Latest Royals WBC commitment gives Team Italy an electrifying pair of KC mashers

Now that 2025 season is officially behind us with the conclusion of the World Series this weekend, the main focus among the baseball community in the coming months will be the offseason and what changes transpire on each team.

However, when the offseason comes to end, one of the pinnacles of the baseball calendar gets underway as the global baseball scene comes together for the World Baseball Classic.

The Kansas City Royals are already well represented so far with Bobby Witt Jr. committing to Team USA, veteran starter Seth Lugo committing to Team Puerto Rico and Vinnie Pasquantino confirming he’ll be playing for the Italian team again this tournament, with more likely to come.

And now we know that joining Pasquantino on Team Italy in March will be his teammate and former blue-chip prospect, Jac Caglianone, according to a report from Shawn Spradling.

Royals’ Jac Caglianone and Vinnie Pasquantino will join forces on Team Italy in 2026 World Baseball Classic

He may’ve committed early, but when all is said and done Pasquantino would have been on this Italian team regardless after a 32 HR and 113 RBI career year in 2025.

What wasn’t a certainty was Caglianone’s involvement in the WBC. Sure, Italy isn’t picking from as big a pool as teams like the United States or the Dominican Republic, but Caglianone is coming off a rookie campaign that he’d probably like to forget.

In 232 plate appearances across 62 games, with a lengthy IL stint in the middle, he only managed to slash .157/.237/.295 with seven homers, 18 RBI and a 46 wRC+.

However, we cannot forget the fact that Caglianone had an insanely impressive rise through the minors before his June promotion and there were signs he was subtly improving in the final month of the season after returning from injury – whether that be getting on base more or hitting the ball harder.

Perhaps some high intensity baseball before the MLB season gets underway could be just what the doctor ordered to get Caglianone looking more like the potential power-heavy superstar Royals fans hope he’ll blossom into.

And you can’t deny that having the comradery of the Caglianone-Pasquantino duo on this squad isn’t a great vibes play, as they’ve already demonstrated some all-time moments together throughout the season.

Now it’s a matter of how the rest of Italy’s roster will fill out to complement the power of Caglianone and Pasquantino, as they’ll be in tough in Group B, led by the likes of the USA and Mexico.

The WBC gets underway on March 5, with the Italy slated to start their tournament on March 7 against Brazil at Daikin Park in Houston, Texas.