Baseball is truly an international game these days, and few teams exemplify how that works better than the Los Angeles. The WBC starts later this week, and the Angels will have players representing a total of eight countries, according to a piece written by Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com.
You’ll need a scorecard to keep track of the countries, so let’s go there. Third baseman Yoan Moncada will play for Cuba, with catcher/outfielder Gustavo Campero joining Colombia, while outfielder Matthew Lugo is on the roster for Puerto Rico.
There are still Angels players in camp who haven’t left yet. Left-handers Sam Aldegheri and Samy Natera Jr. will represent Italy and Mexico, respectively, while minor league right-hander Najee Victor will join Great Britain and Lucas Ramirez will play for Brazil.
A couple of other pitchers, Camden Minacci and Francis Texido, will be part of the designated pitcher pool for Italy and Cuba, respectively, and Yusei Kikuchi will pitch for the Japanese entry, Samurai Japan.
Ironically, the one name missing from this particular international list is Mike Trout, who wanted to play for Team USA after serving as captain in 2023, according to Cassavell. But Trout was denied injury coverage because of his balky knees, which is interesting given that Trout is currently showing an elite spring speed of almost 30 feet per second as he ramps up for regular season appearances in center field. No other Angels players will be on the Team USA roster.
The Angels have a track record of encouraging players to participate in the WBC, unlike other teams that are lukewarm to the possibility due to large contracts and the possibility of early injuries. The Halos don’t have much of that going on with contracts these days, although the coming and going does complicate things for rookie manager Kurt Suzuki.
Suzuki’s career as big-league catcher ended too soon for him to play in the WBC, but he did play for Team USA back in 2006, according to Cassavell. Back then Suzuki was a catcher in the Athletics’ farm system, and he helped the team win an Olympic qualifying tournament in Cuba.
The manager called it a memorable experience, and he understands why players are eager to join the international tournament.
“I think it's awesome to represent your country,” Suzuki said. “It’s really special for a lot of these guys. Perry's always been for it. It’s a special thing for them to do and Perry's very supportive of it. So, we hope they do really well.”
The player who has expressed the most excitement for the tournament is Kikuchi, especially given that Samurai Japan will be defending its crown as winners of the 2023 edition, which featured then-Angel Shohei Ohtani striking out Trout in the final at-bat of that WBC.
“I’m so excited,” Kikuchi said before he left. “This is my first time to be part of the team. So I can’t wait to pitch in front of the Japanese fans in Japan. Our goal is to be [successful] defending champions.”