Cristopher Sánchez to pitch for Dominican Republic in WBC
Phillies ace Cristopher Sánchez will pitch for Team Dominican Republic in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, according to ESPN’s Enrique Rojas.
Sánchez, 29, expressed interest in pitching in the WBC, but had to go through an approval process with the Phillies in order to be cleared to participate. He’ll join a Dominican team that’s loaded with star position players, but short on pitching. He should slot in as the DR’s No. 1 starter.
Sánchez in 2025 established himself as one of the top pitchers in MLB. In 202 innings, Sanchez pitched to a 2.50 ERA with 212 strikeouts, finishing second in National League Cy Young Award voting. He finished with the highest Baseball-Reference WAR among all National League players at 8.0.
Other Phillies WBC participants include Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Brad Keller. All three will play for Team USA. Sánchez will join Johan Rojas on Team Dominican Republic. Edmundo Sosa will represent Team Panama. Garrett Stubbs will catch for Team Israel.
Three out of the five projected starters in the Phillies Opening Day rotation will pitch in the WBC. Aaron Nola will pitch for Team Italy and Taijuan Walker will pitch for Team Mexico. Jesús Luzardo, who pitched in the 2023 WBC for Team Venezuela, will reportedly sit out of the tournament this year. Zack Wheeler is expected to miss some time at the beginning of the season as he continues to recover from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery.
Pool play in the United States begins on March 6. The Phillies will play Team Canada in an exhibition game on Tuesday, March 4 in Clearwater, Fla.