigger concern is for pitchers. When a pitcher tries to throw with high intensity before his arm is prepared to do so, it can lead to an injury. There is no doubt that the WBC is a far different level of competition than a normal spring training game.
Now, throwing too hard, too quickly in and of itself won’t generally cause a catastrophic injury, like a torn labrum or ulnar collateral ligament. Still, it could lead to a strain or some inflammation. But the reality is that major tears in a pitcher’s soft tissue are wear-and-tear injuries that accumulate over time. So, an injury of that sort would likely happen in spring training or the regular season sooner or later, anyway. It’s just easier to blame the WBC.
Blue Jays will face some challenges
Teams that lose players to the tournament face some challenges, as well.
Take the Blue Jays as an example: catcher Alejando Kirk, first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., second baseman Ernie Clement, shortstop Andres Gimenez and third baseman Kazuma Okamoto all left Jays’ spring training to join their respective homeland’s teams.
The Jays are sending a total of 15 major-league and minor-league players (tied for third-most) to the WBC. The Mets and Mariners are both sending the most with 18 players apiece.
This causes lost time for Kirk to work with new pitchers Dylan Cease, Cody Ponce and Tyler Rogers. Clement and Gimenez are losing time working as a double-play combination at their new, more permanent positions. The Jays are losing time getting to know and acclimate Okamoto in his first season coming from Japan. Plus, Guerrero is a leader on the Jays and the energy he brings to the team will be missing in his absence.
None of those is a challenge that should prohibit players from participating. They are just issues that the team needs to address.
Team Canada is intriguing
I am intrigued by Team Canada this year. It feels like they have some of the best pitching they have ever been able to assemble in WBC tournament play.
Jameson Taillon, Logan Allen, Mike Soroka, James Paxton and Cal Quantrill give them five good major-league starters, and there is some amount of experience in the bullpen.
The infield is experienced and diverse, led by Josh Naylor and Otto Lopez. Naylor’s brother, Bo, will pair off with Liam Hicks to handle the catching duties. Both of them are very capable. The outfield will be outstanding defensively with Jared Young and Denzel Clarke having great range. Canada will need Tyler O’Neill to deliver some power because that’s an area where the team is lacking.
They will have to pitch well and score just enough to find ways to win. This is not a team that matches up well with Japan, Dominican Republic or the USA, but they have the ability to make it out of Pool A, where they will take on Puerto Rico, Columbia, Cuba and Panama.
The head-to-head game against Cuba will be a critical matchup if Team Canada is to advance. If any of the power teams take Canada for granted, they could pull off an upset.
