Team USA's shocking loss to Italy in the World Baseball Classic has left them on the brink of elimination, rooting for the Italians to beat Mexico on Wednesday night to ensure their advancement to the knockout stage. It's not a great place for the Americans to be in, but if you're looking for a silver lining, at least they'll be placing their fate in the hands of some proven MLB names — headlined by Philadelphia Phillies All-Star Aaron Nola, who's starting the game for Italy.
Yes, seriously: Nola, a Baton Rouge native who played his college ball at LSU, is repping the Azzurri at this year's WBC. And he's far from the only big leaguer who's helped turn the team into a dark horse contender. How is that possible? Here's everything to know about how player eligibility works at the World Baseball Classic.
Why Aaron Nola, Vinnie Pasquantino and more MLB stars play for Italy in the World Baseball Classic
Nola is just one of many players with Major League experience on Team Italy's roster this year. The list also includes young Royals stars Vinnie Pasquantino and Jac Caglianone as well as Marlins outfielder Jakob Marsee and White Sox catcher Kyle Teel.
- RHP Aaron Nola, Philadelphia Phillies
- 1B Vinnie Pasquantino, Kansas City Royals
- C Kyle Teel, Chicago White Sox
- OF Jac Caglianone, Kansas City Royals
- OF Jakob Marsee, Miami Marlins
- RHP Michael Lorenzen, Colorado Rockies
- OF Dominic Canzone, Seattle Mariners
- INF Jon Berti, free agent
- INF Thomas Saggese, St. Louis Cardinals
- INF Miles Mastrobuoni, Seattle Mariners
- INF Zach Dezenzo, Houston Astros
- RHP Greg Weissert, Boston Red Sox
- RHP Adam Ottavino, free agent
All of those players were born and raised in the United States, and all of them could have played for the Americans if manager Mark DeRosa had made the call. But where you born is only a piece of the player eligibility puzzle for the WBC. Nolan Arenado, a California native, has played in more than one iteration of the WBC for Team USA but is competing this year for Puerto Rico. Even Ottavino, in the bullpen for Italy this year, played for the U.S. in 2023.
So, just what determines the country (or countries) for which a player is eligible to compete?
World Baseball Classic eligibility rules, explained
The most straight-forward means of eligibility is citizenship: If you're a citizen of that country (i.e., you hold a valid passport) at least three months before the WBC begins, you're all set. But that's far from the only path; if either you or a parent was born in a given country, chances are you can compete for that country. Here's what the World Baseball Classic rulebook says about player eligibility:
• The player is a permanent legal resident
• The player was born the country (or territory)
• The player has at least one parent who is/was a citizen
• The player has at least one parent who was born in the country (or territory)
As an example, Yankees catcher Austin Wells, who was born in Arizona and grew up in Nevada, is the starting catcher for the Dominican Republic team because his mother, Michelle is Dominican. That's a similar path to the one Nola and others took to playing for Italy.
Aaron Nola's connection to Italy
Nola is a Louisiana native, but he's Italian on his father's side.
"It's an Italian name," Aaron's brother, former big leaguer Austin Nola, once told MiLB.com of their shared surname. "My great-grandparents, they came over from Sicily and settled in Baton Rouge."
Like Nola, Caglianone's great-grandparents on his father's side came over to the U.S. from Italy. Pasquantino also has Italian heritage on his father's side. All of them may have first wanted to play for Team USA, but sporting the Italian colors has offered them a chance to connect with their family histories — and just maybe play spoiler, too.
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