While we are just days away from pitchers and catchers reporting to their respective complexes in Arizona and Florida, much of the world is focused on international competition.
The Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina are in full swing, with fans around the world eager to see athletes representing their hometown, their country or even their favorite professional sports teams. The Colorado Avalanche have eight Olympians for the 2026 games, including captain Gabriel Landesog who wears the “C” for his Team Sweden.
However, in the shadow of the Winter Games lies another fast-approaching international competition: the World Baseball Classic.
The competition – which takes place every three years – offers professional baseball players around the world an unusual opportunity to represent their home or heritage country on the world stage. Many of the teams from dominant baseball nations like the United States, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela are packed with a veritable who’s who of Major League Baseball stardom and familiar faces from both the regular season and the playoffs.
For fans of the Colorado Rockies — who haven’t been to the postseason since 2018 and are embarking on a crucial rebuild — opportunities to see players from their team on a big stage are often few and far between. Even in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, the Rockies had just five players in the tournament and only one of them – left-handed pitcher Kyle Freeland – remains with the team.
This year the Rockies are fairly well represented in the World Baseball Classic. Although they have no players on Team USA, the Rockies are sending ten players and one coach to represent six different countries in the upcoming tournament.
Let’s start with the Parade of Nations!
Recent arrival and infielder Eduard Julien will represent Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic for the second time in his career. Although Canada was eliminated from pool play in the 2023 tournament, the Quebec City native still led the World Baseball Classic in slugging percentage and OPS. He then parlayed that excellent performance into a strong rookie season in which he hit .263/.381/.459 with 16 home runs and was worth 2.6 wins above replacement.
Julien had poor seasons in 2024 and 2025 and enters the season looking to recapture the magic of his rookie campaign. Hopefully former Rockies All-Star and Team Canada coach Justin Morneau can help Julien start the season strong.
Julien is added to the Canadian roster by the left-handed Québécois pitcher Antoine Jeanin what will technically be the first professional matches of his career. The Rockies selected Jean in the seventh round of last year’s draft out of the University of Houston, where he was the 2025 Big 12 Pitcher of the Year and led all NCAA Division I pitchers in batting average against (.168) and had the second-best K/9 (14.8).
The player Rockies fans should watch when it comes to Team Israel is without a doubt a potential outfielder Cole Carrigg (No. 6 Midseason PuRP).
Carrigg, also a non-roster invite to spring training this year, spent the entire 2025 season with the Double-A Hartford Yard Goats, where he hit .237/.316/.394 with 18 doubles, six triples, 15 home runs and 46 stolen bases as the team’s starting center fielder. While he won’t be ready to start the season in the big league just yet, a strong tournament could do a lot to increase his lead as a prospect.
Carrigg joins as first baseman and outfielder Troy Johnstonwhich the Rockies claimed this offseason via waivers from the Miami Marlins. The 28-year-old made his major league debut in 2025 with a strong .277/.331/.420 line and four home runs in 44 games with the Marlins.
The Rockies’ most significant offseason free agent acquisition is also their lone representative for the Italian national team. Right-handed pitcher Michael Lorenzen was called in to help the Rockies finally figure out how to pitch at Coors Field, a challenge he was happy to take on.
The 34-year-old’s aggressive approach and extensive arsenal of pitches will be a key asset to the Rockies’ rotation in 2025 as the team begins working on their new pitching philosophy. One of his teammates for Italy will be former Rockies closer Adam Ottavino, who had previously performed well at Coors Field and was reportedly in contention for a front office job this offseason.
Mexico was one of the breakout stories in the 2023 tournament, finishing third overall after an incredible performance against Japan in the semi-finals. Returning manager Benji Gil is currently riding high after his México Rojo (Charros de Jalisco) emerged as the winner of the Serie Del Caribe and is undoubtedly ready to make another attempt at the World Baseball Classic.
Gil’s bench coach will once again be the Rockies special assistant and legendary third baseman Vinny Castile. The Blake Street Bomber has extensive experience playing and coaching for several Mexican teams, including serving as manager for Team Mexico in the 2009 World Baseball Classic.
Pitching for Mexico via California will be a right-handed reliever Victor Vodnik and left-handed reliever Brennan Bernardino.
A key part of the bullpen, Vodnik is entering his fourth season in the big leagues after an excellent season in 2025 in which he posted a 3.02 ERA over 52 appearances. He recorded ten saves and struckout 49 in 50 2/3 innings of work.
Bernardino, meanwhile, is another newcomer to the Rockies. Acquired from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for minor league outfielder Braiden Ward, the 34-year-old middle reliever has a career 3.47 ERA over parts of four big league seasons.
The Puerto Rico delegation had some difficulty assembling their roster, often due to insurance issues with their star players. As such, Carlos Correa of the Houston Astros and Francisco Lindor of the New York Mets are both sitting out, much to their dismay.
For offseason acquisition of free agents and utility players Willie CastroHowever, it represents an opportunity. The 28-year-old from Río Piedras will represent Puerto Rico for the first time in his career. The Rockies signed Castro on a two-year contract worth $12.8 million. The 2024 All-Star had a down year in 2025 – especially after being traded from the Minnesota Twins to the Chicago Cubs – but a strong performance in the World Baseball Classic could help him kick off a rebounding campaign on the right foot.
A healthy and productive tournament would likely mean a lot to the young Rockies star shortstop Ezequiel Tovar. The 24-year-old performed well enough during the 2025 season, hitting .253/.294/.400 with 18 doubles, four triples and nine home runs, but he missed significant time due to injury and played in just 95 games.
Tovar is a key building block for the Rockies’ future, and if he enters the 2026 season strong and with much-needed momentum, it could help him soar to new heights after winning a Gold Glove Award and even earning an MVP vote in 2024. Hopefully that comes from cutting down on strikeouts and not chasing as many pitches.
Tovar joins Team Venezuela as a right-handed pitcher Antonio Senzatelawho I’m sure is counting on the World Baseball Classic to kick off a much-needed bounce-back campaign as he enters the final guaranteed year of his current contract.
Senzatela struggled mightily in 2025, posting a 7.42 ERA out of the rotation in 23 starts before being demoted to the bullpen. He performed especially poorly in the first inning, where he had a staggering 11.03 ERA. He performed better in limited bullpen appearances with a 2.86 ERA over 22 innings and will likely remain in the bullpen next season.
Also worth noting is the former Rockies starting pitcher German Marquez will also be on Venezuela’s roster. Márquez is currently still a free agent and could convert his tournament performances into a contract.
The pool portion of the World Baseball Classic begins on March 4 and the tournament itself runs through March 17. There will also be several exhibition games pitting MLB spring training squads against national teams. The Rockies will play Team USA on March 4 at Salt River Fields on Talking Stick with a first pitch time of 1:10 MT.
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