The 2026 World Baseball Classic is quickly approaching, and the United States has started putting together a team it hopes can emerge victorious. Paul Skenes has already been named to the squad, and Garrett Crochet of the Boston Red Sox is interested in joining him.
According to MassLive’s Chris Cotillo, Crochet is “interested in pitching for Team USA,” but has not had any formal conversations with manager Mark DeRosa.
“I haven’t heard anything,” Crochet said, according to Cotillo. “I don’t know how it works or when people reach out. Obviously, it would be a huge honor. I’d hope the organization would view it as an honor as well. If I was asked, I’d definitely enjoy participating and I’d love to participate. But right now, my focus is on continuing to build on the season I’ve had.”
Crochet was named an All-Star this season, marking the second straight year he has earned the honor. He was traded from the Chicago White Sox to the Red Sox in the offseason and signed a six-year, $170 million extension. This year, he has a 2.39 ERA and 151 strikeouts in 120 1/3 innings of work.
Crochet and Skenes in the same rotation would be huge for the United States. However, the Red Sox would have to allow their ace to participate, as he noted.
Pitching will be a hot topic for the United States as they put together a squad. They have talented arms to choose from, like Crochet, Tarik Skubal, Max Fried, Zack Wheeler and more. The difficult part will be convincing those players, and their parent clubs, to miss out on spring training, potentially hurting their readiness for the regular season, and their teams allowing them to play.
The United States will play its pool play games in Houston, and having Crochet on the mound would be huge. Brazil, Great Britain, Italy and Mexico are the four other teams in the pool with the United States. The first game of the 2026 World Baseball Classic will take place on March 5, and the full schedule can be found below.
Full 2026 World Baseball Classic Schedule
All times local
March 5
Noon JST – Chinese Taipei vs. Australia – Tokyo Dome
7 p.m. JST – Czechia vs. South Korea – Tokyo Dome
March 6
Noon JST – Australia vs. Czechia – Tokyo Dome
Noon CST – Mexico vs. Great Britain – Daikin Park
Noon EST – The Netherlands vs. Venezuela – loanDepot Park
Noon AST – Cuba vs. Panama – Hiram Bithorn Stadium
7 p.m. JST – Japan vs. Chinese Taipei – Tokyo Dome
7 p.m. CST – United States vs. Brazil – Daikin Park
7 p.m. EST – Nicaragua vs. Dominican Republic – loanDepot Park
7 p.m. AST – Puerto Rico vs. Colombia – Hiram Bithorn Stadium
