The 2026 World Baseball Classic is shaping up to be the best one of all-time.
That same sentiment was shared prior to the 2023 WBC and while that may have been true at the time, the event just continues to get better. Several announcements from teams were made Tuesday and none may have been bigger than the most recent from Team Dominican Republic.
According to MLB writer Bob Nightengale, both Fernando Tatis Jr. And Manny Machado will play for team DR in the 2026 WBC. Manager Albert Pujols said Tuesday that he expected both to play and that has now been confirmed by Nightengale's report.
Machado will return to Team DR after suiting up for the team in the 2023 event. For Tatis, it'll be his first WBC appearance, as he was unable to compete in 2023 due to his 80-game suspension from MLB. His addition adds to a stacked roster that already includes outfielder Juan Soto and starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara.
The influx of international talent has turned what was once a Team USA dominated event into a free-for-all that has so many potential outcomes. The 2023 event provided maybe the best moment in WBC history where we saw two superstars in Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani matchup with the WBC championship on the line.
Seeing superstars get involved in an event that they truly don't have to is excellent for baseball and should lead to the WBC only becoming more exciting and unpredictable every season.
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