It’s a little hard to predict how much the World Baseball Classic will affect individual teams. But with some amazing talent committing to national teams, we expect many of you to plan a spring training trip around WBC games.
How amazing? Check out the names committed to Team USA: Tarik Skubal, Paul Skenes, Logan Webb, Bryce Harper, Aaron Judge, Cal Raleigh, Kyle Schwarber, Joe Ryan, Corbin Carroll, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Gunnar Henderson, Will Smith, Brice Turang, Bobby Witt Jr., David Bednar, Matthew Boyd, Garrett Cleavinger, Clay Holmes, Griffin Jax, Nolan McLean, Mason Miller and Garrett Whitlock, with other stars like Byron Buxton on the way. Check out the names committed to Team Japan: Shohei Ohtani, Yusei Kikuchi, Munetaka Murakami and Yuki Matsui. Josh Naylor and Matt Brash are set for Team Canada. Harrison Bader will plan for Team Israel. Francisco Lindor is set for Puerto Rico. And Salvador Perez has committed to Venezuela.
These are only the names formally announced by teams and/or players, with plenty of other big names on the way. For instance, New York Yankee Jazz Chisholm Jr. is expected to play for the Great Britain WBC team, and we expect lots of other big names to commit when rosters are formally announced in January.
If the Team USA roster is any indication, this could be the most talented WBC field ever. And while there will be some baseball fans decrying the diversion of stars like Shohei Ohtani and Tarik Skubal from the Cactus League and Grapefruit League, the more appropriate approach to the WBC is to see it as the ultimate baseball tournament, showcasing the best players across the globe—with many of them competing in spring training.
As noted, we expect many readers to plan a spring training trip around World Baseball Classic games. Canada, Colombia, Israel, The Netherlands, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico and Venezuela will be visiting Grapefruit League teams on March 3-4. Brazil, Cuba, Great Britain, Italy, Mexico, United States will be visiting Cactus League teams on March 3-4. And the Detroit Tigers will be visiting the Dominican Republic WBC team at Santo Domingo’s Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal on March 3-4. Worth noting: Team USA will be taking on the San Francisco Giants on March 3, 7:05 p.m., at Scottsdale Stadium, and the Colorado Rockies on March 4, 1:10 p.m., at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick.
Exhibition games featuring Pool C teams—Australia, Chinese Taipei, Czech Republic, Japan, and Korea—started in November, but these teams will begin WBC play in Tokyo on March 4.
The full tourney is set to run through March 17, 2026, with San Juan, Miami and Houston games set to launch on March 6. Team USA, for instance, is scheduled for four primetime games on March 6-10 at Houston’s Daikin Park. If Japan does indeed make it past the Tokyo qualifying games, it would begin playing loanDepot Park games on March 13. If a player’s team is eliminated from action, players are expected to report to MLB training camps.
In fact, a really nice spring-training trip would involve spring games in Port St. Lucie (Mets), West Palm Beach (Astros and Nationals) and Jupiter (Cardinals and Marlins) as well as WBC games at Miami’s loanDepot Park on March 13-17.
So, with so many stars committed to World Baseball Classic action, what’s the practical impact on your potential spring-training experiences? It all depends on how you manage expectations.
Let’s take the case of the Seattle Mariners, sure to be a hot ticket in 2026 after a great 2025 season. So far two Mariners have committed to WBC action—outfielder Randy Arozarena (Mexico) and catcher Cal Raleigh (USA)—with first baseman Josh Naylor expected to suit up for Canada, with outfielder Julio Rodríguez (Dominican Republic) and pitchers Eduard Bazardo (Venezuela) and Matt Brash (Canada) likely to follow suit. That means some pretty entertaining players won’t be in camp for the M’s past an early reporting date of Feb. 9.
The bright side: if these regulars are not in camp, it will pave the way for prospects like Colt Emerson to see more spring playing time. Expected to be a star of the future for the Mariners, Emerson was a late-season callup in 2025 and will have a shot at winning a M’s roster spot despite his age—he’ll turn 21 on July 20. If Eugenio Suárez doesn’t return to Seattle or the Mariners fail to land an international free agent, Emerson may have a shot at making the Opening Day lineup at third base. His performance will be one of the major storylines in Peoria.
And that’s one of the great pleasures of spring training: while many fans are eager to see today’s stars in action, part of the fun of spring training is seeing future stars in action. Last spring, for example, we were at Sloan Park to see the Cubs host the Kansas City Royals, with a young Jac Caglianone coming off the bench. The scouts and insiders we sat with perked up when Caglianone came to bat in the middle innings, and he rewarded us with a homer to right-center field—easily the hardest-hit ball we saw all spring. The insider sknew Caglianone has star potential, but we’re guessing most of the Royals fans making the sojourn to Mesa had not seen him in action. And even though Caglianone had a tough time with major-league pitching in 2025, batting just .157, he’s still a top prospect—and seeing him for the first time in a Royals uniform was a treat. Spring training has always been a way for MLB teams to showcase young talent, no matter if the youngster is destined for an MLB roster or beginning the season with the Omaha Storm Chasers.
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