This matchup will be just the second meeting between the two teams in the tournament's history and will take place on Friday, March 6th, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time (New York).
Both teams faced each other in the 2023 WBC, which ended with Cuba winning 13-4. However, both are serious underdogs to win the entire thing this season. So let's check out how both rosters stack up in their upcoming rematch.
Check out the full schedule and Pool matchups here.
Cuba (+8000)
Despite boasting some star names over the years, Cuba has yet to place better than second in the World Baseball Classic since losing to Japan in 2006 - the first year of the tournament.
The roster was hurt this year after some players' visas were denied, so they could play in the tournament, while others were denied insurance coverage, which was a tournament-wide problem for all countries. Because of this, they lost star talent that includes power hitter Adolis Garcia (Philadelphia Phillies), Randy Arozarena (Seattle Mariners), Yandy Diaz (Tampa Bay Rays), and Houston Astros star Yordan Alvarez.
Despite Cuba not rolling with a lot of MLB-based talent, there are still some names to keep track of - the first being 39-year-old Alfredo Despaigne, who leads with the most home runs (7) in World Baseball Classic history. He's a Cuban legend at the WBC, but hasn't done anything since 2019.
Depsaigne will be joined by a couple of pitchers who have been absolutely tearing it up in Japan's elite NPB league the past few years. The first is starting pitcher Livan Moinelo (30), who put up an insane 1.46 ERA with 172 strikeouts in 167 innings in 2025. Cuba will look at him to be the team's ace during this year's WBC.
Next is 29-year-old reliever Raidel Martinez. He's coming off a 2025 season in the NPB when he tossed a 1.11 ERA with 65 strikeouts in 56.2 innings of relief with just 32 hits.
Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Yariel Rodriguez will be the bigger name in the starting rotation. The soon-to-be 29-year-old (birthday is March 10th) tossed a solid 3.08 ERA for the Jays out of the pen, recording 66 strikeouts in 73.0 innings, giving up 50 hits and 36 walks. While the walks are alarming, MLB batters hit just .196 off of him last season.
However, Cuba's Achilles heel doesn't lie in their pitching - it's their hitting. Due to star players being denied, they'll be looking to guys like Yoan Moncada (30), who has only had 23 home runs over the past three seasons in the MLB, hitting just .234 in 2025 with the Los Angeles Angels. But there's some young talent that cannot be denied in this Cuban lineup.
Shortstop Yiddi Cappe (23), a rising star in the Miami Marlins minor league system, played 53 of his 62 minor league games last season in Double-A, finishing 2025 with a .278 batting average, four home runs, 26 RBI, and 28 stolen bases.
The other is Malcom Nunez, 24 (Pittsburgh Pirates), who spent 45 of his 49 games in the minors at Triple-A, and finished his 2025 season with a .285 batting average.
The biggest question mark around Cuba is how they'll find a way to produce runs. They're even bringing back 44-year-old Alexei Ramirez, who hasn't played in the MLB since 2016, or baseball in general since 2018.
Ramirez hasn't played in the World Baseball Classic since its inception in 2006 and is officially the oldest player in the tournament this year.
Cuba will be seeing a total of just 12 guys returning from the 2023 team, with 18 new faces returning this time around in 2026.
Panama (+10000)
Panama have struggled in the WBC, as they've never made it out of the Pool stage and have just a 2-7 record, with both those wins coming in the last WBC in 2023.
However, while also not boasting MLB stars, Panama definitely has some talent that fans will want to keep an eye on - especially on the basepaths.
The first is the 24-year-old speedster in centerfield, Enrique Bradfield Jr. As a promising prospect in the Baltimore Orioles minor league system, Bradfield was second in the entire minor leagues in 2024 with 74 stolen bases on 87 attempts - he got on base 166 times that season, meaning he attempted to steal a base over 52% of the time. That's unheard of at that rate.
And, despite his hitting numbers down in 2025, Bradfield is also a two-time MiLB Gold Glove award winner and is the only new outfielder on the roster, with the other four returning from the 2023 squad.
The second speedster is Jose Caballero (New York Yankees). The 29-year-old led the entire MLB with 49 steals (60 attempts) last season, attempting to steal a base 48% of the time he got on. In the year before, Caballero led the American League in steals with 44.
Other notable standouts for Panama include 27-year-old MLB starting pitcher Logan Allen (Cleveland Guardians), who tossed a 4.25 ERA with 122 strikeouts in 156.2 innings in 2025, but most of the eyes will be on Panama's infield.
Edmundo Sosa (Philadelphia Phillies) is coming off the best MLB season of his career. The 29-year-old hit a career-best .276 at the plate with 11 home runs and 39 RBI. Meanwhile, catcher Miguel Amaya, 26 (Chicago Cubs), improved drastically at the plate in 2025, hitting .281, and will be behind the plate after would-be starter Ivan Herrera (St. Louis Cardinals) wasn't granted insurance for the tournament.
However, they will have Cardinals catching prospect Leonardo Bernal, who is a defensive guru behind the plate, winning a 2025 MiLB Gold Glove Award.
Veteran Ruben Tejada will be joining the team at the WBC for the fourth time in his career. The 36-year-old hasn't played a game in the MLB since 2019, and a full season since 2015.
But he's still been keeping up in the Mexican League, hitting .287 (2024) and .246 (2025) in the past two seasons, respectively.
Panama is seen as a dark horse in the WBC this year with its sneaky good contact hitting and absolute terror on the basepaths. They'll see 13 of their players from 2023 returning, with 17 new faces joining the team.