Last week, the pieces started to fall into place for the World Baseball Classic, as Aaron Judge was named captain for the 2026 edition of Team USA.
The Boston Red Sox's division rival will succeed Mike Trout's captaincy in 2023. Team USA has unfinished business, looking to avenge their championship game loss to Japan.
Soon after Judge was named captain, Mark DeRosa was announced as the manager, and the floodgates of WBC news opened. While the Red Sox didn't have any representatives on the 2023 roster, there are a few 2025 Sox who could earn the call for 2026. Let's look at which Red Sox players could find themselves wearing a different red, white, and blue uniform next offseason.
3 early Red Sox candidates to join Team USA in the 2026 World Baseball Classic
Garrett Crochet
The current betting favorite for the AL Cy Young, Garrett Crochet is off to a strong start since joining the Red Sox in the offseason. While there is stiff competition for the rest of the starting rotation on Team USA (Paul Skenes, Tarik Skubal, Zack Wheeler, to name a few top choices), Crochet has earned his spot on the team with his dominant pitching the last couple of seasons.
As long as Crochet avoids any sort of serious injury this season, he's a lock for a Team USA pitching staff that should be greatly improved from 2023 (side note: did you remember that Daniel Bard made the 2023 Team USA roster?) Even if Crochet ends up as a back-end starter/long relief option for Team USA, his spot won't be wasted.
Alex Bregman
Alex Bregman does have previous WBC experience — he was on the 2017 team that won the Championship, although he didn't get much playing time as one of the youngest players on the team. He missed out in 2023 due to an injury he picked up late in 2022. The biggest question for Bregman will be whether or not he decides to represent Team USA again.
Bregman didn't rule out joining Team Israel in 2026, but he'd also be a trusted veteran on Team USA. He's batting .302/.376/.521 with 19 RBI in 24 games with the Red Sox, and he could easily earn a job at third base to represent the United States.
Kristian Campbell
This is where things could get fun. Will Kristian Campbell get a lot of playing time if he's selected to the team? Probably not, since the middle infield will most likely be Mookie Betts and Bobby Witt, Jr. But, will he be a super helpful option that can come in as a defensive replacement at multiple positions late in games, or come in for the right matchup as a pinch hitter? Absolutely.
Campbell would essentially fill the same role Alex Bregman did in 2017, and that kind of exposure to high-pressure baseball can be super helpful to players — just look at Jarren Duran's growth after his experience with Team Mexico in 2023. If Campbell gets a shot to have a big moment in the 2026 WBC for Team USA, we could see the birth of a true star in baseball.