Bradley embraces his heritage, joining Team Mexico for the World Baseball Classic.
Minnesota Twins right-hander Taj Bradley officially landed a spot on Team Mexico's roster for the 2026 World Baseball Classic, giving the 24-year-old a chance to represent his heritage on a global stage next month.
Bradley's connection to Mexico runs through his grandmother, who is Mexican, and the young pitcher has been open about his desire to suit up for the country since last summer.
While he was still with the Tampa Bay Rays, teammates Randy Arozarena and Jonathan Aranda helped put him in touch with Team Mexico's front office.
"Yeah, I've wanted to," Bradley told MB Sports TV's Samara Pérez at the time. "Randy Arozarena and Jonathan Aranda put me in contact with the GM. There are very good hopes that I will be able to play with them next year."
Those hopes became reality when official rosters dropped on Thursday, and Bradley was listed among Mexico's pitching staff alongside Javier Assad, Andrés Muñoz, Taijaun Walker and several other talented arms.
A Fresh Start in Minnesota
Bradley's path to this moment has been anything but smooth.
The Rays drafted him in the fifth round back in 2018 out of Redan High School in Stone Mountain, Georgia, and he climbed through the minors before debuting in 2023.
He showed flashes of dominance at times but struggled with consistency over parts of three seasons in Tampa Bay.
At the 2025 trade deadline, the Rays sent Bradley to Minnesota in a one-for-one swap for reliever Griffin Jax.
The Twins were in the middle of a major fire sale, trading away nearly a dozen players from the 40-man roster, but the Bradley deal was different because it was about adding a young arm with upside rather than just cutting costs.
Bradley spent time with Triple-A St. Paul before joining the big league rotation in late August.
His numbers with the Twins were rough, as he posted a 6.61 ERA with a 1.40 WHIP across 31.1 innings, but he showed better command and finished the season strong with nine strikeouts in his final start.
On the year as a whole, Bradley went 6-8 with a 5.05 ERA and 127 strikeouts in 142.2 innings between both clubs, bringing his career totals to a 4.86 ERA with 410 strikeouts over 385.1 innings.
What It Means Going Forward
The Twins finished just 70-92 in 2025 and are heading into the new season with real questions about their rotation.
Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober and Simeon Woods Richardson look like locks, but Bradley will be fighting for one of the remaining spots alongside Mick Abel and David Festa this spring.
He is under team control through 2030, so Minnesota has time to develop him, but he needs to show growth sooner rather than later.
His Twins teammates Joe Ryan and Byron Buxton will also be in the tournament representing Team USA.
The WBC could be a good chance for Bradley to build some momentum heading into camp, as pitching in meaningful games on an international stage is a different kind of pressure than spring training.
Mexico is looking to build on a memorable 2023 run that ended with a heartbreaking semifinal loss to Japan, falling just one win short of the title game.
This time around, the roster features a solid mix of MLB talent, including Arozarena, Jarren Duran, Alejandro Kirk, and Muñoz, who was one of the best closers in baseball last season.
Bradley figures to slot into the starting rotation, and Mexico will need that depth when pool play opens on March 6 against Great Britain in Houston.
They will also face Brazil on March 8, the United States on March 9 and Italy on March 11. For Bradley, the WBC is about more than just tuning up for the regular season.
It is a chance to pitch for something bigger and to honor a part of his family's story.