The 2026 World Baseball Classic begins in March and will be a thrill for baseball fans around the world. The tournament has also grown in popularity among players, making it one of the biggest events on the baseball calendar (every three years).

However, with the good of the WBC comes the bad: The fear of injuries is very real and that fear will be prevalent for the entire three weeks that top players and prospects leave their spring training camps in favor of national team rosters.

Advertisement

The Seattle Mariners could be one of the most affected rosters by the WBC, as the M’s are expected to have multiple starters play for various rosters. Cal Raleigh is already committed to Team USA, and Julio Rodriguez (Dominican Republic), Randy Arozarena (Mexico) and Andres Munoz (Mexico) seem like locks to play as well.

Beyond that, Michael Arroyo is expected to play for Colombia. Matt Brash and Josh Naylor could play for Canada. Eduard Bazardo could play for Venezuela. And multiple pitchers could be courted by Team USA.

If Munoz, Brash and Bazardo all leave, Seattle will be able to give spring training opportunities to several different bullpen candidates, but ESPN’s Buster Olney also provided a sobering thought on a recent episode of the Refuse to Lose podcast.

“And the glass half-full executives and staffers, you know, dealing with the WBC, that’s what they focus on. Okay, well, you know, ‘Brady Farkas, we wouldn’t have looked at him otherwise, but we get to see him in a spring training game,’ and that’s what they like. But I gotta say, more than any other group, I think there’s concern about the relievers going off to the WBC because they’re put in high-leverage situations. They’ve got mid-season situations with their team. Their stature is on the line, or they’re standing in the… in the WBC is on the line. And these guys go out there, they’re playing for the country, and they’re trying to do things that maybe they’re not quite up to yet.”

Advertisement

That’s a harsh reality given the importance of bullpens to the success of a big-league team. Furthermore, since the Mariners played deep into October, they already had concerns about how their relievers would bounce back in spring training. Now with this, they’ll be forced to ramp up earlier than usual, and the team will hope the group stays healthy enough for (hopefully) another long season ahead.

After acquiring Jose Ferrer, how does the Mariners bullpen look?

Reasons for optimism if the Mariners bring back Mitch Garver

Could the Mariners be a fit for Luke Weaver this offseason?

Advertisement

Remember to join our MARINERS on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Mariners fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that’s free too!