Team Dominican Republic already boasts an impressive roster of Major League talent for this year’s World Baseball Classic.
But on Sunday, it may have added its biggest star yet as Mets slugger Juan Soto confirmed his intention to play in the Classic once again for the Dominican Republic.
Soto was fantastic — naturally — in the 2023 WBC. Although his team didn’t advance out of pool play, he went 6-for-15 at the plate with two home runs, five extra-base hits and a 1.500 OPS.
Soto’s 2025 season, his first with the Mets, started a little slowly, but by the end of the year, he had put together another fantastic stat line. It included a career-high 43 home runs and a .921 OPS. Soto also stole 38 bases, which dwarfed his previous career high of 12. He led the Majors in walks for the fourth time in his career, earned his sixth Silver Slugger and finished third in the National League MVP voting.
The 27-year-old will suit up alongside Julio Rodríguez, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Ketel Marte, Fernando Tatis Jr. and many other MLB luminaries for the Dominican Republic. Their squad will begin play in Pool D at 7 p.m. ET on March 6, taking on Nicaragua at loanDepot park in Miami.
