Will USA's star-studded World Baseball Classic roster be enough to avenge '23 defeat?

Following the Americans’ first win in the World Baseball Classic in 2017, there was increased interest among big league stars to represent the States on this stage in '23. And after a close defeat at the hands of Japan in the '23 final, the enthusiasm to participate ramped up all the more, this time with two of the best pitchers in the game -- Tarik Skubal and Paul Skenes -- pairing with a lineup that is once again among the most accomplished ever assembled.

2023 WBC performance

Team USA came into the 2023 tournament with a ton of hype and a ton of hope that it could repeat as champs, and it successfully defeated Venezuela in the quarterfinals and Cuba in the semifinals to reach the championship game.

Ultimately, though, Japan’s pitching was just a bit better, and Shohei Ohtani closed it out on the mound by striking out then-Angels teammate Mike Trout in an epic at-bat to end it, with Team USA on the wrong side of a 3-2 final score -- a result that has gnawed at [2023 Team USA manager Mark] DeRosa and Co. ever since.

2026 WBC schedule

Following an exhibition against the Giants on March 3 and the Rockies on March 4 (both games in Scottsdale, Ariz.), Team USA will open Pool B play against Brazil at 8 p.m. ET on March 6 at Houston’s Daikin Park.

The Americans will then face Great Britain at 8 p.m. on March 7, Mexico at 8 p.m. on March 9, and Italy at 9 p.m. on March 10. Should Team USA advance to the quarterfinals, they will be held March 13-14, also at Daikin Park. The semifinals and finals will be held March 15-17 at Miami’s loanDepot Park.

Best WBC performance

Though a 2-1 win over Japan in the semifinals was thrilling, and an 8-0 thumping of Puerto Rico in the finals gave Team USA the tournament title it had long sought, the indelible image from the Americans’ 2017 championship run actually came in the quarterfinals.

In a winner-take-all tilt against a loaded Dominican Republic squad, Team USA was clinging to a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the seventh at San Diego’s Petco Park when Manny Machado skied a deep fly to center that looked destined for a solo shot. But Adam Jones ran it down, jumped at the wall and got his outstretched glove around the ball amid the bodies of the fans in the stands. Machado tipped his helmet to his then-Orioles teammate for making the iconic catch in a key moment that showed Team USA was on its way.

Biggest games in country history (WBC, Olympics, Premier12)

The 2017 and 2023 tournaments were the only times Team USA reached the WBC finals.

The U.S. national team debuted at the first Baseball World Cup (originally the Amateur World Series) in 1938 and won the tournament four times -- in 1973, 1974, 2007 and 2009. It has appeared in three World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier12 tournaments, never finishing higher than second (2015).

In the Summer Olympics, Team USA has competed in baseball five times, capturing the gold for the first and thus far only time in 2000, when a team mostly comprised of prospects and journeymen (professionals were allowed to compete for the first time, but the MLB schedule prevented active big leaguers from joining the cause) completed what was called the “Miracle on Grass.”

Notable MLB players on the team

Start with the captain, Aaron Judge, who will be joined in a jam-packed position-player group by 2025 AL MVP runner-up Cal Raleigh; infielders Bryce Harper, Bobby Witt Jr., Gunnar Henderson and Alex Bregman; outfielders Byron Buxton and Corbin Carroll and designated hitter Kyle Schwarber, among many other highly accomplished players.

But the biggest revelation is on the pitching side, where Team USA once struggled to recruit the top arms amid the spring preparation but this year will have Skubal and Skenes fronting a staff that also includes the lauded likes of Logan Webb and Mason Miller, along with future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw briefly coming out of his new life in retirement for one last ride.

Minor League prospects who may join the team

Though Mets right-hander Nolan McLean, who broke through at the big league level late last season, is still technically a prospect (No. 6 on MLB Pipeline’s current Top 100 rankings), Team USA is oriented around proven big leaguers as opposed to the unoriented.

Story to watch

Revenge is the name of the game. The 2023 loss has eaten at manager (and MLB Network analyst) DeRosa ever since Ohtani struck out Trout. After Team USA’s past struggles to attract aces often left the team compromised in a tournament with strict restrictions on pitcher usage, he and general manager Michael Hill were dead-set on having a premier pitching pillar oriented around Skenes and Skubal to put the Americans in the best possible position to get past Japan or anyone else who gets between them and the crown.

Questions ahead of upcoming tournament

• Will Skubal, Skenes and Webb be able to summon their best stuff at such a nascent stage of the season? They were all within the top 10 in innings pitched in MLB last season.

• How does DeRosa dole out the at-bats at his most stacked positions, such as catcher, with Raleigh and Smith, and shortstop, with Witt and Henderson? It’s funny to think of some of the biggest names in baseball being platooned, but it could be the reality.

• Will player health intervene with one of the greatest baseball rosters ever assembled? As always, it’s a precarious time of year as players ramp up their activities, and a great team on paper can become beset by bad luck. (Ask Springfield Nuclear Power Plant owner and ringer-laden softball team manager C. Montgomery Burns about that.)

• Above all else, how will this stacked squad perform under the pressure and enormous expectations placed upon it?