Team USA fell short for the second straight time at the World Baseball Classic, once again failing to find enough offense in a 3-2 loss to Venezuela in the championship game on Tuesday night. The frustration of another near-miss is amplified by the fact that the Americans won't get another shot at redemption for years — while the next WBC has yet to be announced, the best guess would place it in the spring of 2030, considering the Los Angeles Olympics will be welcoming back baseball in 2028.
Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- Team USA aims to rebuild its roster for the 2029 World Baseball Classic after consecutive championship losses.
- The projected lineup features only players under 30, relying on several MLB rookies and rising stars.
- This youthful approach seeks to overcome the aging core that dominated American baseball in recent years.
That's an awfully long time, especially in baseball terms; chances are that Team USA's roster will look much, much different (if you don't believe me, just compare the 2026 team to 2023). Plenty of stars from this year's team will be in their mid- to late-30s by then, likely with their best ball behind them. So what will the Americans do to try and finally get over the hump?
Projected Team USA lineup for the next World Baseball Classic
Position | Player | Age in 2030 |
|---|---|---|
RF | Corbin Carroll | 29 |
SS | Bobby Witt Jr. | 29 |
3B | Gunnar Henderson | 28 |
1B | Nick Kurtz | 27 |
LF | Roman Anthony | 25 |
DH | James Wood | 27 |
2B | Konnor Griffin | 23 |
CF | Jackson Merrill | 26 |
C | Drake Baldwin | 29 |
This is perhaps overly optimistic; there's not a single player over the age of 30 here, and we're counting on a lot of projection with the likes of Konnor Griffin, Nick Kurtz, Roman Anthony and Drake Baldwin — all of whom sure look like future stars, but none of whom have actually proven that over a large sample just yet. Heck, even ascending talents like Jackson Merrill and James Wood.
But this is also reflective of a changing of the guard in American baseball. By 2030, Aaron Judge and Bryce Harper will be 37; Alex Bregman and Byron Buxton will be 36, Cal Raleigh and Kyle Tucker 33. The current generation will have largely aged out of star-level production, which means it's up to those who come after them to fill their shoes.
The top of the order here was pretty easy: Carroll would've been in the Team USA starting lineup had he not suffered a broken hamate bone in the spring, while Witt Jr. and Henderson showed out in their first taste of WBC action. Kurtz was a controversial snub this time around after hitting 36 homers as a rookie, and I'm willing to bet he doesn't miss out again if he comes anywhere close to his ceiling. Wood is a tweak or two away from a truly ridiculous season, while Merrill should look much more like his 2024 self — when he took the league by storm — if he can just stay healthy.
Bench
Of course, you need more than nine great players to make it through the WBC gauntlet. The U.S. carried 14 position players this year, a five-man bench, so we'll stick with that construction.
- C Cal Raleigh (33)
- OF Wyatt Langford (28)
- INF Kevin McGonigle (25)
- C/1B Ben Rice (31)
- INF Nico Hoerner (32)
Baldwin will likely ascend to C1 status if he keeps hitting like he did as a rookie, but Raleigh at 33 should still being plenty of pop and defensive value (with the added benefit of being a switch hitter). Our outfield is very left-handed right now, which makes the righty Langford an ideal fourth — especially if he can put together the breakout season everyone expects in 2025.
From there, we're taking a leap of faith on McGonigle over the likes of Brice Turang (who'll be 30 in 2030) and young talents like Luke Keaschall, Caleb Durbin, Matt Shaw, Jackson Holliday and JJ Wetherholt. He's torn up spring training with the Tigers, and he could develop into a 30-homer bat with elite OBP skills on the infield if it all comes together.
We need a second first baseman on this roster, and while it would be nice to have a platoon partner for Kurtz given his struggles against lefties, elite righty first basemen don't exactly grow on trees. Rice had one of the best batted-ball profiles of anyone last season, and he handles left-handed pitching well enough to give him the nod here. Hoerner will be 32 by the time 2030 rolls around, but he's a sturdy right-handed bat who will still be able to defend up the middle.
Projected Team USA rotation for the next World Baseball Classic
With new aces seemingly popping up on a yearly basis at this point, the U.S. will have no shortage of options to choose from when it comes to building its next WBC rotation. But the natural place to start is the same one-two punch that never quite achieved lift-off in 2026.
- RHP Paul Skenes (27)
- LHP Tarik Skubal (33)
- RHP Hunter Brown (31)
- RHP Nolan McLean (28)
- RHP Trey Yesavage (26)
If you've listened to Skenes talk about what it means to represent Team USA, you'll be confident that he's ready to pitch in the WBC again. And the bet here is that, with a record contract under his belt and his free agency behind him, Skubal will be more willing to put his arm on the line for his country in 2030 — when he should still be plenty good at age 33.
From there, it's take your pick time. Bryan Woo (30 in 2030), Logan Gilbert (32), Bubba Chandler (27), Cam Schlittler (29) and Connelly Early (27) are just some of the names that could force themselves into consideration here over the next four years. In the end, though, I just have slightly more faith in Brown, McLean and Yesavage.
Brown has been a bonafide ace for about a year and a half now, even if very few people seem to have noticed. He quietly finished third in AL Cy Young voting in 2025, and he'll still be smack in his prime at age 31. McLean's bumpy WBC debut doesn't faze me long term; he's still an elite pitching prospect, and I think he'll be a star in four years time. Yesavage, meanwhile, proved his big-game chops while conquering the postseason as a rookie last year, and if he can compliment that wipeout splitter of his, he should be a frontline starter for many years to come.