Around the Curve | Curve Alums Littered Across WBC Rosters
One of the highlights of Spring Training 2026 is the return of the World Baseball Classic and 21 Curve alumni are set to participate and represent 13 different nations. Team Japan won the most recent classic in 2023 in a thrilling final which saw Shohei Ohtani strike out Mike Trout
One of the highlights of Spring Training 2026 is the return of the World Baseball Classic and 21 Curve alumni are set to participate and represent 13 different nations. Team Japan won the most recent classic in 2023 in a thrilling final which saw Shohei Ohtani strike out Mike Trout to secure a 3-2 win over Team USA.
Several players from the 2025 Curve are slated to play in the tournament, highlighted by pitchers Po-Yu Chen (Chinese Taipei), Blake Townsend (Australia), Emmanuel Chapman (Cuba), and Antwone Kelly (Netherlands).
Team USA will begin their WBC journey as part of Pool B in Houston, TX at Daikin Park (home of the Houston Astros) matching up against Brazil (March 6), Great Britain (March 7), Mexico (March 9) and Italy (March 10). Pirates star and 2023 Curve alum Paul Skenes is expected to start the third game of pool play against a star-studded Mexico team that features 2022 Curve alum Nick Gonzales. Joining Skenes on the Team USA roster is 2016 Curve alum Clay Holmes and righty David Bednar, who rehabbed with the Curve in 2024.
Should Team USA advance, Skenes would be available for the Quarterfinals on Friday, March 13 and 14 with the Semifinals slated for Sunday, March 15 and 16. The WBC Finals are slated to take place on Tuesday, March 17.
Several teams feature at least two former Curve, including Italy (Kyle Nicolas and Francisco Cervelli), Australia (Blake Townsend and Ronnie Glendinning), Chinese Taipei (Po-Yu Chen and Tsung-Che Cheng), Israel (Robert Stock and Spencer Horwitz), Cuba (Malcom Nunez and Emmanuel Chapman) and the Netherlands (Shairon Martis and Antwone Kelly).
Pool A features Team Canada, Columbia, Cuba, Panama and Puerto Rico and will play their games in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Pool C features Team Australia, Chinese Taipei, Czechia, Japan and Korea and will play their games in Tokyo, Japan. Pool D takes place in Miami featuring talent-rich teams from the Dominican Republic, Israel, Netherlands, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
While Japan enters as a slight favorite to repeat as champions, they’ll face stiff competition from Team USA’s star-studded lineup which is captained by Yankees star Aaron Judge. Tigers ace Tarik Skubal and Giants righty Logan Webb are slated to start the first two pool games around Skenes with a loaded lineup that features Bryce Harper, Cal Raleigh, Bobby Witt Jr., Kyle Schwarber, Alex Bregman, Pete Crow-Armstrong and rising Red Sox star Roman Anthony (who was recently added to the roster for the injured Corbin Carroll). Future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw is also on the WBC roster for Team USA, his final professional obligation after his retirement from major league baseball following the 2025 season.
For the latest information on the World Baseball Classic, click here.