The 2026 World Baseball Classic starts this week and, of course, plenty of New York Yankees are participating beyond three-time MVP Aaron Judge captaining Team USA.
No, the Yankees have everyday players, role players, prospects, representing teams all over the globe. Even relief pitcher and minor league unknown Harrison Cohen is suiting up for Team Israel.
Of course, this doesn’t mean we’re doing a complete rundown of which Yankees are WBC-bound and why it matters. Rather, let’s take a look at the small handful who really need to play well beyond the Classic and deep into the regular season.
Austin Wells- Dominican Republic
The Yankees’ lefty-swinging backstop is entering his fourth season and in need of a bounceback. Wells slugged a career-high 21 home runs and 71 RBI in 2025, but saw his batting average dip ten points to .219. He also got impatient to the point of his walk rate (BB%) dropping nearly five full points to 6.7%.
Wells is still only 26 and not in immediate danger of losing his spot in New York’s lineup, but he doesn’t have a ton of wiggle room either. First baseman Ben Rice came up as a catcher and can mash, and JC Escarra is in the building until he isn’t. But the pressure is on for Wells, particularly because the Yankees have traded two catching prospects in each of the last two years. They’ve made it clear he’s their guy behind the plate, so time for him to step up to it.
Elmer Rodriguez & Fernando Cruz- Puerto Rico
The reasons to watch these two Yankees arms are two-fold. Cruz throws a nasty splitter and is a valuable piece of the bullpen bridge to closer David Bednar. When healthy, that is. Cruz missed time with shoulder and hamstring injuries in ’25 and shouldn’t be at too much risk for injury in the WBC. Then again, that’s what they said about Edwin Diaz before he shredded his knee celebrating a win.
Rodriguez, on the other hand, is already turning heads at spring training. Only 22 years old, he’s pounding the zone with velocity and has a 3.00 ERA in two starts. He won’t make the rotation out of camp, but a strong WBC could fast-track his trip to the majors.
José Caballero- Panama
Anthony Volpe is out until at least May as he recovers from shoulder surgery, which means Cabby is next in line to play shortstop. He already has a 177 wRC+ in spring training after posting a mark of 131 following his trade from the Rays last year. Caballero also led MLB with 49 stolen bases last season and can play multiple positions.
So why Caballero? Well, the Yankees have watched Volpe struggle at the plate in each of his three seasons after arguably rushing him to the majors. Meanwhile, speaking to both Brendan Kuty & Chris Kirschner of The Athletic, Caballero revealed how he pivoted his offseason. Rather than play in the Dominican Winter League, he went to Driveline in Tampa to improve his bat speed.
Batting .333 in five spring training games is far from a sample size, but even so. Keep an eye on Jose Caballero’s hitting in the Classic.
Jazz Chisholm Jr.- Great Britain
The Brits get their best player yet thanks to Chisholm being from the Bahamas, and this has more implications than one may realize. First, this is Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s contract year and he’s fresh off of a 30-30 season. He could easily turn in a 40-40 if he stays off the injured list.
There’s the kicker. Chisholm missed a month with an oblique injury last season. He also has something of a track record with the trainer’s table. His only full season was 147 games in 2024.
Watching Jazz Chisholm Jr. play the game is fun, hands down. Great Britain won’t make it out of group play, but will at least be watchable with him playing. Yet, there’s enough of an injury history for there to be legit “Edwin Diaz but make it hitting” concerns. Especially away from the Yankees’ stringent spring training routines.
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