World Baseball Classic Rosters: Full list of teams and players [UPDATED]

Next up is Group B, with Australia, China, Czech Republic, Japan and South Korea.

Australia World Baseball Classic roster

Australia is a relative unknown, without much of their roster available to the public prior to Feb. 9. Expecting them to make it past the group stage is perhaps a fool’s errand, but the World Baseball Classic has experience surprises in the past. Australia is managed by Jon Deeble, who is a former minor-league manager for the Miami Marlins and Boston Red Sox. He’ll play a vital role in getting every ounce of talent out of this team.

China World Baseball Classic roster

Alan Zhang Carter is about the only known MLB representative on the Chinese WBC roster. They will hope familiarity with the likes of Australia, Japan and South Korea will propel them past the group stage in what would otherwise be a disappointment to a growing baseball nation.

Czech Republic World Baseball Classic roster

The Czechs, managed by Pavel Chadim, don’t have many major-league reps on their roster. Free agent Eric Sogard will headline the roster should he choose to play. Nonetheless, the Czech Republic has a tough draw in this group, especially with Japan and South Korea as heavy favorites to advance. They’ll need a breakout tournament from some relative unknowns to make a run, but that’s exactly what the WBC is for — creating a reputation for oneself.

Japan World Baseball Classic roster

Japan’s roster is loaded with talent, as they are a nation which cares deeply about this tournament. The WBC allows the Japanese to put their talent to the test against the best the likes of the United States and Dominican Republic have to offer. They won the tournament two times already, and could very well do so again with Shohei Ohtani, Yu Darvish, Seiya Suzuki, Masataka Yoshida and Lars Nootbaar in tow.

South Korea World Baseball Classic roster

South Korea has plenty of talented players — some of whom are unknown to viewers in the United States because they play in the KBO. In terms of MLB talent, both Tommy Edman of the St. Louis Cardinals and Kim Ha-seong of the San Diego Padres are in this player pool. Ha-seong, for one, has been mentioned in trade rumors of late, especially after San Diego acquired Bogaerts of Team Netherlands.