Team USA Making Flurry of Roster Moves Before Canada Showdown: Report
Despite a near-disaster against Team Italy on Tuesday, Team USA survived pool play at the World Baseball Classic to advance to the quarterfinals versus Canada on Friday.
The Americans already knew some of their pitchers would be leaving to rejoin their major league clubs for the tail end of spring training. Two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal was the most publicized departure, but it was reported early on Thursday that lefty Ryan Yarbrough would be heading back to New York Yankees camp, and a few more quickly followed suit.
As of late Thursday morning, there were five pitchers reported to be heading back to their camps, including Skubal and Yarbrough. Three replacements had been identified, with more possibly on the way ahead of Friday night’s game at Daikin Park in Houston.
According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the U.S. replaced Skubal, Yarbrough, and righty Michael Wacha with relievers Will Vest of the Detroit Tigers, Tyler Rogers of the Toronto Blue Jays, and Tim Hill of the Yankees. Those roster announcements had yet to be made official as of Thursday morning.
Meanwhile, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that two other starters, Matthew Boyd of the Chicago Cubs and Clay Holmes, were expected to return to their teams’ spring training camps.
Heyman also identified Joe Ryan of the Minnesota Twins, who was scratched from the original Team USA roster on March 1 due to a back injury, was a candidate to take one of those additional openings.
San Francisco Giants star Logan Webb is expected to start Friday’s game for the U.S., with Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes slated for the semifinals if the Americans beat Canada. The championship was slated to be Nolan McLean’s start, but it’s possible manager Mark DeRosa could reevaluate that choice after the Mets rookie’s rocky outing against Italy on Tuesday.
The moves are still rolling in, but we’re starting to get a better picture of how the U.S. will attack their high-pressure championship run.
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This story was originally published March 12, 2026 at 8:59 AM.