Cardinals' JJ Wetherholt makes his World Baseball Classic stance clear

The 2026 World Baseball Classic does not start until the beginning of March, but now is the time when MLB players begin to announce their commitment to playing in the global tournament. The star-filled games will feature 20 different countries, with plenty of major league players filling out the rosters.

The St. Louis Cardinals have plenty of players of their own that could be representing multiple different countries, but nobody on the current roster has been announced as part of any official roster for the worldwide competition. While most of the Cardinals' players have pretty clear allegiance towards their countries of origin, top prospect JJ Wetherholt, who was born in Baltimore, would love to play for the Korean national team at the 2026 games.

JJ Wetherholt hopes to play for the Korean national team in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

Each country is able to set its own qualifications for players to represent their nation in next spring's tournament. For example, I was contacted by both the Czech and Polish WBC squads to participate despite not having family connection in each country for multiple generations. Other teams ask for their players to be directly connected by citizenship, residence, or heritage before setting their final 30-man roster for the WBC. In Wetherholt's case, his grandmother is from South Korea, and this lineage is apparently enough for the Korean national team to consider the St. Louis prospect for their roster. While nothing has been announced or expected, Wetherholt would be a welcomed addition to the Korean team that has not advanced past the first round since 2009 and is looking for a roster full of KBO and MLB stars to help change their fortunes.

If Wetherholt were to be given a chance to compete in the 2026 WBC, the infielder would be absent from major league Spring Training for an extended period of time. The tournament officially begins on March 5, but teams may have exhibition games prior to that time. The Cardinals organization would have to determine if competing at the national level against international and MLB stars is better for Wetherholt's future development than sticking with the organization's coaches in Jupiter, Florida.

For hitters, I think expanded game opportunities would be much better than a couple of exhibition at-bats against minor league arms hoping to make MLB rosters, so I would be all for Wetherholt playing in the international tournament. I would be less welcoming to a pitching prospect participating, because the WBC starts at the beginning of March, which could change a pitcher's offseason training schedule. Rather than using Spring Training as a ramp-up period, pitchers who compete in the WBC need to be in regular-season form, potentially causing more stress and injury concerns for young arms. We saw this happen with Adam Wainwright when he suffered a groin injury after participating in the 2023 WBC, and that could have been to blame for the veteran's performance once the MLB season began.

To me, position player injury risk is of less concern than for pitchers, so I would be surprised if the St. Louis Cardinals tried to block JJ Wetherholt from playing in the World Baseball Classic if he were given the opportunity. The team has not come out and taken any stance on this in the past and seemingly allows the players to make their own decisions for their participation. For Wetherholt's major league development, I am more than willing to see him compete against some of the world's top players at the international level.