Can this stacked Team USA roster redeem their previous WBC shortcomings?

Kyle Schwarber taking a big hack for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. CCed by Liscense 2.0.

Everybody loves a great redemption story, and for Team USA, this upcoming World Baseball Classic has been a story two years in the making.

The image is still engraved in so many people’s minds: Shohei Ohtani striking out Mike Trout to secure Team Japan’s legacy as 2023 champions. 

Three years. Three years to think of revenge, of a redemption arc, and of character building for returning players. It’s not USA against Japan, it’s about USA against the WBC field in general. It doesn’t matter what happens to the Japan team, as long as Team USA is hoisting the trophy by tournament’s end. That will be all that matters.

And this 2026 USA team’s roster is loaded. It genuinely looks like something that would be made in MLB The Show if budget was ignored and “force trades” were on.

First off, you have Paul Skenes, who throws absolute heat and has a career ERA of 1.96 in 320.2 innings. Skenes is already racking up future hall of fame points, and for now the WBC may very well be the only chance he has to lift up a professional baseball trophy.

Paul Skenes is one of the best to step on the mound, and pairing him up with Tarik Skubal gives Team USA both the NL and AL Cy Young winners in the same pitching rotation.

Tarik Skubal is one of just three left-handed throwers on the roster, as Team USA has decided to go heavy on righty hurlers this year. Nonetheless, like Skenes, Skubal does not need an introduction. A 0.891 WHIP in 2025 and 241 strikeouts have the Detroit star as a nasty K maker.

One of the best pitching stories will obviously be Clayton Kershaw in what will likely be his final stint in any type of professional baseball. Kershaw, who is the only player on the team born in the 1980s, and has already retired from Major League Baseball in World Series-winning form as a Dodger. Now the question remains if he will go out as a WBC champion as well.

Cal Raleigh highlights the catcher position as “Big Dumper” will likely be dumping off souvenirs to fans in the stands. It’s really nice to see Gunnar Henderson in the WBC, but I can’t help to think that there were better batting options. However, his base running speed will undoubtedly come in handy. Bobby Witt Jr. could very well be the best shortstop in Team USA WBC history. Witt’s baseball IQ is truly off the charts as he brings his multiple Gold Gloves and regular MVP considerations into the tournament.

The Team USA outfield is a truly beautiful thing. You have quite possibly the top three outfielders in major league baseball with Aaron Judge, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Corbin Carroll. Byron Buxton provides a very solid fourth outfielder option off the bench as well. I’m rather excited to see just how many home runs are hit between Cal and Judge this tournament, as this will likely be the only chance we get in seeing them play on the same team for more than just the one-off All-Star game.

My only critique in the team’s roster comes at the DH slot in Kyle Schwarber. I know I am a little biased as a Yankees fan, but it should’ve been Giancarlo Stanton in my opinion. Playoff / clutch Stanton may just be the greatest player in baseball history hands down. Stanton has 18 home runs in 45 hits throughout his playoff career, which also comprises of 44 RBIs and 20 walks in what is a total of 48 games (nearly a hit-per-game pace). However, when it comes to overall consistency, I can understand why Schwarber got in as Stanton has a reputation of ice cold streaks.

We can all agree that Mark DeRosa has a much better team on his hands than the one in 2023. Paul Skenes’ ace level pitching, with veteran Will Smith on the squad and captain Aaron Judge, gives the team a mixture of youth and dynamic identity.

Team USA was placed in Pool B, making them set to play March 6th-11th, having their opponents be Mexico, Italy, Great Britain and Brazil. Those four teams do pose challenges, but overall no insurmountable threats and advancing out of the pool should be expected for Team USA.

Redemption would be easy, especially with Japan that has come reloaded and the star-sudded roster of the Dominican Republic, which would need Team USA’s play to be uncrackable. Only time will tell to see if they can rise to the occasion this time around.