SARASOTA—Nine players from the Orioles are set to play in the World Baseball Classic. Three of them — Gunnar Henderson, who’ll play for Team USA; Dean Kremer, who’ll represent Team Israel; and Tyler O’Neill, who’ll play for Team Canada; are well-known.
Others aren’t as familiar. Relievers Jose Espada and Rico Garcia and infielder Luis Vázquez will play for Team Puerto Rico, outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr. will play for Team Panama, and minor league relievers Micha Ashman (Canada) and Ryan Long (Great Britain) also will participate.
Garcia, a native Hawaiian, is the son of a Puerto Rican father who met his mother while in the military. He’s only briefly visited the island and had to leave before Hurricane Maria’s devastation in 2017.
While with the New York Mets a year ago, Garcia told his then teammates Edwin Diaz and Francisco Lindor he was interested in playing, and he hopes that Espada and Vázquez will help him with Spanish.
“Not as good as it should be,” he said of his linguistic skills. “When they speak fast, I get lost.”
Garcia, who’s pitched three hitless innings for the Orioles this spring, will have company. Kansas City Royals starter Seth Lugo, a native Louisianan, is also a non-Spanish speaker.
“At least I’m not the only one,” Garcia said.
Espada, who’s only pitched in two major league games, one with the Orioles, has allowed one unearned runs in three innings.
“I feel super happy to be able to play for my island and to go to Puerto Rico to play in front of my family,” he said through a team translator. “It’s an honor to be able to play. I think it’s going to be interesting to be able play with Luis and Rico Garcia. I’m looking forward to getting to know Rico more, especially knowing that we’re both in the bullpen, getting to spend more time with him. I think it will be really neat.”
Unlike Espada and Garcia, Vázquez is not on the Orioles’ 40-man roster, but with the injuries to Jackson Holliday and Jordan Westburg, he has a chance to make the Opening Day roster. He’s not concerned that being away from Orioles camp could harm his case.
“It’s something I’ve thought about, but being able to represent Puerto Rico, I believe, is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” he said through a team translator. “Being able to play in the big leagues, I have the faith that I’ll be able to do that for a few years. I also believe that playing the Classic is a bit harder than playing in spring training and will also help prepare me for the season, and in a way, provide more of a platform for me to perform in, prove my worth.”
Vázquez, who hit .160 in 32 games for the Orioles last season, is eager to play for Team Puerto Rico, which begins play on Friday against Colombia in San Juan.
“It’s an honor for me,” he said. “It’s something I’ve dreamt of as a kid. It’s something I’m extremely excited about. It’s almost like. making two dreams come true at once, representing my country and doing so in front of them, playing in Puerto Rico and playing for my country.”
The Puerto Ricans are managed by longtime St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina and has Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Nolan Arenado as its biggest name.
“I know that they’re going to give it their all playing for Puerto Rico, same as I, and we’re all excited to dye our hair blond,” he said. “We’re the blond team, and we’re going to keep that going. Once we’re playing, the entire country will stop, so to speak, be ready and excited to watch us play. We’re looking forward to giving it our all.”
Bradfield’s selection for Team Panama was a surprise. The Florida native’s parents were born in Panama and visited about 10 years ago. Like Garcia, his Spanish isn’t fluent, but he’s confident he’ll be fine.
Panama’s first game is on Friday against Cuba in San Juan.
“It’s competition. It’s going out there on a big stage in front of a lot of people, representing a country against other countries that are claiming to be good teams as well,” Bradfield said. “Every country has great players on it. It’s a huge event. I’m excited for the opportunity to be able to compete against those guys and just go out there and have some fun.”
Manager Craig Albernaz is supportive of his players’ WBC participation, even though his March might be more difficult as a result.
“Any baseball in a competitive environment is extremely beneficial for anyone,” Albernaz said. “More important, it’s representing the country they come from and are playing for … especially someone like Enrique Bradfield, who hasn’t had a taste of the big leagues yet, so to get out and play in big stadiums and play against some pretty intense competition with a lot of people in the stands is going to be great for him.”
Henderson, who played three innings of third base on Saturday in anticipation of the WBC, won’t start at shortstop ahead of the Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. Team USA will playsBrazil on Friday night.
“They say it’s a different level, so I’m super excited to go experience that personally,” Henderson said. “I’m really pumped up about it.”
Even though Henderson’s participation means Albernaz will be without his starting second baseman, third baseman and shortstop, it doesn’t trouble him.
“The way Gunnar’s seeing it is, he’s excited to go and have USA across his chest and represent the country,” Albernaz said. “I couldn’t be more excited for him. He gets to play with the best players in the world because he’s one of them. He’s earned that right.”
Watching the recent USA-Canada gold medal game in the Winter Olympics has Henderson hopeful of playing in the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
“Heck yeah, that would be super special being able to get into the Olympics and compete for the gold medal,” he said. “After watching that hockey game, that’s something that’s a top priority.”
O’Neill, who was pained by Canada’s loss in that thrilling game, is hoping that a strong performance in the WBC will help ease the pain. Canada’s first game is on Saturday against Colombia in San Juan.
“I could be playing on Field 3 with the Canada logo across my chest and the Maple Leaf on my forehead, and a bunch of adrenaline flowing through my system,” O’Neill said. “Whenever you’re representing your country on an international stage, there’s just a different aspect to it. Game adrenaline, big leagues, and that’s all great. It’s a sprint compared to the marathon aspect. Every game matters. You can be eliminated with one loss.”
Note: Team Netherlands will face the Orioles on Tuesday at 1:05 p.m. The Netherlands is managed by recently elected Hall of Famer Andruw Jones and features infielders Ozzie Albies, Xander Bogaerts, Didi Gregorius, outfielders Jurickson Profar and Ceddane Rafaela as well as Jones’ son, Druw. Its closer is Detroit’s Kenley Jansen.
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