WBC Team Preview: Panama

Team Panama haven’t had an easy road during the World Baseball Classic. They’ve yet to make it out of group play and with a strong group of MLB prospects and players on their roster this year, they hope to make this the year they make it into round two. They come into this year’s tournament ranked No. 8 in the world, opposed to No. 12 where they sat in 2023.

MLB PLAYERS

Panama’s 2026 World Baseball Classic team features 16 MLB affiliated players this year, including James Gonzalez of The Athletics, Leo Jimenez of the Blue Jays, Javy Guerra of the Braves, Leo Bernal and Ivan Herrera of the Cardinals, Miguel Amaya, Christian Bethancourt, and Erian Rodriguez of the Cubs, Logan Allen of the Guardians, Abdiel Mendoza of the Mariners, Jose Ramos of the Mets, Enrique Bradfield Jr. of the Orioles, Miguel Cienfuegos of the Padres, Edmundo Sosa of the Phillies, and Jose Caballero of the Yankees.

Former big league slugger Carlos Lee will serve as the hitting coach.

METS PLAYERS

The lone player from the Mets organization on Team Panama is center fielder Jose Ramos, who the Mets signed as a free agent in 2025. Last season with the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, he split the season between Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City. Between the two teams, he batted .251/.326/.456, with a .782 OPS. He had 14 doubles, three triples, 18 home runs, driving in 59 RBIs, and 57 runs scored.

Former Mets Rubén Tejada, Alberto Baldonado, Ariel Jurado and Jonathan Araúz will be playing for Panama. This will be Tejada’s last hurrah as a player; he has retired and accepted a coaching position in the Phillies organization.

WBC HISTORY

Panama hopes this will be the year they finally make it past group play. They finished 14th in 2006 and 15th in 2009. They did not qualify in 2013 or 2017, but in 2023, they were one win away from advancing from group play. They got their first two wins of the classic, and after finishing with a 2-2 record, they were eliminated after a five-way tiebreaker decided Pool A.

POOL

Team Panama open their World Baseball Classic schedule on Friday against Cuba. They will be playing at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The other teams joining Panama and Cuba in Group A are Canada, Colombia, and Puerto Rico.

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