Ultimate 2026 World Baseball Classic international teams preview: Can Japan repeat?

Jake Mintz and Jordan ShustermanWed, February 25, 2026 at 9:57 PM UTC

0

Subscribe to Baseball Bar-B-CastApple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

The 2026 edition of the World Baseball Classic starts next Wednesday, and now is the time to get familiar with every squad looking to be the last team standing. While the United States of America has one of its best rosters ever in the tournament, which international teams should they have their eyes on?

On this episode of Baseball Bar-B-Cast, Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman break down every international team’s roster to try and figure out who poses the biggest threat to Team USA. They are joined by the creator of Yakyu Cosmopolitan and NPB expert Yuri Karasawa to talk all things Team Japan and why Shohei Ohtani not pitching this year is a bigger deal than people realize. As the current reigning champion, will Japan be able to defend its title?

Later, Jake and Jordan talk about the other teams, including why they feel the Dominican Republic and Venezuelan squads might have the best chance to reach the finals and raise the WBC trophy. They then make their picks for sleeper teams and discuss which long shots could pull off a huge upset.

1:31 - Yuri Karasawa previews Team Japan

5:20 - What is the Ohtani vibe going into the WBC?

Advertisement

27:59 - Who could be starting for Japan?

43:11 - Around the League: DR & Venezuela

1:15:42 - Who are the sleeper teams?

1:39:25 - All the other teams

Photo by Christopher Pasatieri/Getty Images Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images

🖥️ Watch this full episode on YouTube

Check out all episodes of Baseball Bar-B-Cast and the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at yahoosports.tv

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Sports”