The World Baseball Classic begins on March 4 and we expect the Seattle Mariners to be one of the most represented teams on the world stage when it does.

As of now, Cal Raleigh and Gabe Speier (Team USA), Randy Arozarena (Mexico) and Julio Rodriguez (Dominican Republic) are committed to the event, and Michael Arroyo (Colombia), Luis Castillo (Dominican Republic), Dominic Canzone (Italy), Eduard Bazardo (Venezuela), and Andres Munoz (Mexico) are somewhere between possible and probable for the event as well. Josh Naylor and Matt Brash are reportedly going to play for Canada, but the rosters won’t be officially announced until Thursday. Miles Mastrobuoni also played in the 2023 event for Italy and could go again. Jeff Duda tells us on social media that Guillo Zuniga is also likely to play for Colombia.

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And according to a new report, two additional M’s are WBC possibilities: Rob Refsnyder and Dane Dunning.

That came from the popular KBO in English account on “X.”

Now 34 years old, Refsynder will turn 35 by Opening Day in 2026. He’s a well-traveled veteran of 10 years, having played for the New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins and Boston Red Sox. The M’s signed him to a one-year deal worth more than $6 million in December.

A career .255 hitter, he had a very good four-year run in Boston, hitting .276 over 309 games. He also had 27 homers with Boston, playing mostly in a platoon role. He’s an excellent hitter against left-handed pitching, posting a .596 slugging percentage last season against southpaws.

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We discussed Refsynder’s signing on a December edition of the ‘Refuse to Lose’ podcast:

They gave one (a good contract) to him, not because he is just a bench player. He is an impact bench player. He is an impact platoon player. He is an impact pinch-hitter late in games, and he’s got some speed, and he’s got some defensive versatility. This is a great move.

Again, a .959 OPS against lefties. Mitch Garver’s was .718, and I was for bringing Garver back as the backup catcher in a pinch-hit, or in a DH option against lefties. Well, now you’ve got Rob Refsnyder, who had an OPS of 240 points higher than that.

Even if Rob Refsnyder doesn’t hit as well at T-Mobile as he did at Fenway, even if his OPS drops to .800, he’s still significantly better than Mitch Garver was. He’s still significantly better than anything the Mariners currently have. This is a legitimate move. This is a legitimate signing.

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Again, his slugging percentage last year (against lefties) was 4th best in baseball. Over the last four years, only Judge and Goldschmidt have a better on-base percentage than Rob Refsnyder against lefties.

Signed to a minor league deal recently, Dunning’s addition became more important last Friday when it was announced that Logan Evans will miss the season because of Tommy John surgery.

The 31-year-old Dunning was a first-round pick of the Washington Nationals in the 2016 MLB Draft out of the University of Florida. He was traded to the Chicago White Sox along with Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez in 2017 for outfielder Adam Eaton and made his debut with Chicago in 2020. He made just seven appearance for Chicago before getting dealt to Texas for Lance Lynn in the offseason before the 2021 campaign.

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Dunning went 5-10 for the rebuilding Rangers in 2021, pitching to a 4.51 ERA, and then he went 4-8 in 2022 with a 4.46 ERA.

He turned a corner in 2023, going 12-7 with a 3.70 ERA in 35 games (26 starts), helping the Rangers win the World Series over the Arizona Diamondbacks. In 2024, he went just 5-7 with a 5.31 ERA and he made only 12 appearances in 2025 between the Rangers and Atlanta Braves, going 0-0 with a 6.97 ERA.

He is not on the 40-man roster as of now.

It just takes away some veteran leaders from camp and gives more opportunities to young players. Each veteran that leaves for the WBC opens up a door for a younger player to get innings or at-bats.

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