After winning the first two World Baseball Classic tournaments held in 2006 and '09, Japan finished third in the next two competitions. They'll look to get back to their winning ways this spring and they'll have Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki returning to help the squad.
Suzuki, who starred for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp for nine seasons before joining the Cubs, put together a solid rookie season in the Majors in '22. The right-fielder bashed 14 home runs and posted a .770 OPS -- 16 percent better than league average -- in his first trip through the big leagues. He'll hope that experience will bring more success in the World Baseball Classic this time around: Suzuki was just 3-for-14 with no extra base hits and one stolen base in the 2017 tournament.
Rosters won't be finalized until later this winter, but Japan is expected to be a dominant force once again. In addition to Seiya Suzuki, Shohei Ohtani is expected to be a two-way player for Team Japan, while players like Yu Darvish and emerging superstar Roki Sasaki are rumored to play, as well.
Japan will begin play in Pool B in Tokyo on March 9. They'll face off against Korea, Australia, China, and the Czech Republic.
