Team Israel, Jewish Stars Prep for World Baseball Classic

For Israel, next month’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) bears strong resemblance to the last edition of the WBC in 2023. It is the same venue (loanDepot Park, the home ballpark of the Miami Marlins) and the Pool D competition, which consists of Nicaragua, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, and the Netherlands, with the only difference being the latter country replaced Puerto Rico in the opening-round bracket. However, the Israel roster, which was released last Thursday, has a very different look, with the addition of 19 new players and the departure of several household names.

At the top, Texas Rangers Hall of Famer, Ian Kinsler, who skippered Israel to a 1-3 record in 2023 WBC pool play, was planning on resuming his managerial duties this time around, but due to a conflict with his family’s schedule, had to step aside back in November. In his stead, former MLB catcher and manager, Brad Ausmus, will manage Israel. Ausmus, who during the regular season serves as bench coach for the New York Yankees under manager Aaron Boone, managed Team Israel in the 2013 WBC qualifiers, in which Israel just missed out on qualifying for the tournament, and served as Team Israel bench coach during the 2023 WBC. One-time Atlanta Brave, Jason Marquis, will serve as bullpen coach while former All-Stars, Kevin Youkilis and Mark Loretta, will be Ausmus’ bench coach and third base coach, respectively.

As for the lineup, the most conspicuous change is in the outfield, where 2021 Braves postseason hero, Joc Pederson, who’s become primarily a DH at this stage of his career and is coming off an injury-marred 2025 season, opted out. But the blue-and-white have a serviceable replacement in store with journeyman center fielder, Harrison Bader, who had his own playoff heroics in 2022 for the Yankees, joining the team. Regarded as one of the finest defensive center fielders in the league, Bader will make his WBC debut while in the middle of his fist spring training camp for the San Francisco Giants, his seventh different team since he broke into the big leagues in 2017.

“We’re obviously thrilled to have him [Bader] on the team, first and foremost for what he can do for our offense and what he’s going to do for our defense in center field, but also because someone like him can have an amount of recognition. And I think that helps recruit other players for this tournament and also in the future as well,” said Simon Rosenbaum, who previously played for Team Israel and now serves as its general manager.

The bulk of Israel’s roster consists of WBC first-timers — only 11 of the 30 players are returning members — a testament to there being dozens of Jewish prospects peppered across MLB organizations and word spreading that the Israel baseball program is bursting with potential.

“One thing that I’ve been really encouraged by is how much support has developed organically from players talking to each other about their experience with Team Israel and getting other players on board. I think because of that, the pool of eligible guys has expanded,” added Rosenbaum.

Certainly, the fairly flexible eligibility rules for WBC participation also plays a role.

“You don’t have to be a citizen of the country that you play for in the World Baseball Classic. You only have to be eligible for citizenship of that country. So, that reverts to citizenship laws in each country. In the case of Israel, it means having at least one Jewish grandparent or being married to a Jewish woman,” explained Nate Fish, CEO of Israel Baseball Americas, who will moonlight as the batting practice pitcher during this year’s WBC. “Interestingly, they are the same rules that Nazi Germany used to identify who was Jewish, which is why Israel used those rules for identifying who is eligible for citizenship.

The bulk of Israel’s roster consists of WBC first-timers — only 11 of the 30 players are returning members — a testament to there being dozens of Jewish prospects peppered across MLB organizations and word spreading that the Israel baseball program is bursting with potential.

“There’s a huge spectrum of Jewishness on the team, ranging from guys that were bar mitzvahed and have strong Jewish upbringing and identity to guys who have almost no Jewish identity and are sort of being introduced to their Jewish identity through this experience. They’re both sort of cool to witness — the guys that feel very Jewish, getting a chance to play for Israel is really important to them, and for the guys that are just discovering this part of their identity for the first time, it’s almost equally as meaningful.”

Though Israel sports a passel of both current and former big leaguers, including Garrett Stubbs, Spencer Horwitz, Matt Mervis, Dean Kremer, and Bader, the two splashiest names in Jewish baseball this decade — New York Yankees ace and former Atlanta Braves great, Max Fried, and Chicago Cubs All-Star third baseman, Alex Bregman — will not represent Israel in this year’s WBC. “There’s conversations,” acknowledged Fish about outreach efforts to both star players. “Bregman ended up with the U.S. team and Max is just not ready to play for anyone and throw meaningful innings in March in the tournament.”

There will not be any current Braves on Team Israel, but the squad does have a distinct Atlanta representation with left-handed hitting infielder, Noah Mendlinger, a St. Louis Cardinals prospect with a penchant for getting on base via walks, returning for his second go-round in the WBC. “He [Mendlinger] is going to be a big piece for us as a returning player, with more experience,” said Fish.

After reporting on March 1, players will start practicing at the Marlins’ spring training complex in Jupiter, Fla., the following day. In the ensuing days, there will be exhibition games against the Marlins and the New York Mets before Israel travels south to Miami in preparation for its WBC opener against Ronald Acuña, Jr. and Team Venezuela on March 7 at 7 p.m. Israel’s Pool D competition will wrap up on March 10 when it plays an Andruw Jones-managed Netherlands squad that also features current Braves, Ozzie Albies, Jurickson Profar, and Chadwick Tromp.

“Jews have been underdogs our whole existence, and I think this is just another example of that,” said Rosenbaum. “We look forward to the challenge and we’re going to give it our best shot.”