27 Former Indianapolis Indians Represent 14 Countries Across All Four WBC Pools

Twenty-seven former members of the Indianapolis Indians will represent all four pools and 14 of the 20 participating countries in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, a connection the Indianapolis Indians organization highlighted on March 3, 2026. The group is split between 19 former players and eight former coaches, creating a footprint that spans managers, coaches and current major league–level talent.

The 14-day international tournament begins Wednesday, March 4, with a Pool C first-round matchup between Chinese Taipei and Australia in Tokyo, Japan at 10 PM ET. Pool A is scheduled to feature Puerto Rico, Cuba, Canada, Panama and Colombia, putting several former Indians in high-visibility early games as national teams open their campaigns.

Among the former Indians on WBC rosters, Yacksel Ríos is listed for Puerto Rico as RHP Yacksel Ríos (2019). Ríos, 32, represents Puerto Rico for a second straight WBC after appearing for the squad in 2023. He missed most of the 2025 season due to injury and appeared in just four games across three levels in the New York (NL) minor league system. Ríos signed a minor league contract this offseason with Chicago (NL) on Jan. 24, 2026. The veteran reliever has appeared for five different major league teams across six seasons since 2017. During a brief nine-game stint with Indianapolis in 2019 after being claimed on waivers from Philadelphia, he posted a 2.35 ERA (4er/15.1ip) and 12 strikeouts.

Infielder Nick Gonzales is listed for Mexico as INF Nick Gonzales (2023-25). Gonzales, 26, is making his first WBC appearance. The infielder was selected seventh overall in the 2020 First-Year Player Draft by Pittsburgh and made his major league debut with the club in 2023. After sustaining an injury on Opening Day of 2025, Gonzales appeared in nine games for Indianapolis on a rehab assignment before rejoining the Pirates. Across the past three seasons with Indy he logged 142 games and a .294 average (161-for-548) with 41 doubles, 11 triples, 19 home runs and 70 RBI.

Italy’s contingent includes RHP Kyle Nicolas (2023-25) on the mound and managerial/staff representation with Manager Francisco Cervelli (2016, 2019) and Bullpen Coach Sal Fasano (2002) on Italy’s staff. Those entries underscore that the Indians’ contribution to the WBC extends beyond current players to coaching hires and former staff dating back to 2002.

The Indianapolis organization’s March 3, 2026 announcement provides the headline totals but not a complete name-by-name list of all 27 former members or a full mapping of those individuals to specific pools and games. The publicly provided notes preserve parenthetical franchise labels such as New York (NL) and Chicago (NL) as written. Even with that limit, 27 former Indians representing 14 of the tournament’s 20 countries and appearing across all four first-round pools remains a notable tally as the WBC gets underway.