Taiwan's Lin Yu-min and Australia joined LG Wells + KIA Dale, and Japan formed a 'dream team' of Ohtani + Yamamoto + Suzuki' [WBC Entry]

*This content was translated by AI.

The shortlist for the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) has been announced. While the Korean national team has been hit by the departure of injured soldiers, attention is being paid to the entry of competitors.

MLB Network released the final list of WBC participating countries through live broadcasts on the 6th (Korea Standard Time).

Korea, which is in Group C, will play the Czech Republic on the 5th, Japan on the 7th, Taiwan on the 8th, and Australia on the 9th. The second-place finishers in each group will head to the second round in Miami, USA.

The final roster of the Korean national team was predictable to some extent. Earlier on December 3 last year, he submitted a preliminary list of 35 people to the WBCCI and went to the first camp in Saipan last month.

However, injuries were a variable. After Kim Ha-sung (Atlanta) and Song Sung-moon (San Diego) fell due to injuries, Moon Dong-ju (Hanwha) also showed shoulder pain during his team's training on the 4th.

Moon Dong-ju's name could not be found on the final list announced that day. Among Korean players, as expected, finishing resources Riley O'Brien (St. Louis) and outfielder Germai Jones (Detroit) joined, and Shay Witcom (Houston) and Dane Dunning (Atlanta), which coach Ryu Ji-hyun did not directly mention, also joined.

On the other hand, Moon Dong-joo, Yoo Young-chan, Hong Chang-ki (LG), Bae Chan-seung (Samsung), and Kim Taek-yeon (Doosan) were excluded from the players who joined the first camp.

Attention is also drawn to the entry of the teams to face South Korea. Defending champion Japan boasts a spectacular playing field.

Big leaguers such as Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (LA Dodgers), Seiya Suzuki (Chicago Cubs), Yusei Kikuchi (LA Angels), Munetaka Murakami (Chicago White Sox), Kazuma Okamoto (Yomiuri Giants), Masataka Yoshida (Boston Red Sox), and Yuki Matsui (San Diego Padres) were included.

In Taiwan, the exclusion of Wang Yancheng (Hanwha) attracts attention. Earlier, Taiwanese media expressed concern that Wang Yancheng, who joined Hanwha in the Asian quarter, might not be able to play, but was eventually excluded from the list.

However, left-hander ace Lin Yu-min (Arizona Diamondbacks), who takes the mound in every match against Korea, Shirooshi (Softbank Hawks), who sprinkles up to 158 kilometers of fastballs, and Jung Jong-jeo (independent) and American players Jonathan Long (Sikako Cubs) and Lin Anker (Seibu Lions) were also listed in the fielders.

In Australia, Lachlan Wells, who played for the Kiwoom Heroes last year and joined the LG Twins in the Asian quarter this season, joined. Wells will play for LG this season after joining Kiwoom as an alternative foreign player during last season and throwing a stable pitch with 1-1 record and 3.15 ERA in four games.

Jared Dale, an Asian quarter player for the KIA Tigers, will also face South Korea as the Australian national team. Dale is considered a shortstop resource to replace Park Chan-ho (Doosan), and is expected to take charge of Australia's center line.

Alex Wells, Lachlan Wells' twin brother and former Baltimore Orioles, was also on the list, while Travis Bazana, a rising star who was drafted by the Cleveland Guardians as the No. 1 overall pick in the MLB draft in Australian baseball history, and Curtis Meade, who plays for the Chicago White Sox, also joined.

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*This content was translated by AI.