The Shoemaker Bugle

Rosters, Schedules, and Things to Watch

By MLB Correspondent Mia Barahona

The biggest and highly anticipated international tournament in baseball has finally arrived with the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

This year’s tournament features 20 national teams, an upgrade from the previous 16 teams; with all participating teams from 2017 returning alongside 4 additional teams.

Originally scheduled in 2021, 4 years after the previous tournament in 2017, the WBC was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After negotiations with Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association, qualifying rounds were played in September 2022 which delayed the tournament to be played now in March 2023.

Qualified teams (by regions)

• Americas: Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico, United States, Venezuela, Panama, Nicaragua
• Asia: China, Chinese Taipei, Japan, South Korea
• Europe: Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Great Britain, Czech Republic
• Oceania: Australia

Pool Composition

• Pool A: Chinese Taipei (hosts), Netherlands, Cuba, Italy, Panama
• Pool B: Japan (hosts), South Korea, Australia, China, Czech Republic
• Pool C: United States (hosts), Mexico, Colombia, Canada, Great Britain
• Pool D: Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Israel, Nicaragua

Venues

• Pool A: Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in Taichung, Taiwan
• Pool B & Quarterfinals: Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan
• Pool C: Chase Field in Phoenix, United States
• Pool D, Quarterfinals, Semifinals & Championship: LoanDepot Park in Miami, United States

Notable (current and former) MLB players on rosters

*Teams were required to turn in final roster no later than February 7, 2023
**Roster as current and updated through March 5, 2023 as some players have dropped out

Cuba: Yoan Moncada, Luis Robert & Yoenis Cespedes

Italy: Mike Piazza (manager), David Fletcher & Vinnie Pasquantino

Netherlands: Andruw Jones (bench coach), Kenley Jansen, Xander Bogaerts, Didi Gregorious, Jonathan Schoop, Andrelton Simmons & Jurickson Profar

Japan: Yu Darvish, Shohei Ohtani, Lars Nootbaar & Masataka Yoshida

Korea: Tommy Edman & Kim Ha-seong

United States: Mark DeRosa (manager), Andy Pettitte (pitching coach), Ken Griffey Jr. (hitting coach), Miles Mikolas, Adam Ottavino, Adam Wainwright, Kyle Higashioka, J.T. Realmuto, Will Smith, Pete Alonso, Tim Anderson, Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt, Trea Turner, Mookie Betts, Jeff McNeil, Kyle Schwarber, Kyle Tucker & Mike Trout

México: Julio Urias, Jose Urquidy, Taijuan Walker, Austin Barnes, Rowdy Tellez, Randy Arozarena & Alex Verdugo

Colombia: Edgar Renteria (assistant), Jose Quintana, Jorge Alfaro & Gio Urshela

Canada: Larry Walker (first base coach), Russell Martin (coach), Freddie Freeman, Abraham Toro & Tyler O’Neill

Great Britain: Trayce Thompson

Israel: Ian Kinsler (manager), Kevin Youkilis (hitting coach) & Joc Pederson

Puerto Rico: Yadier Molina (manager), Jose Molina (first base coach), Jose Berrios, Edwin Diaz, Dereck Rodriguez, Marcus Stroman, Martin Maldonado, Christian Vazquez, Javier Baez, Enrique Hernandez, Francisco Lindor & Eddie Rosario

Venezuela: Luis Garcia, Martin Perez, Eduardo Rodriguez, Salvador Perez, Jose Altuve, Miguel Cabrera, Eduardo Escobar, Andres Gimenez, Eugenio Suarez, Gleyber Torres, Ronald Acuna Jr. & David Peralta

Dominican Republic: Sandy Alcantara, Gary Sanchez, Willy Adames, Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz, Rafael Devers, Wander Franco, Manny Machado, Ketel Marte, Jeremy Pena, Julio Rodriguez & Juan Soto

Game Schedule

Pool A: March 8-12

Pool B: March 9-13

Pool C: March 11-15

Pool D: March 11-15

Quarterfinals: March 15-18

Semifinals: March 19-20

Final: March 21

Broadcast

All games will be televised on Fox, Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2, Tubi & Fox Deportes (Spanish). Check local listings for details.