USA adds thump to Classic roster as Raleigh joins squad

ATLANTA -- Big Dumper is ready to take on the world.

Mariners All-Star catcher and MLB home run leader Cal Raleigh announced on Monday that he will join Team USA for the 2026 World Baseball Classic. (And then he went out and won the T-Mobile Home Run Derby.)

“Obviously, what an opportunity to represent your country, and it's a no-brainer,” Raleigh said.

Raleigh joins Team USA captain Aaron Judge of the Yankees, hard-throwing Paul Skenes of the Pirates and superstar Bobby Witt Jr. of the Royals as early commits to join manager Mark DeRosa's squad and represent the stars and stripes in next year's tournament.

Raleigh has hinted a few times this season that he would jump at the WBC opportunity but wasn’t formally approached about it until this past week.

“I'm just very honored that they would pick me,” Raleigh said. “And I'm really looking forward to hopefully creating a memory and winning gold.”

The announcement came on the day that Raleigh, who leads MLB with 38 homers, will compete in the T-Mobile Home Run Derby at Truist Park in Atlanta and one day before he makes his All-Star debut as the AL's starting catcher in the Midsummer Classic. It's also just another chapter in what's been one of baseball's best developments this season.

Raleigh has welcomed the skyrocketing spotlight in this storybook season, and his media availability on Monday in Atlanta was among the most crowded. Just about everyone in the sport has caught on to his meteoric rise, as Big Dumper is now going global with the WBC announcement.

“He's a special player,” Judge said on Monday. “I said earlier, I've got to manage one swing. He's managing two swings being a switch-hitter. He's managing a pitching staff -- one of the best pitching staffs in the AL -- to do all that and continue to go out there and post every day, put up the numbers, hit the homers, it's fun to watch. I like it when it's not against us, and I don't see that ball flying over my head, but he's a special player.

“Seattle is lucky to have him, especially having him as a leader, and it seems like a calming presence in that lineup.”

In addition to leading MLB in long balls, Raleigh also leads all players in RBIs (82) and has a 1.010 OPS, second only to Judge (1.195). Raleigh has already blown by his previous career high in homers (34) and is on pace to smash his career high of 100 RBIs set last season. And, oh yeah, he's on pace to hit 64 home runs, which would not only destroy the previous single-season mark for a primary catcher -- the 48 hit by the Royals' Salvador Perez in 2021 -- but would set a new American League single-season record, besting the 62 hit by Judge in 2022.

That would be quite the prelude for Raleigh's WBC debut next spring. But regardless, he's another reason why the Team USA roster should be a headache for pitching staffs around the world.

The 2026 World Baseball Classic is scheduled for March 5-17 in four host cities -- San Juan, Houston, Tokyo and Miami -- with the championship game to be played March 17 at loanDepot park in Miami.

Team USA opens play in Pool B at Daikin Park in Houston on Friday, March 6, against Brazil. The other three teams in the group are Mexico, Great Britain and Italy.