Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Geraldo Perdomo will suit up for the Dominican Republic at the 2026 World Baseball Classic in March, he told Abriendo Sports.
Perdomo said he was invited by Dominican manager Albert Pujols and general manager Nelson Cruz. When presented with the invitation, Perdomo said he’d help his national team in any capacity from being the bat boy to driving the ambulance.
Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll previously accepted a role on Team USA at the World Baseball Classic, which runs from March 6-17 with the championship game in Miami. The Dominican Republic plays in a pool with Venezuela, the Netherlands, Nicaragua and Israel.
The roster has yet to be announced, although the Dominican Republic has a tremendous talent pool including Perdomo, Ketel Marte, Jose Ramirez, Juan Soto, Elly De La Cruz, Julio Rodriguez, Manny Machado, Jhoan Duran and Rafael Devers among many others.
The Dominican Republic is looking to bounce back after falling short of getting out of its group in 2023. Japan defeated the United States in an epic finale that ended with Shohei Ohtani striking out Mike Trout.
Perdomo is coming off a breakout season in which he finished fourth in National League MVP voting.
The switch-hitter played 161 games and smacked 20 home runs, drove in 100 runs, stole 27 bases and amassed 7.1 wins above replacement (FanGraphs). He brings the national team a dynamic player who has thrived in various roles from batting ninth and setting up the top of the order, leading off and driving in runs as the three-hole hitter.
Defensively, no one in MLB played more innings at shortstop than Perdomo last year, but he has experience at third base and second base, as well.
Perdomo is from Santo Domingo, his home country’s capital, out of which he signed with the D-backs as a teenager in 2016.
The Dominican Republic will play a pair of exhibition games ahead of the tournament on March 3-4 against the Detroit Tigers in Santo Domingo before taking on Nicaragua on March 6 to begin group play.
