Dodgers sending multiple greats -- past and present -- to World Baseball Classic

This story was excerpted from Sonja Chen’s Dodgers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Three years ago, Edwin Díaz was at the center of a World Baseball Classic moment that was memorable for the wrong reasons.

After Díaz closed out a big victory over the Dominican Republic, his celebration with his teammates went awry when Díaz ended up on the ground, suffering a complete tear of the patellar tendon in his right knee that would end his 2023 season before it began. It was a sobering scene, but the memory did not give Díaz any reservations about suiting up for Puerto Rico again for the '26 Classic.

"It wasn't in my mind," Díaz said. "I have the chance to play in front of Puerto Rico. That was an easy decision."

It was easy for the other four Dodgers playing in this year's World Baseball Classic, too. Before the bid for a three-peat begins in earnest, the Classic-bound Dodgers are playing for even more glory.

Over the past week, a bustling Dodgers camp has grown gradually quieter as the participating players have departed. Shohei Ohtani was the first to go, and after Yoshinobu Yamamoto joined him in Tokyo, much of the media that follows the Japanese stars left as well. Hyeseong Kim (Korea), Díaz (Puerto Rico) and Will Smith (United States) round out L.A.'s big league representatives -- and that's not to mention Clayton Kershaw, who's coming out for an encore with Team USA.

Leading up to these departures, players worked to prepare on the field -- and off it as well. Díaz bleached his hair blond in preparation, a tradition for Team Puerto Rico. Even Kiké Hernández, who has played for Puerto Rico before but is on the 60-day IL while recovering from left elbow surgery, sported newly bleached locks while going through workouts on Sunday.

Coming off another World Series, the Dodgers had another short offseason. That gave their WBC participants very limited time to ramp up before being thrust into meaningful games, and for Kim, performing well during Spring Training is actually a priority because he's battling for a spot on the Opening Day roster.

Kim, like just about every other player, will tell you: The opportunity to play for one's country is so special that it takes precedence over most else.

"Being able to represent your country is one of the most honorable things that I can do," Kim said through interpreter Dean Kim. "I had the exact same mentality when I first put on the national team jersey. And this time at WBC, and any international tournaments, I have the same mentality at any chance that I'm able to represent my country."

The Classic begins with pool play in San Juan, Puerto Rico; Houston, Texas; Tokyo, Japan; and Miami, Fla., from March 5-11. That means a few of the Dodgers -- Díaz, Ohtani and Yamamoto -- get the rare opportunity to play in front of home crowds. Ohtani and Yamamoto got to do it in last year's Tokyo Series, but for Díaz, he believes it's his first game in Puerto Rico since becoming a professional.

“I think that’s the most important thing for me, pitching in front of my family and friends," Díaz said. "People from Puerto Rico, they don’t have the chance to travel and see us play in the big leagues. So the chance to play in front of my family and friends will be something I’m looking forward to.”

Smith, who is sharing catching duties with AL MVP runner-up Cal Raleigh, is looking forward to working with a loaded Team USA pitching staff that features both of last year's Cy Young Award winners, Tarik Skubal and Paul Skenes. And he's glad to be reuniting with Kershaw one last time, four months removed from winning a third World Series title together.

"I'm excited he's going to be able to join us," Smith said. "I know he was bummed he couldn't last time. So it'll be a really cool experience for him and me, trying to win a gold medal."

The Dodgers may be the most qualified team to answer a question that came up often early in Spring Training: Which means more, winning a World Series or winning a World Baseball Classic? Among L.A. players, only Yamamoto and Ohtani have won both, and they're vying to help Samurai Japan continue its dominance in the tournament.

"I feel like it’s a little bit different -- two different wins," Yamamoto said through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda. But in terms of meaningfulness, he continued, "Both are equal."