Rosters for the 20 teams in the 2026 World Baseball Classic were revealed Thursday evening, including seven Pittsburgh Pirates players.
Paul Skenes (United States), Oneil Cruz, Dennis Santana and Gregory Soto (Dominican Republic), Spencer Horwitz (Israel), Nick Gonzales (Mexico) and Kyle Nicolas (Italy) will play in the international tournament held from March 5-17 in Tokyo, Houston, Miami and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Skenes announced in the spring of 2025 that he would represent the U.S. and was listed on the 30-man roster as expected. This is Skenes’ first World Baseball Classic, as he was at LSU for the 2023 event, which saw Japan triumph over the U.S.
That’s our Ace. ???????? pic.twitter.com/QJDou2CH67
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) February 6, 2026
Cruz, who competed in the Home Run Derby last year; Santana, entering his third year with the Pirates; and 2026 free-agent addition Soto also are making their World Baseball Classic debuts.
Horwitz, having represented Israel in 2023, is back, and Gonzales debuts for Mexico.
Playing for Team Italy for the first time is Nicolas, who will be managed by former Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli.
Skenes, the 2025 NL Cy Young winner, 2024 NL Rookie of the Year and a two-time All-Star, is joined on the U.S. squad by Mars native and former Pirate David Bednar, now with the New York Yankees, as well as Bethel Park flamethrowing reliever Mason Miller of the San Diego Padres.
Cruz, Santana and Soto will be managed by Albert Pujols, and the Dominican team also features MLB stars Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr., Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and former Pirate Carlos Santana.
Oneil Cruz, Gregory Soto and Dennis Santana will represent the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic! ???????? pic.twitter.com/hLGDKepGMb
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) February 6, 2026
Sluggers Aaron Judge, Gunnar Henderson, Cal Raleigh, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Paul Goldschmidt and Kyle Schwarber are among the U.S. position players led by skipper Mark DeRosa, who has former Pirate Sean Casey on staff as a hitting coach.
Additionally, pitching for the Americans will be Clayton Kershaw and two-time AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal.
Four-time MVP (and 2023 World Baseball Classic MVP) Shohei Ohtani returns for Team Japan and is listed as designated hitter.
Pirates pitching prospect Antwone Kelly, who split last season in the minor leagues between High-A Greensboro and Double-A Altoona, will represent the Netherlands for the second time.
Former Pirates pitchers Jameson Taillon, the No. 2 overall selection in the 2010 MLB Draft, and Rob Zastryzny are playing for Canada.
Also competing in this year’s World Baseball Classic is Tsung-Che Cheng, who will represent Chinese Taipei. Cheng was a 2019 international free agent signing by the Pirates and played three games for the club in 2025 before being designated for assignment last December.
The World Baseball Classic features four pools of five teams, with the United States in Pool B (based in Houston) along with Mexico, Italy, Great Britain and Brazil.
Along with the three other pools, a round robin format will produce two top teams that advance to a quarterfinals round.
From there, winners of the quarterfinals (March 13, 14) advance to the semifinals (March 15, 16) before a championship game is held March 17 in Miami.
The first contest of the 2026 World Baseball Classic will be a Pool C showdown between Chinese Taipei and Australia in Tokyo on March 5 (or 10 p.m. March 4). The rest of Pool C comprises Japan, Korea and Czechia.
Pool C’s round robin will last from March 5-10, while Pools A (Puerto Rico, Cuba, Canada, Panama, Columbia), B and D (Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Netherlands, Israel, Nicaragua) start March 6 and wrap on March 11.
FOX Media (FOX, FS1, FS2, FOX One and Tubi) is handling broadcast duties of the World Baseball Classic in the U.S.
