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This year’s edition of the World Baseball Classic gets under way on what is, to us, Wednesday night with games kicking off in Tokyo. Most teams will be playing exhibitions against a major league club on Tuesday or Wednesday with their pool play beginning on Friday. The Orioles players who are on these rosters will not be back in camp until their team has been eliminated from the tournament.
Here’s the players from the Orioles organization who are on WBC rosters and the schedules for their teams:
USA
- Gunnar Henderson
The star Orioles shortstop is the lone American representative this time around. He might be playing third base rather than shortstop, with Royals infielder Bobby Witt Jr. expected to get a lot of reps at short.
Schedule and opponents
Pool play in Houston, Texas
- March 3: Exhibition vs. Giants, 3pm, ESPN
- March 6: vs. Brazil (road team), 8pm, Fox
- March 7: vs. Great Britain (home team), 8pm, Fox
- March 9: vs. Mexico (home team), 8pm, Fox
- March 10: vs. Italy (home team), 9pm, FS1
Canada
- Tyler O’Neill
- Micah Ashman
The Canadian outfielder O’Neill continued his Opening Day home run streak in his home country last year. He’s looked good so far this spring. Don’t get hurt while playing for Team Canada! Ashman, a reliever, was acquired from the Tigers for Charlie Morton last July.
Schedule and opponents
Pool play in San Juan, PR
- March 3: Exhibition vs. Blue Jays, 1:07, MLB Network
- March 7: vs. Colombia (home team), 11am, FS2
- March 8: vs. Panama (home team), 7pm, FS2
- March 10: vs. Puerto Rico (road team), 7pm, FS2
- March 11: vs. Cuba (road team), 3pm, FS2
Great Britain
- Ryan Long
It’s a running joke on Camden Chat that Long is a distant cousin of our writer Stacey. Long, 26, was a 17th round pick in 2021 who has mostly topped out at the Double-A level.
Schedule and opponents
Pool play in Houston, Texas
- March 6: vs. Mexico (home team), 1pm, FS1
- March 7: vs. USA (road team), 8pm, Fox
- March 8: vs. Italy (road team), 1pm, tubi
- March 9: vs. Brazil (home team), 1pm, tubi
Israel
- Dean Kremer
There are a number of MLB-experienced players on the Israel roster and one of them is Kremer, who might even be the best pitcher this team has.
Schedule and opponents
Pool play in Miami, Florida
- March 7: vs. Venezuela (road team), 7pm, FS2
- March 8: vs. Nicaragua (home team), 7pm, tubi
- March 9: vs. Dominican Republic (home team), 12pm, FS1
- March 10: vs. Netherlands (road team), 7pm, Fox Sports
Panama
- Enrique Bradfield Jr.
We know he’s good on defense and we know he’s fast on the bases. Can he threaten enough power to be a decent major league regular? Mostly we’ll find out at Triple-A this year, though if he gets to face some MLB-caliber pitching in the WBC, that won’t be bad for him either.
Schedule and opponents
Pool play in San Juan, PR
- March 6: vs. Cuba (home team), 11am, FS2
- March 7: vs. Puerto Rico (road team), 6pm, FS1
- March 8: vs. Canada (road team), 7pm, FS2
- March 9: vs. Colombia (home team), 12pm, FS2
Puerto Rico
- Jose Espada
- Rico Garcia
- Luis Vásquez
All three of these players appeared for the Orioles last season, although none had a major role. Garcia has a spot penciled in that’s his in the bullpen. Espada, no longer on the 40-man roster, could make it as well. Vásquez has an opportunity to take a utility spot given that both Jackson Holliday and Jordan Westburg are starting the season on the injured list.
Schedule and opponents
Pool play in San Juan, PR
- March 6: vs. Colombia (road team), 6pm, FS1
- March 7: vs. Panama (home team), 6pm, FS1
- March 9: vs. Cuba (road team), 7pm, FS1
- March 10: vs. Canada (home team), 7pm, tubi
Reserve players
The following players are on the Designated Pitcher Pool for their teams, meaning they are not on the active initial roster but could be added between rounds:
- Australia: Kailen Hamson
- Dominican Republic: Yaramil Hiraldo
- Mexico: Nestor German