Which Baltimore Orioles players are on 2023 World Baseball Classic rosters?
We're less than a month to kickstart the 2023 World Baseball Classic. On Thursday, all 20 countries announced their rosters. Some of them with current and former Baltimore Orioles players.
Today, let's take a look at which rosters some of those players can be found on.
Orioles in the World Baseball Classic: Team USA
Current Orioles in WBC: OF Cedric Mullins
Former Orioles in WBC: LHP Nestor Cortes (NYY)
The 2017 champions were the first team to announce their roster, including superstars like OF Mike Trout, 2B/OF Mookie Betts, LHP Clayton Kershaw, 3B Nolan Arenado and catcher J.T. Realmuto. On the last Little League Classic, Cedric Mullins told on ESPN that he was invited to Team USA. During the season, Dillon Tate was invited too. In the end, Tate didn't appear in the final roster.
Orioles in the World Baseball Classic: Venezuela
Current Orioles on WBC: OF/DH Anthony Santander and LHP Darwinzon Hernandez (NRI)
Former Oriole on WBC: C Robinson Chirinos (FA)
Team Venezuela are going with our Slamtander after his best offensive season in MLB. He'll play with futures Hall of Fame 1B/DH Miguel Cabrera and 2B Jose Altuve, and one of the best young players in baseball, OF Ronald Acuña Jr. Lefty Darwinzon Hernandez, a non-roster invite, it's a surprise in the roster.
Orioles in the World Baseball Classic: Israel
Current Oriole on WBC: RHP Dean Kremer
Former Orioles on WBC: LHP Richard Bleier (BOS) and DH Danny Valencia (FA)
Team Israel are going with Dean Kremer in their roster and won't be surprise if him will be a #1 starter. The best offensive player is OF/DH Joc Pederson, one of the 'targets' by Oriole fans in the last offseason. Oriole prospect RHP Daniel Federman it's on the board for Israel.
For current Orioles players, that's a wrap. Only three players in the WBC. A brief summary for the other rosters:
Dominican Republic: The favorites to win-it-all have a strong squad with 3B Manny Machado, 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr, 3B Rafael Devers, DH Nelson Cruz, RHP Sandy Alcantara, RHP Cristian Javier, etc. The Mountain didn't invite, but the Deadfish did: César Valdez.
Mexico: They snubbed the AL Gold Glove, Ramon Urias or not? His name appears on Mexico roster at MLB.com. Miscommunication? Anyway, they had a good team, with LHP Julio Urias, C/DH Alejandro Kirk, OF Randy Arozarena, 1B Joey Meneses, IF Luis Urias, 1B/DH Rowdy Tellez and OF Alex Verdugo.
Canada: Tthe headline from Team Canada it's the Dodgers first baseman, Freddie Freeman. A mix of young prospects and veterans like righties John Axford, Cal Quantrill and Nick Pivetta. The 38-year-old Adam Loewen will play.
Puerto Rico: A good roster with RHP Edwin Diaz, RHP Jorge Lopez, utility Kike Hernandez, C Christian Vazquez and IF/OF Eddie Rosario. Marcus Stroman, who won for Team USA in 2017, will participate for PR.
Japan: With Shohei Ohtani, Team Japan it will be enticing. RHP Yu Darvish will be on Samurai's rotation with the phenom, Roki Sasaki. OF Lars Nootbar, OF Seiya Suzuki and OF Masataka Yoshida will play, too.
Korea Republic: IF Tommy Edman it's the most known on Korea roster alongside his fellow IF Ha-Seong Kim. Orioles legend Hyun-Soo Kim will play!
Cuba: Veteran Yoenis Cespedes will play for Cuba with the 'Panther', Luis Robert from White Sox alongside with his teammate, Yoan Moncada. LHP Cionel Perez didn't invite.
Netherlands: Do you miss Pedro Strop? He'll play alongside former Oriole and current Tiger, Jonathan Schoop with Xander Bogaerts, Didi Gregorius and Andrelton Simmons.
Italy: Trey Mancini won't play for azzuri. In the roster, popular names like David Fletcher, Nicky Lopez, Vinnie Pasquantino and... Matt Harvey. Dark Knight is back!
Panama: Qualified for WBC from pool B, they had Jonathan Arauz in their roster. Cardinals prospect, Ivan Herrera, was invited and will play.
Nicaragua: The last qualified in the same pool B (they eliminated Brazil, by the way) have Jonathan Loaisiga and Cheslor Cuthbert with the best players in final roster.
Colombia: A lot of veterans like LHP Jose Quintana, RHP Julio Teheran, IF Gio Urshela, 1B/OF Harold Ramirez and OF Oscar Mercado. A tricky team.
Great Britain: Without Jazz Chisholm Jr, their roster had two Orioles legends (Vance Worley and Lucius Fox) and one prospect (Ryan Long).
Czech Republic: The greatest WBC history. A team with a firefighter on their roster! C Martin Cervenka, former Orioles prospect, will play.
Australia: The Kangoroos will miss Liam Hendriks, who is undergoing treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Padres prospect, Jarryd Dale, will play.
Chinese Taipei: Tzu-Wei Lin, a former Red Sox prospect, will play for their.
China: A roster with zero MLB players and prospects.
The 2023 World Baseball Classic will be held March 8-21 in sites located in Japan, Taiwan, and the United States.