When the 2026 World Baseball Classic kicks off this coming March, many of the best players in the world are expected to represent their country at the prestigious international showcase.
But according to Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, two of the club’s top stars likely won’t be among them.
Speaking to reporters on Monday at the MLB Winter Meetings in Orlando, Breslow said he doesn’t expect Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet or second-year outfielder Roman Anthony to participate.
“I don’t expect him to,” Breslow said when asked about Crochet, adding later about Anthony, “I think coming off the injury we’ll be pretty sensitive to that.”
Asked about two other notable Red Sox players, Marcelo Mayer and Masataka Yoshida, Breslow said both are still to be determined.
Breslow said Anthony and Mayer are both fully cleared and that the two are both ramping up normally for this point in the offseason. Though Crochet and Anthony likely won’t take part, Breslow said he’s supportive of players participating in the WBC if they want to, as long as they do so responsibly.
“It’s complicated because I think it’s a great event that happens on a global stage and as fans we all get behind it and support it. I think more than passing judgement as to whether or not it’s a worthwhile risk, what we need to do is make sure all players are ramping up appropriately and that they’re not all of a sudden taking on a workload or volume or intensity that they’re not accustomed to or acclimated to,” Breslow said. “I think that’s the most important thing because we’ve seen how successful an event it can be when players ramp up responsibly and I certainly wouldn’t want to get in the way of that.”
The Red Sox currently have one player confirmed for the WBC. Right-hander Garrett Whitlock announced earlier this winter that he will play for Team USA.
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