The Kansas City Royals are looking a lot better heading into 2026 than they did at the end of 2025. They strengthened their offense with the additions of Isaac Collins and Lane Thomas, and on the pitching side, they added Nick Mears and Matt Strahm via trade.
But with the offseason winding down, it is now almost time for the World Baseball Classic, where players from all across the globe come together to represent their countries in an exciting month-long tournament. On Thursday, the WBC rosters were announced, and the Royals have quite a few players that will be heading to the tournament to compete for the title.
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Who are Royals’ WBC participants?
The Royals have two players on Team USA. All-Star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and right-hander Michael Wacha have committed and will represent the United States. Kansas City will also have Maikel Garcia and Salvador Perez representing Team Venezuela.
Infielder Abraham Toro and minor league pitcher Eric Cerantola will play for Team Canada. Closer Carlos Estevez has joined the Dominican Republic, while Jac Caglianone and Vinnie Pasquantino will represent Team Italy and Seth Lugo will pitch for Puerto Rico.
Finally, catcher Omar Hernandez will play for Cuba while pitcher Oscar Rayo plays for Nicaragua, and veteran Eli Morgan will join Team Israel. Jorge Alfaro will also suit up for Colombia.
The Royals have a lot of players committed to the World Baseball Classic this spring. It should be an exciting tournament, as it always is. The Royals are quite well represented on Team Venezuela, Team Italy, and Team USA. Witt was on Team USA in 2023 and helped guide them to the championship game, where they fell just short against Team Japan.
But he and Wacha will join a stacked roster and try to help guide the Americans to another WBC title. They last won it in 2017 under Jim Leyland. No Royals coaches will be with Team USA this spring.
The Classic begins on March 5, and it should be an exciting tournament once again. The Royals are quite well represented across several teams, so it will be interesting to see which team emerges victorious and if any Royals players will ultimately walk away with a WBC championship in 2026.
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