Ronald Acuña Jr, Eddie Rosario headline list of Braves that will compete in World Baseball Classic

Rosters for the World Baseball Classic were released Thursday night live on MLB Network and the Atlanta Braves will have a minor imprint on the tournament. While Atlanta doesn’t have a large number of players who will be suiting up, they will have a couple of big name players participating in Ronald Acuña Jr and Eddie Rosario.

Acuña originally wasn’t slated to participate, but it was announced Wednesday that the Braves had given him permission. Acuña battled knee soreness in 2022, but participated in a handful of games in the Venezuelan Winter League this offseason and has reported no issues with his surgically repaired knee.

Rosario is coming off of a tough season in 2022 where he underwent laser surgery on his eye and never really found his footing. He will be looking for a bounce back season in 2023 with he Braves so it might not be the worst thing for him to get some competitive at-bats for Puerto Rico.

Alan Rangel spent the 2022 season on the Braves’ 40-man roster. He was non-tendered this offseason and re-signed to a minor league deal. He is on the Braves’ list of non-roster invitees for the spring and will play with Team Mexico. Catcher Chadwick Tromp is listed on the Netherlands roster.

There are a number of other former Braves scattered throughout the tournament. Andrelton Simmons, Ray-Patrick Didder and Jair Jurrjens join Tromp on the Netherlands’ roster. Christian Bethancourt and Randall Delgado will play for Panama. Freddie Freeman will play for Team Canada while Joc Pederson will suit up for Team Israel.

Below is a look at the four pools that will make up the 2023 World Baseball Classic:

POOL A (March 8-13)

Host: Taichung, Taiwan (Intercontinental Baseball Stadium)

Chinese Taipei
Cuba
Italy
The Netherlands

TBD (winner of 2022 WBC Qualifier)

POOL B (March 9-13)

Host: Tokyo (Tokyo Dome)

Japan
Korea
China
Australia

TBD (winner of 2022 WBC Qualifier)

POOL C (March 11-15)

Host: Phoenix (Chase Field)

United States
Canada
Mexico
Colombia

TBD (winner of 2022 WBC Qualifier)

POOL D (March 11-15)

Host: Miami (loanDepot park)

Puerto Rico
Venezuela
Israel
Dominican Republic

TBD (winner of 2022 WBC Qualifier)