Jesse Rogers
Multiple Authors
Four days before Team USA’s World Baseball Classic opener against Brazil, a dream team months in the making became reality as the members of a star-studded roster gathered together for the first time.
Before the lone team workout at Phoenix’s Papago Sports Complex on Monday, Team USA captain Aaron Judge stood in front of his teammates.
“The biggest thing I said was, ‘Dive into everybody.’ Get to know them. Ask questions. That’s the quickest way, especially when it gets real on the field. We’re down, tough situation. We have to have each other’s backs. Just try to bond as much as you can. Have fun.”
“The room has a presence. That’s what I felt when I stood up there. We could talk about our players but look at our coaching staff. We have All-Star, Silver Sluggers, World Series champs. Some of the best players to play the game in one room, so to get a chance to address them and talk with them is such an honor.”
The expedited bonding experience continued later that night over dinner at the prestigious Global Ambassador Hotel, when 23-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps addressed the team with a message that “second place is not going to get it done” and the players stuck around long after their meal getting to know each other and their coaching staff better.
“Dinner was supposed to be done at 9:30. We stayed until 11:45 telling stories,” reliever Brad Keller said. “We’ve only been together for a few days. Baseball is the biggest, smallest world.”
From the initial commitments to the first moments as teammates — here is how Team USA came together, through the types of players who will be donning the Red, White and Blue together in the weeks ahead.
The superstars
Cal Raleigh went from a good player to All-World last season when he hit 60 home runs and finished second to Judge in American League MVP voting. While he was rewriting the Mariners’ record books during the second half of the season, he got a call from Team USA manager Mark DeRosa.
“We were in New York for a series,” Raleigh recalled. “I said yes pretty quickly.”
That phone call and playing with the letters U-S-A across his chest have been on Raleigh’s mind ever since.
“I’ve constantly been thinking about it,” he said. “Playing for your country is a great opportunity.”
For Raleigh, the excitement hit the moment he stepped foot in the clubhouse after making the 45-minute trip from Peoria, where the Mariners train.
“Star-studded lineup. Walking in the locker room with the best players in the league. That’s crazy to be in that spot. And very cool.”
While Raleigh was getting his first taste of the Team USA vibe, another superstar in the room was relishing another chance to represent his country.
Kyle Schwarber was a member of the 2023 team that lost to Japan in the finals and is back despite a busy offseason that included free agency and a newborn at home.
“It was always a yes right away,” Schwarber said of getting the call from DeRosa. “It’s my third time to represent your country in some format, in college, in ’23 to now. And whenever you get that call, it’s just an automatic yes.”
DeRosa’s first pitch came toward the end of the season, when Schwarber’s next major league home was still uncertain.
“The biggest thing that I just needed to check with was obviously going into free agency and not knowing what would happen. So it was just making sure, clearing that with my agent, ‘Hey, if I don’t re-sign back in Philly, is it still going to be an OK thing?’ He said ‘Absolutely. I don’t think anyone’s going to hold that against you.’ And luckily we signed back in Philly, so there was no worrying about that anyway.”
Schwarber has hit home runs in every important game baseball has to offer: from All-Star swing-offs to the World Series to the 2023 WBC. He has also won just about everything — except for WBC Gold. Known as a glue guy in the clubhouse, bonding together a roster in a short period of time is on his mind.
“There’s a new team, new faces, new everything, right? But still the same three letters across our chest, where we didn’t get the job done three years ago and we want to fix that,” Schwarber said. “So everyone’s got the right mindsets here. Everyone’s looking forward to making a deep run and making it all the way to the end and wearing a gold.”
The former serviceman
DeRosa’s quickest yes might have come from reliever Griffin Jax, the first Air Force Academy graduate to play Major League Baseball. The honor of wearing USA across his jersey was always a dream for the 31-year-old right-hander — but first came the formality of being asked by his manager.
“We were talking on the phone and I was like, ‘Say it, say it,'” Jax stated with a laugh. “I wanted to hear him ask the question.”
DeRosa remembers being on the other side of the call, knowing that players who have served in the military are likely to have strong feelings about playing for their country. Starter Paul Skenes is in that category as well after playing his first two collegiate seasons at Air Force — but the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner was a given to make the team. Jax wasn’t. He let it be known he wanted in.
“With my history and military background, this was something that if I ever was given the chance, it would be the quickest yes I’ve ever said. … I don’t need a lot of time to get to game speed. I was truly never worried about the workload. I was pretty much at game velo right away. That could be from the extra juice of playing with USA across my chest.”
After that phone call with DeRosa in mid-October, Jax approached the offseason as normal — but always had what’s to come in the back of his mind.
“I had an extra pep in my step during workouts, not wanting to take a day off. I knew there would be more at stake this spring.”
Upon arriving in Phoenix, being one of the lesser-known players on Team USA’s roster hasn’t kept Jax from bonding quickly with new teammates. Some of the best moments so far have come from the exchanges with hitters who he had known only as foes, especially third baseman Alex Bregman who is 0-for-7 with three strikeouts against Jax.
“He’s been pretty vocal about how he hates facing me,” Jax said with a laugh. “That gave me some confidence to talk to him. … That’s the biggest thing in this tournament is a reaffirmation that I’m here and I’m one of the best and I belong.”
The rising star
Not everyone had an entire offseason to prepare for joining Team USA. Boston Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony got the call from DeRosa in mid-February after the Arizona Diamondbacks star Corbin Carroll was ruled out for the tournament with a broken hamate bone.
“I was just coming in getting ready for my first full year,” Anthony said. “I thought about playing in it someday and representing my country. I didn’t expect it so soon. I figured they had their roster. [I was] a little surprised.”
Everyone in Anthony’s orbit — family and friends — said it was a “no-brainer” to accept the invite, and he took DeRosa up on the offer. In just a few days as the youngest member on this year’s roster, the 21-year-old has already felt the impact of joining the team.
“I’ve learned so much already, just being around this group of guys. There is so much experience here and so many guys that have made such a big impact on this game.”
Asked who has made the biggest impact so far, Anthony said “literally everyone.”
It remains to be seen how much of an impact he’ll have on the team, but there is no spring training experience that benefits a young player more than being on a team of veteran stars.
“I’m here to win, but at the same time being the young guy, lean on them as much as I can and learn as much as I can.”
The comeback story
A year ago, reliever Brad Keller was looking for a job. Any job. As a non-roster invitee at Chicago Cubs camp, playing for Team USA was the furthest thing from his mind. But here he is on the roster after a stellar 2025 campaign and signing a two-year, $22 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. In fact, his first conversation about joining the team came just after he chose his new major league team last December.
“I was at the airport after taking my physical in Philadelphia and [Team USA pitching coach] Andy Pettitte calls,” Keller recalled. “They were gauging my interest.”
He heard nothing back until January, this time he was in Cabo at a wedding. It was DeRosa on the phone. Keller was excited, but also worried about the team he had just signed with. What would the Phillies think if he took off from spring training after just signing a free agent contract?
“DeRosa said they talked to Dave [Dombrowski] and he’s onboard. It was a weight lifted off my shoulders because that was going to be a tough [phone] call. New guy going into camp. For them to do the heavy lifting that was great.”
Last weekend, Keller got on a plane from Florida with Phillies teammates Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber — along with Aaron Judge, Paul Goldschmidt, David Bednar and Ernie Clement — to join Team USA in Arizona. Those four hours in the air were impactful.
“We all got on that plane for the same reason. To compete for our country. The conversations were great, talking about at-bats against the hitters. They remember pitches I don’t even remember throwing. It’s so funny. … I came up with the Diamondbacks. Having Goldy on the plane was super cool.”
Keller called his journey from non-roster invitee to Team USA a “whirlwind of a calendar year.”
“Chaos. I’ve dreamt of playing for my country. There is nothing better.”
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