The World Baseball Classic has been an emerging part of the sport of baseball in recent years. While it's always been a fixture, the 2023 WBC helped spark newfound interest in the competition.
With the 2026 WBC presenting the first opportunity for a lot of players to perform, a few big names have joined rosters from around the world. For Team USA, there were two major announcements on Thursday for the roster.
While Tarik Skubal is joining the rotation alongside Paul Skenes, Team USA announced that they have a new closer in San Diego Padres righty Mason Miller.
Padres' Mason Miller joins Team USA in major WBC announcement
"Mason Miller has committed to pitch for Team USA at the World Baseball Classic!" USA Baseball announced Thursday.
This is a huge piece of news for Team USA. The addition of Skubal to the rotation makes for a strong starting group: Skubal, Skenes, Joe Ryan, Nolan McLean, Clay Holmes, and Matthew Boyd.
But the bullpen was limited. Griffin Jax, Garrett Whitlock, and Garrett Clevinger were the only relievers on the Team USA World Baseball Classic roster. Some more bullpen help was a must.
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And Team USA got one of, if not the best, relievers in baseball in Mason Miller. The 27-year-old right-hander will join the bullpen, likely becoming the Team USA closer.
This past season with the Padres, while he only made 22 appearances, he had a remarkable 0.77 ERA with 45 strikeouts and just one home run allowed in 23.1 innings pitched.
So far in his three-year MLB career, Miller has a 2.81 ERA across 125 games. But, since becoming a full-time reliever in 2024, Miller has a 2.56 ERA across 115 games with 50 saves, 208 strikeouts, and just 11 home runs allowed in 126.2 innings.
One of the best relievers in the Major Leagues is joining the Team USA roster, making one of the best pitching staffs in the tournament even better, as Miller takes over the closer role for the United States in the 2026 WBC.
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