1 of 5 | Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal (pictured), who won the last two American League Cy Young Awards, will join Pittsburgh Pirates star Paul Skenes on the Team USA pitching staff at the World Baseball Classic. File Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPI | License Photo
All-Star starter Tarik Skubal and relief pitcher Mason Miller will join Team USA for the 2026 World Baseball Classic, they announced Thursday.
The dominant flame throwers add more depth to a fierce pitching staff that already included Paul Skenes, Joe Ryan, Clay Holmes, Nolan McLean, Matthew Boyd and Garrett Whitlock.
“It was obviously a no-brainer for me,” Miller said on MLB Network. “It’s something I’m super excited to do. I’m honored to represent the country and to play in a really cool event.”
Miller, 27, posted a 2.63 ERA over 60 appearances last season, which he split with the Athletics and San Diego Padres. He logged 22 saves. The 2024 All-Star has a 2.81 ERA with 50 saves over 125 career appearances.
"Honored to represent the country and play in a really cool event…"
Mason Miller talks about his decision to play for Team USA in the 2026 World Baseball Classic! https://t.co/EYqInWgeln pic.twitter.com/K0LmLkuzjG— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) December 18, 2025
Skubal, 29, was 13-6 with an American League-best 2.21 ERA over 31 appearances last season en route to his second consecutive Cy Young Award. The two-time All-Star won an MLB-high 18 games and totaled a 2.39 ERA with a league-best 228 strikeouts over 31 appearances in 2024.
Skubal was 54-37 with a 3.08 ERA over his first six seasons with the Detroit Tigers.
The 2026 World Baseball Classic will be held from March 5 to 17 in Miami, Houston, San Juan, Puerto Rico and Tokyo. Aaron Judge, Cal Raleigh, Bobby Witt Jr., Kyle Schwarber, Pete Crow Armstrong, Will Smith and Corbin Carroll are among the other star players who will compete for Team USA.
The Americans will face the San Francisco Giants and Colorado Rockies in exhibition games on March 3 and 4, respectively. They will play Brazil in their first tournament matchup March 6 in Houston.
The World Baseball Classic finale will be held March 17 in Miami.
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Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (C) celebrates with teammates after the Dodgers defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 in 11 innings in Game 7 to win the World Series in Toronto on November 1, 2025. Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPI | License Photo
