Checking on the many Oriole connections in the World Baseball Classic

Next month’s World Baseball Classic should be a terrific event. Hopefully, fans watch and savor it.

The WBC comes at the right time, after the Winter Olympics are over and before the first weekend of the NCAA basketball tournament.

The games begin on March 5^th and 6^th in four sites, and the final is scheduled for March 17^th in Miami.

What do these games mean for the Orioles and their fans?

If you’re coming to spring training and want to see Gunnar Henderson play, you should come early. Though we might not know when Henderson, Dean Kremer, Tyler O’Neill, Enrique Bradfield Jr. and some others will leave to play for their teams, they’ll all miss some time.

Henderson is the only Oriole representative on the pre-tournament favorite, Team USA. This team is so good that Henderson isn’t assured of starting at shortstop since Bobby Witt Jr. is also on the squad.

It’s possible that Henderson could miss nearly three weeks of game action if the U.S. advances, as it should.

Kremer, who’s pitching for Team Israel for the third time, could have a shorter time away since his country’s team is in the same pool with two powerhouses, Dominican Republic and Venezuela. Nicaragua and the Netherlands are also in that pool.

Team USA seems to have an easier path. Their games, in Houston, will be against Brazil, Great Britain, Italy and Mexico. They’ll play against Brazil on March 6^th.

Three days earlier, on March 3^rd, the Orioles will get a taste of the WBC when The Netherlands visits Ed Smith Stadium. Unlike in 2017, when the Dominican Republic, featuring Manny Machado, played the Orioles, this game might not have the same cache.

Andruw Jones, who was just elected to the Hall of Fame, manages The Netherlands, and his players include two star infielders — Atlanta’s Ozzie Albies and San Diego’s Xander Bogaerts. Red Sox outfielder Cedanne Rafalea and Detroit reliever Kenley Jansen are also on the roster.

Former Orioles minor league infielder Sharlon Schoop, brother of Jonathan, is on the team, and its pitching coach is Jair Jurrjens, who pitched twice for the Orioles in 2013.

Team Puerto Rico has three Orioles — relievers Jose Espada and Rico Garcia, and infielder Luis Vázquez, who’s coming to spring training on a minor league contract.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of Thursday night’s roster reveal was the naming of Bradfield, the Orioles’ top pick in the 2023 draft and their No. 4 prospect, to Team Panama.

Bradfield’s exposure to the Orioles in his second major league camp will be limited. He wasn’t going to make the team out of spring training, but this is a unique opportunity.

There are many former Orioles on WBC teams. Bradfield’s teammates on Panama include infielder Jonathan Araúz, who played nine games for the Orioles in 2022, and 36-year-old Rubén Tejada, who played 41 games for the 2017 Orioles. The Panamanians’ hitting coach is Einar Diaz, an Orioles coach for seven seasons.

Espada and Garcia, a native of Hawaii, are joined on Team Puerto Rico by Jorgé López, who was an All-Star reliever for the Orioles in 2022, and infielders Darrel Hernaiz, a fifth-round draft choice in 2019, now with the Athletics, and corner infielder Emmanuel Rivera, who played for the team in 2024 and 2025.

Panama and Puerto Rico are in a pool with Canada, Colombia and Cuba.

Besides O’Neill, Canada features reliever Micah Ashman, who was traded to the Orioles by Detroit for Charlie Morton in July, and former minor league infielder Adam Hall.

Other Oriole connections on the U.S. team are former bench coach Fredi González, serving as assistant manager, and longtime major leaguer Matt Holliday, father of Jackson, who’s the hitting coach. Last year’s Orioles bench coach, Robinson Chirinos, has the same job for Venezuela.

Tomoyuki Sugano, still a free agent, will pitch for Team Japan.

Tomoyuki Sugano, still a free agent, pitches for Team Japan. Another free agent, infielder Ramón Urías is on Team Mexico.

Two of the most endearing stories are Alexander Wells, who will pitch for Team Australia, and Vance Worley, who will pitch for Team Great Britain.

Wells was the Orioles’ minor league pitcher of the year in 2017. He appeared in 13 games in 2021 and 2022 and hasn’t appeared in the United States since. Soon to be 29, Wells is pitching for Sydney in the Australian Baseball League.

Worley, a charming fellow known as “The Vanimal,” pitched 35 games for the Orioles in 2016, and, at 37, will start his second consecutive WBC for Great Britain.

Call for questions: I answer Orioles questions most weekdays. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com.