Instead of optimism for the season to come, MLB Spring Training has brought pretty much nothing but bad injury news since pitchers and catchers began reporting earlier this week. The latest: Arizona Diamondbacks star outfielder Corbin Carroll, who will be sidelined for at least a few weeks as he undergoes surgery to repair a broken hamate bone he suffered during a batting practice session.
Carroll's status for Opening Day remains up in the air right now. But he's already been ruled out for the World Baseball Classic in early March — meaning that Team USA suddenly needs to find a new starting outfielder alongside Aaron Judge and Pete Crow-Armstrong with just a few weeks to spare.
The bad news is that it'll be awfully hard to replace Carroll, who just went 30/30 with a 140 OPS+ last season and has been one of the best position players in baseball since breaking into the Majors in 2022. But the good news is that, if any country would be able to weather the loss of such a talented player, it's the U.S. And while we certainly wish Carroll would be able to participate in his first WBC, there are some exciting names that could take his place.
Kyle Tucker, Los Angeles Dodgers
You could make a strong case that Tucker was the best American-born hitter to not make a WBC roster this year; for all of the controversy around his second-half swoon with the Chicago Cubs last year, he still put up an .866 OPS with 19 homers and 20 steals in 115 games. He's been as consistent as they come for years now, as long as he's healthy.
Of course, the question mark of his health might be why he's not playing this time after participating for Team USA in 2023. He reportedly battled a hand fracture last season, and he suffered an ankle sprain the last time he played in the WBC. But Tucker is the obvious choice if he's willing, and hey: He could sure use the PR boost after choosing the Los Angeles Dodgers in free agency.
James Wood, Washington Nationals
Wood fully broke out in 2025, slashing .256/.350/.475 with 31 homers and 15 steals for a Nationals team that gave him hardly any protection. Sure, he also led the league in strikeouts, and sure, he still hits the ball on the ground way too much. But he's already one of the most imposing athletes in the sport; he's built like a linebacker at 6-foot-7, and few players hit the ball harder.
Would this be a risky move? Of course. Wood is just 23 years old, with a limited track record of big-league success. This might be too much, too soon, especially given his sketchy plate discipline. But what we have seen already is droolworthy, and while he's not the sort of tablesetter that Carroll would be, he brings game-changing power to the table and would raise the U.S. ceiling even higher.
Cody Bellinger, New York Yankees
Bellinger is almost the inverse. No, he's not particularly flashy: He doesn't hit the ball all that hard, and he seems to have settled in as a very good but not great MLB player. But while the peaks aren't as spectacular, the floor is much higher. Put simply, there's not a ton that Bellinger doesn't do at least pretty well, and for an American team already long on star power, his ability to field all three outfield positions, make tons of contact and run the bases well feels like a great fit. If you were simply ranking the best players in the world, he wouldn't be too high on the list, but building a WBC roster is a more complicated endeavor.
Wyatt Langford, Texas Rangers
If you're looking for a generic-brand version of Carroll's skill set, Langford could be a sneaky-good choice. Like Carroll, he brings elite speed to the table, which helped him to be one of the best defensive outfielders in the game in 2025. And while he doesn't do quite the same damage that Carroll does at the plate, he brings a similarly well-balanced approach, hitting 22 homers with a .775 OPS last season.
Langford probably wouldn't wow anybody. But he's quietly blossoming into a two-way star with the Rangers, and gives you similar defensive flexibility, on-base skills and speed. You could plug him into the roster and not change much at all about your plan moving forward, and that's not nothing.
Kyle Stowers, Miami Marlins
Stowers absolutely mashed last year, to put it bluntly: .288/.368/.544 with 25 homers in just 117 games, all backed up by elite underlying metrics. If there are question marks here, they're similar to Wood's. He's only done it for one season (and not even a full one, at that), and his chase and K rates were near the bottom of the barrel. Team USA probably doesn't need to take on so much risk here, knowing how much firepower they have elsewhere in their lineup. But man, it's fun to dream about Stowers' raw power on the world stage.