Category: Baseball

MLB fans who tuned into the World Baseball Classic were expecting big-time performances from superstars Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge and Juan Soto. 

They came away learning more about Venezuela’s title-winning squad and one espresso-loving Italy slugger. 

Ahead of the 2026 MLB season, some players have already boosted their profile by thriving on the worldwide stage. Here are six standouts whose stock is rising following their performances in the World Baseball Classic. 

6. 2B Brice Turang, USA/Milwaukee Brewers

The 2024 National League Platinum Glove Award winner was primarily on the U.S. roster for his sensational defense at second base, but Turang provided much more than that for a star-studded team whose top sluggers failed to consistently produce at the plate. 

Turang ended up being one of the most consistent hitters of the group, tying for the team lead in hits (eight), leading the team in doubles (four) and finishing second in batting average (.364) and third in OPS (.936). He also had the only hit USA mustered against Venezuela starter Eduardo Rodriguez in the final. 

5. 1B Vinnie Pasquantino, Italy/Kansas City Royals

Sometimes, numbers don’t paint the full picture of a player’s impact. 

Beyond Venezuela capturing its first ever WBC title, the story of the tournament was Italy. And you can’t tell that story without Pasquantino, who was the heart and soul of the most surprising team in the competition. Italy’s group full of unrelenting prospects and novice big-leaguers raved about the leadership of Pasquantino, who played a vital role in recruiting the team over the past year. 

The team captain only had four hits in the WBC, but he walked seven times, played spectacular defense, finished with a .970 OPS and became the first player in tournament history to hit three home runs in a game. 

4. RP Daniel Palencia, Venezuela/Chicago Cubs 

Palencia was almost unhittable in the first half of a breakout 2025 season while emerging as the Cubs’ primary ninth-inning option. He started the year in Triple-A and finished it as the team leader in saves, but injury and poor performance in the second half led to Brad Keller closing games by season’s end. 

After an offseason of bullpen turnover, manager Craig Counsell expressed his confidence in Palencia by naming him the Cubs’ closer right when camp opened. And in the WBC, the flamethrowing 26-year-old right-hander spent the tournament backing up the Cubs’ belief. 

Palencia faced 17 batters in the WBC, struck out nine of them, and didn’t allow a hit or a run in five appearances. The only two hitters to reach base against him came on a hit by pitch and a walk. 

He shut the door on Japan in the quarterfinal, striking out Sosuke Genda and Kensuke Kondoh before getting Shohei Ohtani to pop out to end an 8-5 win. Two days later, he closed out Italy in the semifinal with another two strikeouts in a scoreless ninth. Then, pitching on back-to-back nights in the final against the U.S., Palencia struck out Kyle Schwarber, induced a pop out from Gunnar Henderson, then overpowered Roman Anthony on a 99.7 mph fastball to win the tournament. 

3. OF Wilyer Abreu, Venezuela/Boston Red Sox

If you’re a Red Sox outfielder, chances are you boosted your stock in this tournament.  

Jarren Duran hit three home runs in four games for Mexico. Roman Anthony hit two home runs for Team USA, including what ended up being the deciding blasts against Mexico and the Dominican Republic. Masataka Yoshida also swatted two homers and was the best Japanese hitter not named Shohei Ohtani. 

But two of the biggest swings of the tournament belonged to Abreu, who came up clutch in Venezuela’s two biggest upset wins of the WBC. The 26-year-old put Venezuela ahead for good over Japan in the quarterfinal with a go-ahead three-run homer in the sixth and padded Venezuela’s lead over USA in the final with a solo shot off Nolan McLean in the fifth. 

2. 3B Junior Caminero, Dominican Republic/Tampa Bay Rays

Last year alone, Caminero won the Dominican Winter League championship for Leones del Escogido with an epic home run, started at third base in the MLB All-Star Game, finished second in the Home Run Derby and ended the 2025 season with 45 home runs, a number that trailed only Eugenio Suárez for the most among all MLB third basemen. So it’s not like the World Baseball Classic put Caminero on the map. 

But even late last year, the 22-year-old wasn’t sure if he’d make the Dominican Republic’s superstar roster. If he hadn’t, he still planned to show up and cheer his team on as a fan. As it turned out, he would do much more than that. 

Alongside a group of players he grew up idolizing, as one of the most dangerous hitters in one of the greatest lineups ever assembled, Caminero shined. Caminero led the star-studded group with three home runs in the tournament and scored the Dominican Republic’s lone run in the semifinals with a solo homer off reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes. On a Tampa Bay roster without much offensive firepower, Caminero looks like a linchpin. And if the Rays get back to playing postseason baseball, they know Caminero will be able to handle the spotlight. 

1. 3B Maikel Garcia, Venezuela/Kansas City Royals 

If Garcia was still flying under the radar following his breakout season last year in Kansas City, he shouldn’t be anymore. 

In a tournament that featured multiple MVPs and Cy Young Award winners, it was the 26-year-old Royals third baseman who took home WBC MVP honors after hitting .385 and leading all players in the competition with 10 hits. 

Garcia, who was an All-Star and Gold Glove Award winner for the first time last season with the Royals, knocked in runs in all three of Venezuela’s elimination games. He hit a two-run homer against Japan that helped spark a comeback in the quarterfinals, a go-ahead RBI single against Italy in the semifinals and a sac fly that started the scoring in the finals against the United States. 

“I didn’t believe in my talent until 2025,” Garcia said after being named tournament MVP. “What I achieved last year made me understand the player that I am.”

Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

Yes, the 2026 World Baseball Classic is over, but don’t go into a cave just yet: The 2026 MLB season commences March 25, and there are plenty of big names who will debut in new places.

With that in mind, here’s a ranking of how the top 10 MLB free agent signings – as measured by total money – will impact their new teams in the 2026 MLB season.

Note: Players who re-signed with their respective teams (e.g., Cody Bellinger with the New York Yankees and Kyle Schwarber with the Philadelphia Phillies) aren’t included because they didn’t change teams/aren’t debuting in MLB in the 2026 season.

The soon-to-be 32-year-old Bregman remains one of the best third basemen in the sport. He has a crisp swing from the right side of the plate, is a comforting presence at the hot corner and capable of being an All-Star in any given year.

At the same time, the veteran infielder’s impact on the Cubs in terms of wins and losses next season is a gray area, because they already had Matt Shaw — who has been stellar defensively — at third base and Bregman’s arrival was essentially in place of re-signing star Kyle Tucker from an offensive potency perspective. Is Bregman an overall upgrade at third base for Chicago and a viable way for it to replenish some of the outgoing production of Tucker? Yes. Is it a move that takes the Cubs from “very good” to “great?” Unlikely, though, Bregman fits the Cubs’ timeline of being a true contender in the near future.

Houston signed Imai to be a rotation pillar. In what was his last season pitching in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) league, the right-hander, who has leaned on his fastball and slider, recorded a 1.92 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 178 strikeouts over 163.2 innings pitched in 2025 across 24 appearances. While a minor sample size, Imai hasn’t surrendered a run in six innings pitched for the Astros in spring training, while giving up just three baserunners and posting seven strikeouts.

All that said, Imai is ranked just ninth on this list because his arrival coincides with the departure of longtime Astros ace Framber Valdez. Imai may very well become a rotation linchpin for Houston, but in a realistic, best-case scenario for 2026, he’s equaling the impact of Valdez.

Okamoto can rake, and that’s what the Blue Jays are hoping the 29-year-old corner infielder does for them. While also having his fair share of highlight-reel defensive gems, Okamoto provides juice in the power department. Possessing raw power from the right side, he posted a career .521 slugging percentage in the NPB league. Okamoto can also provide Vladimir Guerrero Jr. with a day off at first base, as the former has extensive experience playing first, too.

Much like Bregman to the Cubs, though, Okamoto’s signing came concurrent with the departure of career-long Toronto shortstop Bo Bichette. While the two players don’t play the same position, it’s the idea that a portion of resources allocated to Okamoto would’ve gone to Bichette, with Toronto changing its infield alignment. With Okamoto at third, Andres Gimenez and Ernie Clement likely form the Blue Jays’ 2026 double-play duo.

The Dodgers needed another outfielder, so they decided to sign the best one on the open market. Aside from Shohei Ohtani, one could make the case that Tucker, a two-time Silver Slugger, is the Dodgers’ best hitter and all-around best pure position player from the jump. He’s an impact, left-handed hitter who seldom strikes out and has traditionally been a commendable right fielder. Tucker deepens a Los Angeles outfield rotation that likely needed another starter to join Teoscar Hernandez and Andy Pages.

The star outfielder fills a void for the Dodgers and had a case for being the No. 1 free agent of the offseason. But given the already historical nature of the team’s offense that includes MVP winners like Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts in the wake of back-to-back World Series titles, Tucker more so reinforces the identity of an elite lineup, rather than serving as the “missing piece” — hence, him coming in at No. 7.

After finishing no worse than seventh in runs in 2023 and 2024 — two seasons that saw Baltimore make the playoffs — while being second in the sport in home runs in 2024, the Orioles fell off the map in 2025, finishing 24th in runs and last in the American League East at 75-87. Determined to get a prolific offense back on track, Baltimore acquired outfielder Taylor Ward from the Los Angeles Angels and threw the big bucks at Alonso, who’s arguably the most dangerous, right-handed power threat in the sport aside from Aaron Judge.

Alonso will complement the Orioles’ bright positional core – Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman and Jordan Westburg, among others – with an impact bat in his prime. Last season, Alonso finished in the top three percent of MLB in average exit velocity (93.5 mph) and has averaged 39.0 home runs and 111.4 RBIs per season since 2021. Alonso’s arrival in Baltimore doesn’t crack the top five, however, because, while the Orioles made several moves to improve their starting rotation (e.g., acquiring Shane Baz and signing Chris Bassitt), that aspect of their team will make or break a playoff push. Who Baltimore’s ace is remains a question coming off a year when its rotation was 24th in ERA (4.65) and 21st in WHIP (1.32).

This signing is layered. For starters, the Mets spent handsomely on one of the best offensive infielders in the sport, as Bichette, who’s a career .294 hitter, is a balanced hitter who swings for both contact and power and his strikeouts have dropped of late – Bichette totaled 181 hits in 2025, compared to 91 strikeouts. Investing in a well-rounded infielder and player in his prime is an auspicious play. The “layered” element to the Mets signing Bichette is that he was brought to Queens to play third base, a position he has never played at the MLB level or MiLB ranks.

Bichette is among the many new faces in New York’s offense — with Marcus Semien, Jorge Polanco and Luis Robert Jr. being the others — who are replacing the outgoing Alonso and Brandon Nimmo, among others. In thought, Bichette should be able to make a full-time transition from shortstop to third base. While high-profile examples, Alex Rodriguez and Cal Ripken Jr. (granted, Ripken had spurts where he played third base earlier in his career) successfully made a full-time switch from shortstop to third base during the thick of their respective careers. That said, it’s still a major adjustment, and it will likely take Bichette some time to be acclimated.

4. Los Angeles Dodgers RHP Edwin Diaz – Three-year, $69 million deal

The Dodgers made a concerted effort to improve their bullpen last offseason, signing Tanner Scott (four-year, $72 million deal) and Kirby Yates (one-year, $13 million deal); it didn’t work out, as Scott (4.74 ERA and MLB-high 10 blown saves) and Yates (5.23 ERA) each struggled. Moreover, the Dodgers’ bullpen was tied for 20th in both ERA (4.27) and WHIP (1.33). Los Angeles got around its roster weakness by using starter Roki Sasaki out of the bullpen in the postseason. The Dodgers can’t bank on that working again, which led to them signing the exact pitcher they needed: Diaz, an elite closer.

The hard-throwing right-hander continues to blow his four-seamer past hitters and get them to whiff at his slider. Last season, Diaz recorded a 1.63 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 98 strikeouts across 66.1 innings pitched. Yes, the Dodgers are the defending, back-to-back World Series champions, but they had to get a shutdown reliever for the back end of their bullpen. Diaz fits the bill. By the way, the Dodgers only won 93 games in the regular season and had to play in the Wild Card Series – remarkably, there was room to improve.

Starting pitching has been the Tigers’ identity the past two years, and that’s not just because back-to-back AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal takes the mound for them every five days. Quietly, though, Detroit’s rotation deteriorated down the stretch of 2025, underscored by right-hander Reese Olson suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in July, which will keep him off an MLB mound next season. The excuse for the Tigers to add a top-of-the-rotation force was there, and they acted by signing Valdez, a two-time All-Star.

Valdez is a proven commodity and forms an elite, one-two rotation punch with Skubal. The sinkerballing southpaw pitches deep into games – Valdez has led the AL in complete games in two of the last four seasons and thrown eight complete games over that span – evades trouble and has made 16 career postseason starts. He makes a reliable Detroit rotation an elite one and makes the Tigers the definitive team to beat in the AL Central.

The narrative with the Red Sox has been that their starting rotation always holds them back. That ends in 2026 with Suarez in the mix. Suarez is among the best left-handed pitchers in the sport. An All-Star in 2024, he recorded a combined 3.59 ERA from 2022-25 with the Phillies. Suarez also posted a combined 1.48 ERA across 42.2 postseason innings pitched for Philadelphia and finds success with a consistent, five-pitch arsenal: sinker, changeup, cutter, curveball and four-seamer.

Suarez gives Boston a fearsome one-two rotation punch with Garrett Crochet, who was the runner-up for the 2025 AL Cy Young Award, while putting the finishing touches on a stout rotation that includes Brayan Bello and fellow offseason acquisitions Johan Oviedo and Sonny Gray. Whether the Red Sox make the playoffs and become contenders next season is reliant on burgeoning position players like Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and Romy Gonzalez taking the next step, not their starting rotation.

1. Toronto Blue Jays RHP Dylan Cease – Seven-year, $210 million deal

One could argue that the biggest risk this offseason was the Blue Jays giving Cease $210 million, but with great risk can come great reward. If this signing hits, Toronto gets exactly what it needed: an ace.

Cease’s career has been a mixed bag. On one hand, Cease, who primarily relies on his four-seamer and slider, logs strikeouts at a high clip, has been durable and finished second in 2022 AL Cy Young Award voting and fourth in 2024 NL Cy Young Award voting. On the other hand, these are the former San Diego Padres‘ starter’s ERA totals from 2022-25: 2.20, 4.58, 3.47, 4.55. One is always entering the year asking, “What version of Cease am I getting this season?”

True, the Blue Jays were one win away from winning the 2025 World Series and right-hander Trey Yesavage looks like a future star. At the same time, Toronto’s starting rotation was 20th in ERA (4.34) and 17th in WHIP (1.27) last season; midseason pickup Shane Bieber is dealing with forearm fatigue; Jose Berrios has a stress fracture in his elbow; Bassitt now pitches for the AL East-rival Orioles. They needed a boost, and Cease has the upside and career track record of being able to pitch like an ace. The last time that Cease had a change of scenery, in 2024, he put together one of the best seasons of his career coming off a down year. Cease’s career tendencies (All-Star-caliber campaign, followed by a down year, and then the trend repeats itself) support the notion that he will pitch at a high level and move the needle for the Blue Jays.

Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

LoanDepot Park (Miami) – Team USA players stood on the top step of the dugout with their arms thrown over the railing in defeat. They were motionless as they watched a sea of Venezuelan players in royal blue jerseys dogpile on the field and celebrate their 3-2 win and first World Baseball Classic title. 

Luis Arraez wore a Venezuelan flag draped over his shoulders and could not stop crying. Eugenio Suarez dropped to his knees, raised his arms and looked up at the sky. Daniel Palencia tossed his glove in the air, pounded his chest and fell down in disbelief.

In the USA dugout, Kyle Schwarber didn’t say a word, but he was shooting daggers. Aaron Judge looked like he didn’t know what to do with himself, or what to do next. Bobby Witt Jr. turned around. He’d seen enough. Their disappointment in losing was incontestable. Their underwhelming offense was the culprit. 

That was supposed to be Team USA celebrating the WBC title. Not Venezuela, not anyone else. 

“It hurts,” Schwarber said in the tunnel outside the USA’s home clubhouse. “You expect to win a baseball game when you walk out of the room. That’s just how you operate. Not to have that happen, it hurts. But give credit to Venezuela. Tip your cap to them. They played a great ballgame today. There are no ifs, ands, or buts. They beat us, and they deserved it.”

The scenes of unbridled elation in front of a raucous crowd on Tuesday night were supposed to be covered in red, white and blue. The national anthem that blared from the stadium speakers was supposed to be the Star-Spangled Banner. That was how Team USA envisioned this would all go when it came together and rostered the most star-studded club this tournament had ever seen.

There were multi-time MVPs and Cy Young winners. There were future Hall of Famers. There were more All-Stars on Team USA than any other country in the 20-team tournament. It was a dream team. The absurd level of talent on the American roster should’ve been enough to win the WBC title for the first time since 2017. 

“Hats off to Venezuela for playing a great ballgame and coming away with the win,” Judge said, emerging from the clubhouse nearly two hours after the final out. “But obviously disappointed. We came here, all of us put on this uniform, signed up to go out there and get a gold medal. We fell short of that.”

They fell short because the biggest bats went quiet when it mattered most. In the championship game, the USA lineup went 3-for-30 and struck out 10 times against six pitchers. Judge went 0-for-4, whiffing three times. Schwarber and Witt each worked a walk, but combined to go 0-for-6. Just once, they all spilled onto the field and lined up for high-fives, after Bryce Harper hit a game-tying two-run home run in the eighth inning. He was the only American batter to record an extra-base hit. 

All that star power, and still no spark.

“They made their pitches,” Judge said. “They were working the corners on both sides. When we did get a pitch, we either popped it up or hit it on the ground. Stuff like that can’t happen. When you get a pitch to hit, even if you get one pitch in the game, you gotta do something on it. So they just went out there and executed their pitches and their game plan, and we couldn’t get anything going offensively.”

Venezuela’s starter, left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez, held what was supposed to be a menacing USA lineup to 4 ⅓ shutout innings. He allowed one hit: an 89 mph single to the No. 8 hitter, Brice Turang. Rodriguez has one of the worst changeups in the major leagues, according to Baseball Savant’s offspeed run value metric. USA players, including Judge, still swung wildly at it all night.

As much as Harper claimed that Rodriguez “threw the ball awesome” on Tuesday, his fastball sat at 92–93 mph with little movement. Rodriguez gave Judge a couple of pitches to hit in his second at-bat, most memorably throwing him a 3-1 fastball down the middle that the three-time MVP missed. It was a continuation of their confrontations in the big leagues. Judge is hitting just .152 with one home run in 41 career plate appearances against Rodriguez.

“We both kind of looked at each other like, usually you don’t miss that one,” Judge said of the gift-pitch from Rodriguez. “So I fouled it off. Then I got a slider there late. Those are two pitches you wish you could have back and do something different, but that’s baseball.”

After the loss, in his final press conference before heading back to MLB Network to resume his job as a studio analyst, Team USA manager Mark DeRosa said, “Rodriguez has been a darn good pitcher in the league for a long time.” 

Not lately. Since the 2024 season, Rodriguez has recorded a 5.02 ERA in 39 starts and 204 innings for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Even though he was once upon a time a solid starter, now on the cusp of his 11th big-league season, Rodriguez is no longer elite. The Americans were missing the 2023 WBC version of Trea Turner, a key hitter who got hot and carried the team for an extended stretch.

It pointed to a bigger issue. Throughout the tournament, USA’s lineup never really got going. Through seven games in the WBC, Team USA ranked sixth in batting average (.250) and seventh in slugging (.428). And it wasn’t even close. Italy outslugged the USA by nearly 90 points. 

This was a USA lineup that featured a big-name slugger in Cal Raleigh, who led baseball with 60 home runs last season, and dynamic or experienced hitters up and down the lineup. Raleigh went 0-for-9 in the WBC. Witt put on a show on defense, but he was inconsistent at the plate. Byron Buxton went 0-for-7. Alex Bregman batted .143. Will Smith had one extra-base hit in 13 at-bats. Gunnar Henderson, who led USA with a 1.267 OPS in the WBC, was left on the bench against Venezuela, only to appear as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning. By then, Team USA was two outs away from accepting silver medals for the second consecutive WBC.

DeRosa, after Sunday’s semifinal win over the Dominican Republic, said he was “still waiting for the offense to explode.” He’ll have to wait a while longer. The next WBC is expected to take place in 2030. That’s a lot of time to think about what went wrong.

While Venezuela played loose and capitalized with timely hitting the entire tournament, the United States looked tense in the box and missed their chances. Maybe it was the single-game stakes. Maybe it was the pressure to win. But their timing was off, and they didn’t execute when they needed to, when they were expected to. 

“I thought we played great,” Harper said standing outside the USA’s clubhouse. “Obviously, we didn’t win. We got beat tonight. It’s part of the game. It’s kind of what happens.”

Sure, but it wasn’t supposed to happen to this star-studded team. Even Australia, in a smaller sample size of four games, walked away from the WBC with a higher slugging percentage. The USA built a power-heavy roster that never truly arrived. Next time, they’ll have to rethink how to construct their lineup. They’ll have to inject more contact hitters and table setters, and make smarter decisions from the manager’s seat, particularly when it comes to lineup decisions and understanding clinch scenarios. 

So now players will rejoin their MLB teams and get ready for the season. Opening Day is in one week. Soon they’ll get to turn the page and play 162. But, as far as back-to-back second-place finishes in the WBC? This one will sting for a while.

“I’m always fired up for the Yankees, but I’m still pissed about this,” Judge said. “I’m looking forward to the next time we get a chance to throw on the red, white and blue and take care of business.”

In the Big Picture, we contextualize key moves and moments so you can instantly understand why they matter.

Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

Maikel Garcia was consistency personified for Venezuela in its run to its first World Baseball Classic title, and he was honored for it.

The Venezuelan third baseman was named MVP of the 2026 World Baseball Classic following his nation’s 3-2 win over the USA in Tuesday’s Final. Garcia went 10 for 26 (.385) at the plate in the tournament with a home run, two doubles and seven RBIs.

None of those hits came in the championship win. However, Garcia helped Venezuela get on the board first when he hit a sacrifice fly in the third inning that scored Salvador Perez. Two innings later, outfielder Wilyer Abreu hit a solo homer that extended the lead to 2-0 before Eugenio Suarez hit the game-winning double in the top of the ninth.

Garcia had an RBI in all three of Venezuela’s elimination games. The Kansas City Royals‘ budding star hit a key two-run homer in Venezuela’s quarterfinal win over Japan, which cut the lead to 5-4 at the time en route to its 8-5 win. 

In Monday’s semifinal win over Italy, Garcia knocked in what would be the game-winning run with his single in the seventh inning. Garcia’s single was sandwiched between a pair of other RBI singles for Venezuela that turned a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2. 

Following Venezuela’s semifinal victory, Garcia expressed his excitement over the atmosphere at the World Baseball Classic when he spoke with the FS1 postgame crew. 

“Big leagues is not like this,” Garcia said. “This is amazing. This is different. I think this is going to help me to play better in the big leagues.”

Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

After leading Venezuela to a victory in the World Baseball Classic Final, Salvador Perez feels there’s not much more he needs to complete. 

“Now I feel like I can retire,” Perez joked to the FOX Sports WBC panel following Venezuela’s 3-2 victory over Team USA.

Perez had a significant impact on Venezuela’s win on Tuesday. He scored the first run after hitting a single into right field, coming around when his Kansas City Royals‘ teammate Maikel Garcia hit a sacrifice fly. He helped prepare Venezuela starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez, spending time with him Monday night, telling him, “Just make your pitch, we gone be fine.”

Then on Tuesday, Rodriguez pitched 5.1 scoreless innings, and didn’t shake off one pitch call Perez made. 

That’s the level of trust Perez’s teammates have in him. He left an indelible mark with his leadership throughout the entire World Baseball Classic tournament. 

“Salvador Perez behind the plate, he is absolutely solid,” FOX Sports’ David Ortiz said. “That’s why he has been in this game for so long. And he need to lead this ball club, and giving guidance to the pitching staff. That’s why this guy was hitting the spot. And I tell you guys, he’s one of the best at framing pitches behind the plate.”

“You remind me of two people,” FOX Sports’ Alex Rodriguez said. “Magic Johnson and Big Papi. Two champions people love and respect.”

Perez became emotional when he heard that comment. All he strives to do is be a role model for Venezuelan kids and baseball players that come after him. 

“I hope the young guys look at it, and try to be the same,” Perez said. 

Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

Venezuela is your new World Baseball Classic champion.

After a dramatic back-and-forth affair at loanDepot Park in Miami on Tuesday, Venezuela beat the United States 3-2 to win its first-ever World Baseball Classic title.

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Venezuela was in complete control through eight innings before the U.S. made things interesting with a two-run home run from Bryce Harper. However, the United States’ hopes quickly faded when Eugenio Suarez hit a go-ahead double in the top of the ninth inning.

Recapping Tuesday’s action:

Dominican Republic Wins First Ever WBC

Venezuela added its name to the list of WBC champions by getting its first ever title in tournament history. And when the game ended, loanDepot Park became one giant, deafening roar.

Venezuela might have been the visiting country, and the visiting team on the scoreboard, but a very Latin-flavored crowd in Miami sure made the new champions feel right at home.

“This is a celebration for all of the Venezuelan country,” said designated hitter Eugenio Suárez, who drove in the go-ahead run with a double in the ninth inning.

Eduardo Rodríguez fanned Aaron Judge — the U.S. captain went 0-for-4 — twice among four strikeouts and held the Americans to just one hit over 5 1/3 innings.

The Venezuelan bullpen gave up just two hits from there, including Bryce Harper’s tying, two-run homer over the center-field fence against Andrés Machado in the eighth.

The American roster was made up of players who have combined for more than 2,300 home runs and 419 saves, and nine of them have played in a World Series.

But they never quite displayed the full extent of their offensive firepower. They hit .250 over seven games with 44 runs, 10 homers and 40 RBIs.

MVP For Maikel: Venezuela’s Breakout Star Wins MVP

The debate toward the end of Tuesday’s final was who would be MVP of the tournament. Wilyer Abreu for his three-run homer against Japan in the quarterfinals and his solo shot against Team USA? Eugenio Suarez for his homer against Italy and his clutch hit that drove in the winning run against the USA?

Instead, it was one of MLB’s breakout stars in Maikel Garcia. The Royals All-Star and Gold Glove winner was named MVP of the World Baseball Classic after Venezuela, hitting .385 for the WBC with a home run and seven RBIs, and he drove in the first run of the game in the final off USA starter Nolan McLean. 

He also had a key hit in Venezuela’s decisive three-run rally in the seventh inning of the semifinals against Team Italy.

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Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

New York Yankees star Aaron Judge has said that his No. 1 goal is to win a World Series, but he’s put that quest on a brief hold to captain Team USA at the World Baseball Classic.

“Now that I got a USA jersey on and ‘USA’ across my chest, my main focus right now is to go out there and win a gold medal for those guys,” Judge said in an interview with fellow Yankees legend and MLB on FOX analyst Derek Jeter.

This is Judge’s first time participating in the World Baseball Classic. He passed on the opportunity to represent Team USA in 2023 after he signed a nine-year, $360 million contract to stay in the Bronx through 2031 and was named Yankees team captain.

Four years later, Judge is captaining Team USA at the tournament, and the three-time American League MVP isn’t taking the job lightly.

“My job is just to get the best out of every single guy in that room,” Judge said. “I told the guys in the very beginning: I’m an open book; lean on me.”

He’s also motivated by the Team USA squad that fell short against Shohei Ohtani and Samurai Japan in 2023.

“I think of Paul Goldschmidt,” Judge said of his Yankees and Team USA teammate. “He did it the previous couple of years, and he talked about how much it hurt coming up short in ’23. I want to finish it off for guys like him, Kyle Schwarber, DeRo. They all came up short, but it’s time to finish it off.”

Judge and Team USA will have the opportunity to avenge the disappointment of 2023 in the 2026 World Baseball Classic final on Tuesday against Venezuela. They’re hoping to be the latest American team to bring home the gold after the men’s and women’s hockey teams reached the summit at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan, Italy. 

“I think just watching them — both of them — leave it all on the ice … I think that was pretty cool to watch. Just like us, they’re grinding with guys they’re usually playing against, or competing against. Rival teams.”

Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

Team USA and Venezuela needed to win low-scoring affairs to punch their tickets into Tuesday’s World Baseball Classic final. However, Derek Jeter believes that the championship matchup might be a bit different.

After the two winning sides scored a combined six runs in their semifinal victories, Jeter predicted that the USA-Venezuela matchup will be a high-scoring affair. 

“There’s no easy outs in either lineup,” Jeter said on FS1’s postgame show following Venezuela’s 4-2 win over Italy on Tuesday. “Every pitch is important. Sometimes when you’re a pitcher and navigating through a lineup, you have a few guys where you’re able to breathe. You fall behind, and you may be able to throw a ball over the plate. Neither side can do that. You’re going to have to focus one through nine for nine innings. 

“I expect the offense to show up — I expect the offense to show up on both sides tomorrow night.”

Between the USA and Venezuela rosters, there are 20 All-Star hitters set to play in Tuesday’s final. But the two teams haven’t provided a ton of fireworks to this point. Venezuela has scored five or fewer runs in three of its first six games. The same goes for Team USA, which has scored just seven total runs in the knockout stage.

So, with that in mind, David Ortiz is anticipating more of the same in Tuesday’s final. 

“The pitching that I saw from the U.S. last night, and the pitching that I saw from Venezuela tonight, it’s going to be a battle,’ Ortiz said. “We always talk about good pitching going to stop good offense. If you look at it properly, both teams haven’t been able to attack like everybody expect. It’s going to be the battle of the pitching tomorrow. That’s what I expect.”

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What was key to helping the USA and Venezuela punch their tickets to the WBC final on Tuesday were strong performances from their respective bullpens. Team USA’s bullpen didn’t allow a run in over five innings of work in its semifinal win over the Domincan Republic. Venezuela’s bullpen, meanwhile, didn’t surrender a run in 7 ⅔ innings of work on Monday.

That’s why Alex Rodriguez believes it’s vital for both teams to get out to an early lead in Tuesday’s championship battle. 

“Whoever is going to win tomorrow night is going to have to do it early, because both bullpens are lights out,” Rodriguez said. “The last nine outs aren’t going to be fun either way. So, it’s vital to be ahead in the first six innings.”

No matter what happens, though, Rodriguez expects the World Baseball Classic to live up to the hype.

“This is going to be must-see TV,” Rodriguez said. “I know we had the Oscars a couple of nights ago, but this is going to be like an Oscars because these teams have played the best, you’re going to have stars all over the place and I cannot wait to think about tomorrow.”

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Maikel Garcia has won a playoff series in his young career with the Kansas City Royals, but the star infielder might have had the biggest moment of his baseball life in Venezuela’s 4-2 win over Italy in the semifinal of the World Baseball Classic. Garcia seems to feel that way, too.

Following Monday’s win, Garcia shared how special the win was for him during his postgame interview with the FS1 crew. 

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“Big leagues is not like this,” Garcia said. “This is amazing. This is different. I think this is going to help me to play better in the big leagues.”

In a follow-up, Derek Jeter asked Garcia if the environment in Kansas City was anything like what he experienced in Miami’s loanDepot on Monday during his time in Kansas City. 

“Not even close,” Garcia replied.

Garcia played a key role in electrifying the Venezuelan crowd on Monday. He went 2 for 4 at the plate, with one of those hits knocking in what would be the game-winning run. Garcia hit a single to left off Italy pitcher Michael Lorenzen in the seventh inning that gave Venezuela a 3-2 lead. That hit was sandwiched between a pair of other base knocks that helped Venezuela rally from a 2-1 deficit. 

Two of the game’s top hitters, Ronald Acuna Jr. and Luis Arraez, were the other two players from Venezuela who contributed to the seventh-inning comeback. But Garcia credited someone who wasn’t in Venezuela’s lineup for helping lift the ballclub toward an appearance in the World Baseball Classic final against Team USA: Royals catcher Salvador Perez. 

“Before we got here, he told me about [how] it’s different,” Garcia said of Perez. “We played before in winter ball. This is different than winter ball. It’s loud. There’s a lot of people from different countries. We have to make the plays and play good. He’s a great captain. He’s helped me a lot in the big leagues and he did a great job last night. Thank God we have him here.” 

Venezuela will take on the USA in the World Baseball Classic final at 8 p.m. ET on FOX, the FOX Sports app and FOX One. 

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Venezuela is off to its first World Baseball Classic final on Tuesday night, but it used up a lot of its biggest bullpen arms in the process.

While the USA had a day off on Monday night for its arms to rest, seven Venezuelan arms pitched in their 4-2 win over Italy.

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Keider Montero (Tigers), Ricardo Sánchez, Luinder Avila (Royals), Angel Zerpa (Brewers), Eduard Bazardo (Mariners), Andrés Machado and Daniel Palencia (Cubs) combined to allow two runs, both of which were given up by Montero.

The six relievers combined to throw 7 ⅔ scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and two walks. The Venezuelans dominated the Italian lineup while their bats scored three times in the seventh inning to take the lead.

“They just threw everybody tonight,” MLB on FOX analyst Derek Jeter said after Tuesday’s game in Miami. 

The Venezuelans threw seven pitchers in their win over Japan on Saturday night, as well, with Bazardo, Zerpa, Machado and Palencia appearing in both games. Jeter pointed out that not only is that a potentially heavy workload at any time of year, but this is the time of year, teams are more focused on their pitchers making it healthily to opening day than anything else.

Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez will be on the mound for Venezuela against Team USA on Tuesday night in Miami. Rodriguez last pitched on Wednesday in a loss to the Dominican Republic, allowing three runs on three hits and a walk with five strikeouts.

Jeter likes the matchup for the Americans.

“I’m going to go out on a limb and say they get it going tomorrow night,” Jeter said.

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