With the World Baseball Classic now in full swing, it’s important to remember that players who aren’t typically teammates find themselves playing alongside each other.
On the opposite side of the coin, players that are teammates during the MLB season find themselves playing against each other.
Such could be the case this year during the WBC, as several players from different teams have joined forces with the national team of their choice and will be competing against each other.
On Twitter, MLB Network posted a graphic featuring some of the potential matchups between current and former teammates this coming spring.
The #WorldBaseballClassic could bring us some fun potential matchups 👀
Which would be your favourite? pic.twitter.com/9mTiMZTdqQ
—MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) March 9, 2023
If Team USA matches up against Team Puerto Rico, then two longtime batterymates, Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina, will be pit against each other.
The two St. Louis Cardinals legends broke the all-time starts record for a pitcher-catcher duo last season, and Molina is now the manager of Team Puerto Rico.
Team Venezuela could ultimately face off against the Dominican Republic, where Houston Astros teammates Jose Altuve and Cristian Javier could face each other.
Julio Urias is pitching for Team Mexico, and if they advance to play Team Canada, Urias will match up with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammate in Freddie Freeman.
By extension, Cardinals teammates Giovanny Gallegos and Tyler O’Neill could face each other, and the same could be said for a potential matchup between Team Japan and Team USA, where the four Cardinals stars on Team USA’s roster could compete against Lars Nootbaar.
At the same time, Team Japan features Shohei Ohtani, while Team USA features his Los Angeles Angels teammate Mike Trout.
The possibilities are endless this spring, and it’ll be interesting to see how everything plays out.
NEXT:
Tim Anderson Plans To Show Off A Fun Skill In The WBC
