Chance to rep Mexico a source of generational pride for 2 Rangers

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- There are nameplates hanging above every locker in the Rangers clubhouse at their Spring Training facility. That much is normal. But as a special touch this spring, each nameplate also includes the flag of a player's country, in honor of the World Baseball Classic, set to start on March 4.

Rangers reliever Robert Garcia's nameplate was initially adorned with the American flag for the Northern California native. But days later, it was changed to the Mexican flag.

Garcia, along with outfielder Alejandro Osuna, will be both competing for Team Mexico in the World Baseball Classic next month.

Garcia’s paternal grandparents were born in Mexico and his father has dual citizenship. His grandparents died when his father was young, leading to a lack of the Spanish language in his household. Garcia didn’t grow up speaking Spanish at home, but he still has a tremendous amount of pride to be able to represent that side of his family. Having experienced a World Baseball Classic from the stands in 2013 at what was then called AT&T Park in San Francisco, he was craving the opportunity to compete for Mexico.

His father and his aunts and uncles feel the exact same way.

“I am excited to be able to play for Team Mexico because of the pride that I have for the country,” he said. “It's gonna be a great opportunity. I've never been able to play in it. In '23, I watched it and was never asked to play. It was definitely a dream of mine to play. So I'm very excited that I get to do that and compete. You watch it on TV, you can see the excitement and how much pride there is from everybody that's in that building. I think that's what really is a separator of what's going to make it really special.”

Osuna, the Rangers’ 23-year-old outfielder who made his MLB debut last season, is an Ahome, Sinaloa, Mexico native. The Rangers signed him out of Mexico on Oct. 6, 2020.

The World Baseball Classic is something that’s always been a dream of his since he was a teenager, watching his older brother Roberto compete for Mexico in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

“It’s a dream come true for me,” Osuna said. “Now I get the opportunity to represent my country and I feel really happy. … It’s really, really important for me to represent my country. To have a jersey that says Mexico on the front of my chest is everything to me. It is really important because you also represent the older Mexican generations. We want to try to put on a really good show for the fans and for Mexico.”

With just 63 big league games under his belt, Osuna is more excited to be around veteran players up and down the Mexican roster. He has no doubt it could do wonders for his development as he works towards becoming an everyday big leaguer.

Osuna hit .212/.313/.278 in 2025, though he clearly became more comfortable as he became further adjusted to big league pitching down the stretch.

“I’m still growing up as a player,” Osuna said. “I get to have really good players like Jarren Duran and Randy Arozarena [on Team Mexico] right now. Those guys are already stars in the big leagues, and I just have a lot of questions to ask those guys. Again, they are superstars. I want to ask a lot of questions about how they control everything on offense and on defense and how they work during the offseason.”

Players all across the league -- and outside of it -- are enjoying the lead-up to the WBC. After the success of the 2023 event, more and more players have been ready to gear up for their countries.

Garcia and Osuna are no different.

“It's a dream come true for everybody,” Osuna said. “When you’re a kid, everybody wants to represent your country. I’m just trying to play good games and have fun at the same time.”