Reigning MVPs, Cy Youngs among 78 All-Stars on Classic rosters

Twenty years ago, the first World Baseball Classic in history began, forever reshaping the global game. Plenty of superstars and future Hall of Famers took the field that year, with Ken Griffey Jr., Ichiro Suzuki, Andruw Jones and Carlos Beltrán (the latter two being elected to the Hall of Fame this winter) among the legends to represent their countries.

As the tournament enters its sixth iteration and the game continues to grow around the globe, stars now campaign for roster spots like high schoolers looking for a prom date and managers and general managers must tell MLB legends, “Sorry, there just isn’t room for you.”

For the first time in the tournament’s history, all four reigning MVP Award and Cy Young Award winners are on rosters with Paul Skenes, Tarik Skubal and Aaron Judge lining up for the USA, and Shohei Ohtani returning to 2023’s champion, Japan.

Across the 20 World Baseball Classic rosters, there are a record 78 MLB All-Stars taking part, including 36 who were named to the AL and NL rosters last year. One-hundred ninety players are on MLB 40-man rosters, with 306 players under contract with MLB organizations.

The rosters for the United States, Japan, and the Dominican Republic are particularly stacked. The U.S. has Cal Raleigh – a 60-homer-crushing catcher – donning the tools of ignorance, with three-time All-Star and three-time World Series winner Will Smith backing him up. Bobby Witt Jr., who has been an All-Star, Gold Glove winner and Silver Slugger in each of the last two seasons, is back on the team. There are 22 MLB All-Stars on the U.S. roster – the most in the tournament.

The Dominican Republic, with 16 All-Stars, is formidable. Their roster is a veritable murderer’s row with Juan Soto, Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., Vlad Guerrero Jr. and Junior Caminero making for one of the most fearsome lineups to ever play in the Classic. The pitching staff, led by Sandy Alcantara, Cristopher Sánchez and Brayan Bello, has the nation hoping for a repeat of 2013, when the D.R. went undefeated through the Classic en route to the championship.

Samurai Japan is far more than just Ohtani. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, fresh off his heroic postseason performance for the Dodgers, returns to play for the national team as do new MLB signings Munetaka Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto. But keep an eye on NPB superstars Hiromi Itoh, who just won the Sawamura Award – Japan’s version of the Cy Young Award – and Terauki Sato, who won the Central League MVP Award after hitting 40 home runs in 2025.

Look at any nation’s roster and you’ll find talent: Venezuela is captained by Salvador Perez and is joined by Ronald Acuña Jr. and Jackson Chourio; Mexico will look to top 2023’s semifinal performance with catcher Alejandro Kirk, closer Andrés Muñoz and sparkplug outfielder Randy Arozarena; Cuba will lean on reigning NPB Pacific League MVP Award winner Liván Moinelo to front the rotation, while all-time World Baseball Classic home run leader Alfredo Despaigne returns at the age of 39 to add to his total. Former White Sox infielder Alexei Ramírez is also suiting up for the squad for the first time since 2006 at age 44.

The tournament also features seven MLB Pipeline Top 100 prospects, who could find themselves internationally known by the end of the tournament. Nolan McLean, Pipeline’s No. 6 prospect, joins Team USA, while 2024’s No. 1 overall Draft pick, Travis Bazzana – who once kept a note on his phone outlining his dream Australia 2026 roster with his name penciled in the leadoff spot – can now fulfill his dream. Cubs prospect Jonathan Long will pay homage to his roots by lining up for Chinese Taipei, hoping to help the surprise 2024 Premier12 champions upset Japan once again.

There are plenty of father-son connections spread across the rosters, too: Jung Hoo Lee will once again line up for Korea, where his father Jeong Beom Lee once starred. Brazil has a trio of big league sons with Dante Bichette Jr., Lucas Ramirez (son of Manny Ramirez) and 17-year-old Vanderbilt commit Joseph Contreras (son of Jose Contreras), and Andruw Jones will manage his son – Druw – for the Netherlands.

One of the special things about a tournament like this is that it can also create stars who aren’t professional ballplayers. Czech firefighter and pitcher Martin Schneider returns to the team after getting hurt playing for Team Europe and will hope to become a hero like his teammate and electrical worker, Ondřej Satoria, who found fame after striking out Shohei Ohtani. Australian captain Tim Kennelly – himself a firefighter, as well – will likely be playing in his final tournament after retiring from the Australian Baseball League earlier this winter. Brazil’s shortstop, Vitor Ito, works in baseball – but not as a player. He’s a translator for the NPB’s Hanshin Tigers.

Baseball was never just America’s game, and never will that be more true than at the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Spin a globe and you’ll find a WBC star: San Marino, a nation of just 34,000, has Pirates prospect Alessandro Ercolani; Aruba boasts four-time MLB All-Star Xander Bogaerts; and Korea has players like Riley O’Brien and Jahmai Jones paying homage to their heritage. It's a simple fact: Baseball belongs to the world.

Who will be its champion, though? We’ll find that out next month.