David SchoenfieldMar 2, 2026, 07:00 AM ETCloseCovers MLB for ESPN.com Former deputy editor of Page 2 Been with ESPN.com since 1995Multiple Authors
Judge: Team USA looking to carry Olympic hockey momentum into WBC (1:37)Aaron Judge joins Pat McAfee to explain how Team USA is looking to carry the momentum from Olympic hockey into the World Baseball Classic. (1:37)
2009 (Japan over South Korea; MVP: Daisuke Matsuzaka)
2013 (Dominican Republic over Puerto Rico; MVP: Robinson Cano)
2017 (United States over Puerto Rico; MVP: Marcus Stroman)
2023 (Japan over United States; MVP: Shohei Ohtani)
The second is the one you remember: Ohtani striking out his then-Los Angeles Angels teammate Mike Trout for the final out of Japan’s 3-2 victory over the United States in the championship game, two future Hall of Famers in the ultimate showdown.
That’s where we turn with this article: future Hall of Famers. How many of them will be competing in the 2026 WBC? Unfortunately, some Hall of Fame candidates who played in previous tournaments will not be participating in this WBC. Freddie Freeman, who has played for Canada in the past, is sitting this one out. Francisco Lindor and Carlos Correa were unable to obtain injury insurance, with Lindor later injuring a hamate bone anyway, leaving Puerto Rico without two key players.
The United States team, meanwhile, has signed up some exciting first-time performers, including Aaron Judge and Bryce Harper.
We’ll go through the 2026 candidates, breaking them down into four tiers as to likely induction to Cooperstown, then look back and compare this year’s tournament with previous editions of the WBC.
Clayton Kershaw (USA): Yes, Kershaw is retired from the Los Angeles Dodgers but will now cap his career with his first WBC appearance. He might be there to soak up the atmosphere as much as anything and is unlikely to pitch any critical innings later in the tournament, but let’s hope he gets some action in pool play.
Shohei Ohtani (Japan): Technically, Ohtani isn’t eligible for Cooperstown since he’s entering his ninth season in the majors and a player needs 10 seasons — but we’ll ignore that detail. Ohtani is an easy lock, with four MVP Awards and counting. He won’t pitch for Japan in this WBC, instead focusing on a full slate of pitching with the Dodgers.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Dominican Republic): He has been a little inconsistent on a year-to-year basis, but he does have two 6-WAR seasons and was so young when he reached the majors — just 20 — that he’s still just turning 27 this year. One thing helping him is his durability, as he has played at least 156 games each of the past five years. Now let’s see what kind of season he can put up if he remains locked in for six months like he was in October.
Gunnar Henderson (USA): He has nearly matched Witt in career WAR at 21.4 — and he’s a year younger. The gap between them is much smaller than the perception, and Henderson is clearly on a similar Hall of Fame path.
Ronald Acuna Jr. (Venezuela): At 28, Acuna is the oldest player in this group, and at his best — like in his 2023 MVP season — he’s a clear Hall of Famer. But he’s at just 28.6 career WAR and has played only 62% of the possible games over the past five years. If he stays healthy, he has the ability, but that’s a big if.
Fernando Tatis Jr. (Dominican Republic): He hasn’t been the same dominant offensive player after missing the 2022 season with a PED suspension, but he is still producing valuable seasons with above-average offense and great defense. That formula can work for the Hall of Fame — see the recently elected Andruw Jones or Scott Rolen — but it feels like Tatis will need to pump out a couple of bigger seasons at the plate.
Tarik Skubal (USA): I have no idea how future voters will evaluate starting pitchers from this era, but we’re starting to see some indication with Felix Hernandez, who reached 46% of the vote in his second year on the ballot despite just 169 career wins. Of course, Skubal — with 54 wins — is still a long way from King Felix, but Skubal also has two Cy Young trophies, one more than Hernandez won. Will the wins matter if he ends up with three or four Cy Young Awards?
Xander Bogaerts (Netherlands): He’s at 42 career WAR but slipping, with a sub-100 OPS+ each of the past two seasons. Remarkably, he has eight years left on his contract, but he’ll need some bounce-back seasons, and at his current rate of regression won’t be in the majors at age 36, let alone 40.
Ketel Marte (Dominican Republic): I wouldn’t bet on it, especially since he has had issues staying healthy, but he has averaged 5.3 WAR over the past three seasons. If he can keep that going over the next four seasons — which takes him through age 35 — then he’d be at 55 career WAR. That would put him within shouting distance.
Jackson Chourio (Dominican Republic): He hasn’t played at a Hall of Fame level yet, but he has youth on his side, just entering his age-22 season. With more than 1,100 plate appearances now in the majors, this is the year we’ll see if he can improve and turn into an All-Star player — and potential Hall of Famer.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Japan): He was young enough when he came over — he was 25 as a rookie — that he might have a shot. His legendary 2025 postseason will help, but we’re years away from knowing what kind of career he might have.
Mason Miller (USA): He’s older than you might think — entering his age-27 season — but with his blazing fastball, it’s not that hard to envision a 10-year run where he dominates as the best closer in the game, and that makes him a potential Hall of Famer.
Will get in: Albert Pujols (Dominican Republic), Yadier Molina (Puerto Rico), Miguel Cabrera (Venezuela)
Might get in: Chase Utley (USA), Bobby Abreu (Venezuela), Carlos Delgado (Puerto Rico), Bernie Williams (Puerto Rico)
Long shots: Evan Longoria (USA), Dustin Pedroia (USA), Jimmy Rollins (USA), David Wright (USA), Francisco Rodriguez (Venezuela)
Final tally: It looks like a bit of a drop from 2006, with 10 Hall of Famers, or 11 if we include Jansen as a lock.
Might get in: Salvador Perez (Venezuela), Kenley Jansen (Netherlands), Robinson Cano (Dominican Republic), Giancarlo Stanton (USA)
This looks like the weakest year of the WBC as far as Hall of Fame talent goes. The Dominican team that won didn’t feature any slam dunk Hall of Famers but did feature a powerhouse lineup with Cano, Cruz, Edwin Encarnacion, Hanley Ramirez, Jose Reyes, Miguel Tejada and Carlos Santana. The U.S. team, which went 3-3 and didn’t even reach the semifinals, featured Ryan Braun, Ben Zobrist and Adam Jones as the best of the rest.
Final tally: I’m counting Buster Posey as a lock, although he would have the shortest career for any modern Hall of Fame position player. That gives us nine Hall of Famers, up to 11 if we include near locks Arenado and Jansen, with several other strong candidates as well.
The star pool seemed to increase this year, although the U.S. team still struggled to pull in top pitchers to the roster. The U.S. team that won actually finished only 6-2, while Puerto Rico (which upset Japan in the semifinals) and Japan each lost just once.
Might get in: Nolan Arenado (USA), Bobby Witt Jr. (USA), Trea Turner (USA), Kenley Jansen (Netherlands), Xander Bogaerts (Netherlands), Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Japan), Salvador Perez (Venezuela), Ronald Acuna Jr. (Venezuela), Robinson Cano (Dominican Republic), Julio Rodriguez (Dominican Republic)
Final tally: After a six-year layoff, the WBC returned with a bang and star-studded rosters, with 10 guaranteed Hall of Famers, plus Arenado, Jansen and Perez running the near-lock total to 13.
All those young stars who reached the majors in the late 2010s and early 2020s were playing in their first WBC, so after that initial 13, we get to Witt, J-Rod, Acuna and Yamamoto. This was an absolutely stacked U.S. lineup, but the strong Japanese pitching staff shut it down with that victory in the championship game.
Aaron Judge (USA): The question at this point isn’t whether Judge is a Hall of Famer but if he can climb into the inner circle of Hall of Famers. Because he started late — he was 25 as a rookie — and then had some injuries early in his career, it will be difficult for Judge’s career counting stats to measure up to some of those legends. He’s accumulating value at a high rate, however, and is one of just 23 position players with at least four 8-WAR seasons. If he can compile two more such seasons — and he has produced seasons of 10.8, 10.8 and 9.7 since 2022 — then he would be one of just 15 position players with six 8-WAR seasons and just the sixth to do it whose career started after World War II. That sounds like inner circle.
Juan Soto (Dominican Republic): It’s easy to forget that Soto is still just 27 years old, with six top-10 MVP finishes already under his belt. His 42.6 WAR through age 26 ranks 21st all time among position players through that age. Every player ahead of him is in the Hall of Fame except the not-yet-eligible Trout and Albert Pujols, plus Alex Rodriguez. We should mention that Cesar Cedeno (40.2) and Vada Pinson (40.1) aren’t far behind Soto through age 26, however, and didn’t sniff Cooperstown. Nonetheless, I’m calling Soto a lock.
Kenley Jansen (Netherlands): Jansen hasn’t really been an elite closer since 2017 — he has posted just two seasons since then with an ERA under 3.00 — but he has remained good enough to close for somebody and now ranks fourth on the career saves list, just three away from passing Lee Smith. His career ERA of 2.57 is the fifth lowest since World War II among pitchers with at least 900 innings. Factor in that voters have been more generous electing relievers than any other position, and Jansen is pretty close to a lock.
Salvador Perez (Venezuela): Perez’s case is much different from those of Arenado and Jansen, as his Hall of Fame discussion promises to be much more heated. His 35.5 career WAR via Baseball-Reference — and, coming off a 0.4-WAR season, he’s unlikely to add much more career value — would be the lowest for any modern position player (Bill Mazeroski, George Kell and Harold Baines are the only sub-40 WAR position players elected who played the most of their careers after World War II). FanGraphs, which factors catcher framing into its WAR calculation, is even harsher, crediting Perez with just 19.0 career WAR due to his poor framing metrics.