Orioles’ Bradfield on playing for Team Panama in World Baseball Classic: ‘A fun opportunity’

SARASOTA—Many Oriole fans were surprised when they tuned into MLB Network’s roster reveal for the World Baseball Classic and saw a glimpse of a familiar name.

Enrique Bradfield Jr. is playing for Team Panama, something that hadn’t been a topic of conversation among fans. On the program, Panama’s roster was the last one revealed, and unlike Team USA, Japan, Dominican Republic or Venezuela, it doesn’t have many boldface names.

The 24-year-old Bradfield, who was born in Florida, is the son of parents who were born in Panama, and though he doesn’t speak fluent Spanish, is eager for the chance.

“It’s a great opportunity,” Bradfield said. “To be able to represent the country that they were born in, that my family has strong ties to is a great accomplishment, and I think it’s going to be a fun opportunity for me to get out there early and just play a lot of baseball. It’s what I’m looking for in 2026.”

Bradfield, who was the Orioles’ No. 1 draft pick in 2023, had a challenging 2025 season because of two hamstring injuries. He finally made it to Triple-A Norfolk, where Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias said he’ll begin the season.

In 15 games for the Tides, Bradfield hit just .179 with a home run and five RBIs and six steals in seven attempts. In 50 games for Double-A Chesapeake, Bradfield hit .269 with two home runs and 14 RBIs with a .779 OPS and 26 steals in 29 attempts.

To make up for the lost playing time, the Orioles sent the outfielder to the Arizona Fall League, where he hit .221 with nine RBIs in 20 games. He stole 17 bases and was thrown out just once.

“It just got me out there,” Bradfield said. “I was healthy through it, and that was the biggest piece for me, just spending time out on the field, playing games, getting [at-bats]. What the results look like for me wasn’t the biggest focus, it was being out there and getting the workload.”

“It was a long 11 months for me. I was here early in January, two rehabs, fall league, trying to spend time with the family, a break for everything, start looking towards this year.”

Manager Craig Albernaz has liked what he’s seen of Bradfield, who played left field in Friday’s Grapefruit League game against the Pirates. Bradfield was hitless in three at-bats., and is 0-for-7 this spring.

“The tools jump out at you, the twitchiness, the speed,” Albernaz said. “He’s definitely a promising young player. I love that he’s playing in the WBC. Selfishly, I’d love to have him around to see him play more. He’s an exciting player, and I can’t wait to see how his development path continues.”

Bradfield leaves on Sunday for the WBC. On Tuesday, Team Panama will play the New York Yankees in Tampa. They’ll play their first game on Friday against Cuba.

“The focus is still here on a daily basis, to be able to build,” Bradfield said earlier this month. “It’s ramping up, but it’s not going to change much for me.”

Bradfield is eager to represent Team Panama.

“This is something that’s been in the works for probably over a year,” he said. “I had preliminary conversations last year in camp. I wanted to see how my year would play out and how it would turn out.

“We knew potentially it could start my 2026 earlier, but it’s a decision that I thought was best for my family, and the offer is on the table, and it was whether I’m going to take it or not. I decided it was something I couldn’t pass up.”

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