Randy Arozarena, Captain of Mexico in the World Classic?
Randy Arozarena is the man, with a wide margin of probabilities, which can be Captain of Mexico in the WBC
A week ago, the United States National Team announced that Aaron Judge, captain of the New York Yankees and who comes from winning his second distinction as a more valuable player in the American League, will also be the baseball team that will represent them in the World Baseball Classic.
With Judge’s announcement as captain, the question about who will do the same with the Mexican team is now opened. The answer, with a high margin of possibilities, will be in Randy Arozarena, the player who eclipsed fans from all countries in 2023, thanks to his charism and their quality on the pitch.
Arozarena, Cuban, Mexican nationalized, is a man forged in play fields of the states of Yucatán and Tijuana, after his departure from the island and taken to professionalism thanks to the detection and support of Jorge Campilloformer major league player and Mexican baseball league, and today Yucatan lionsis emerging to be the key man at the National Clubhouse.
With 30 years, completed on February 28, Randy currently plays his seventh season in the big leagues. His arrival at the ‘Great Circus’ was in 2019 with St. Louis Cardinals, in 2020 he went to the Tampa Bay Rays, with whom he was until 2024, when he emigrated to his current team, the Seattle Mariners. The Mexican nationalized Cuban was a rookie of the year of the American League in 2021, when he had a 4.2 Warb, with 20 flycards and 69 races produced. Meanwhile, in 2023 he had his first call to the star game, in a season in which he shot another 20 homers and pushed 89 races. In this season, its patience has been revealed on the plate, because on Sunday, April 20, the American League leads with 16 bases for balls received.
Randy was, however, the best player in Mexico in the edition of the International Tournament in 2023, because in six games he became the offensive spark plug with thick .450 on average, eight races scored, a home run, six doubles (leader of the contest), nine produced (third of the competition), tens of providential sets in the left garden, more thousands of photographs and autographs distributed. The Cuban-Mexican stamp, with its arms crossed, enjoys international fame today, it is the ‘Randy Signal’, a sele of the selection directed by Benjamín Gilwho will surely also repeat at the head of the team as a manager.
It is added to the equation that the National Selections Commission, made up of the Mexican Baseball League and the Mexican Baseball Federation, ratified last Wednesday in the general manager of the Mexican Baseball National Team to the former Major Lagundador Rodrigo Lópezwith whom the tricolor team reached the semifinals in the 2023 edition, staying in the third place of the contest and a step of the qualification to the final after a thrilling game against Japan, champion of the event.
If it is taken into account that López will be the general manager and Jorge Campillo the sports manager, the idea that Arozarena and Gil takes the roles of captain-player and manager, and an approach can be made, ‘off the record’, of the elements with which Mexico will have in the next edition of March 2026, in which the goal is to reach the final of the event.
Gardeners: Randy Arozarena, Jarren Duran, Alek Thomas, Alex Verdugo, as well as the incorporation of Tirso Ornelas and the possibility that the gardener of the Monterrey SultansJosé Cardona, and that, at the same time, is added to the brother of Tirso, Julián, who was leader of races produced from the LMB in 2024, with 84, with the flannel of Red Devils.
First base: Jonathan Aranda, who was in the previous edition, must be considered as a holder for what was done until today in MLB. The Tijuanense has had a starting start, installed among the first three places of batting of the circuit and, in addition to playing the initial, it offers versatility to cover the second and third pads. Here you can also contemplate that they repeat Rowdy Tellez and Joey Meneses, as well as considering, at a certain time, the integration of Víctor Mendozaof Sultans.
Second base: The head of this position will surely be Luis Urias, currently with Oakland, and his brother Ramón can also be added, in addition, with plenty of ability to cover the third base. Another good option is that this time goes Alejo Lópezcurrently in the minor leagues of Athletics, who seeks to return to MLB after his last stay in 2023, with Cincinnati Reds.
Short Stop: In addition to the previous players mentioned, in which there are ‘utilities’ who can do the job as torpedoos, who is emerging as a holder of the position is Alan Trejo. You do not have to put aside a player of plenty Juan Carlos Gamboaof Red Devils of Mexico, who without counting on the Ligamayorista label, is going through a great moment of maturity.
Third base: The hot corner belongs to Isaac Paredes, who was in the previous edition and who could alternate the position with the Urías brothers. Walls currently covers the third pad of the Houston Astros, before the departure of Alex Bregman. The beautiful is a very safe glove and a high power bat.
Catcher: In the 2023 edition the receiver was in charge of Austin Barnes and Alexis Wilsonboth can repeat in 2026. Alejandro Kirk’s Tijuanense should not be left out of the radar, with extensive MLB experience with Toronto.
Launches: Perhaps what lacked Mexico in the previous edition was depth in the bullpen. The good news is that today the sprinter Andrés Muñoz looks healthy, who in his first 11 games of the Major League season boards seven salvages with 11 work rolls without allowing a career, including 14 strikeouts. He will be a great addition to the national team. Surely, Giovanny Gallegos will repeat.
Some of the arms that could also be back are those of Javier Assad and Taijuan Walker (to open games) and Jojo Romero, as reliever. We will have to wait for the recovery of Patrick Sandoval of a surgical procedure that he was practiced in the middle of last year and if he will be in form to be reconsidered, he is expected to be back in the largest around June, with red socks.
The rest of the openers and relieves will depend a lot on how they look in the 2025 season of MLB and LMB. In addition, other young arms begin to break into major leagues such as Valente Bellozo, with Miami, and that of Omar Cruz, recently released with San Diego.
Mexico is in the Group btogether with the United States, Italy, Great Britain and Brazil, which will have as headquarters the Daikin Park, Houston Astros house, where the first phase of the group’s competition will take place from March 6 to 11, 2026.
Mexico will hold its first game on Friday, March 6 against Britain (Mexico will be a visitor); On Sunday, March 8, he will play his first local game, against Brazil; On Monday, March 9, Mexico will face the United States as a visitor; And it will close its group activity on Wednesday, March 11, as a local, against Italy.
The two winners of groups A and B, as well as the second places of each, will advance to the quarterfinals: on Friday, March 13, the winner of Group B will face against the second place of Group A; While on Saturday, March 14, the second place of Group B and the first place of Group A. will be measured on Group A.
The remains of the groups are formed as follows:
Group a: Puerto Rico, Cuba, Canada, Panama and Colombia, based in the Hiram Bithorn Stadium in Puerto Rico.
Group c: Japan, Australia, Korea, Czech Republic and China Taipéi, based in the Tokyo Dome of Japan.
Group d: Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Holland, Israel and Nicaragua, based in the Landepot Park.
The semifinals are scheduled for Sunday 15 and Monday, March 16; While the Grand Final will be on Tuesday, March 17, all semifinal clashes and final will be held in Miami.
