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The leadup to the World Baseball Classic is nearly at its apex, with group play beginning later this week. The Yankees, for their part as a team, will play an exhibition game later today against the Panama team that will be participating in Pool A. But more notably for some of their individual players, they’ll have a total of ten participants from their 40-man roster in the tournament headlined by their captain, Aaron Judge, captaining the US team.
The Yankees’ overall representation in the games is spread across several countries: The US leads with four Yanks starring Judge and featuring closer David Bednar, first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, and left-hander Ryan Yarbrough; the Dominican Republic has three players shedding their pinstripes for a bit including catcher Austin Wells, infielder Amed Rosario, and reliever Camilo Doval; Great Britain got Jazz Chisholm Jr. aboard (with prospect Brendan Beck on their pitching staff); Panama carries shortstop José Caballero; and Puerto Rico has reliever Fernando Cruz on their team.
There’s only so many games to be played in a tournament like the World Baseball Classic, so even though some of those names are heavyweights on the Yankees’ roster there may be others who steal the spotlight for their country over the next couple of weeks. Judge is obviously the superstar among the listed candidates and the US team is expected to go far and compete for the title, but will teams give him anything to crush? Perhaps they’ll pitch around him and deal with some of the other bats protecting him in the lineup. Chisholm is another strong candidate on paper, but will Great Britain go far enough to give him a chance to stand out? Perhaps Fernando Cruz ends up tossing some of the most crucial innings late in games to close out wins for Puerto Rico that push them towards the championship game. Who would you pick to end up being the most impactful Yankee in the WBC?
We’ll lead off today with more WBC coverage, as Jake previews the Pool B rosters that the US team will compete with. Josh is up next with a look at Cam Schlittler’s upcoming season now that all eyes will be on him following his magnificent postseason run, and one of our new writers Jonathan debuts with a birthday post to one of the oldest Yankees there is in Willie Keeler. Finally, Jeff continues our MLB team previews with a look at the Athletics as they try to build back up to average.
Today’s Matchup
New York Yankees vs. Panama
Time: 1:05 p.m. EST
Venue: George M. Steinbrenner Field