By Mark Simon

Let's do a little preview of the World Baseball Classic from a defensive perspective.

The two best defensive teams at the WBC could be the United States and the Dominican Republic.

Team USA's position player roster is composed of players who are currently good defensive players or formerly fit that description. The 2025 co-leader In Runs Saved, Blue Jays utility man Ernie Clement, will probably share time at second base with Brice Turang, shortstop with Bobby Witt Jr. and Gunnar Henderson, and third base with Alex Bregman.

Center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong leads the outfielders, backed up by past Fielding Bible Award winner Byron Buxton. Another past Fielding Bible winner, Aaron Judge, will probably play a lot in right field.

Most Defensive Runs Saved - 2025 Season, Team USA Position Players

The Dominican Republic will likewise have a solid defensive center fielder in Julio Rodríguez, and he'll be playing next to a two-time Fielding Bible Award winner, Fernando Tatis Jr., in right field. They'll also be very good at first base with much-improved Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (8 Runs Saved in 2025) and Carlos Santana (12 Runs Saved) and shortstop with Jeremy Peña and Geraldo Perdomo.

The Dominican team does have a few more problem spots than the United States. At catcher Agustín Ramírez (-14 Runs Saved) and Austin Wells (-7 Runs Saved) both had rough seasons last year. Juan Soto doesn't have a great history in left field or right field, nor does Oneil Cruz in center field.

Most Defensive Runs Saved - 2025 Season, Dominican Republic Position Players

Venezuela is similarly situated in its carrying a few players who didn't do well by Defensive Runs Saved last season (Salvador Perez, Ronald Acuña Jr). But this team has some playmakers in the field in right fielder Wilyer Abreu, third baseman Maikel Garcia, and utility man Javier Sanoja. Shortstop Ezequiel Tovar didn't do well by Runs Saved last season (-2) but his history is such that it wouldn't be surprising if he was the best defensive player in the tournament. He had 12 Runs Saved in 2023, 10 in 2024.

Team Puerto Rico is down a few prominent players (Francisco Lindor, Carlos Correa, Javier Báez). But the team will have third baseman Nolan Arenado, whose mother is of Puerto Rican and Cuban heritage. Arenado, a 10-time Gold Glove winner and 5-time Fielding Bible Award winner, previously played for Team USA twice.

Mexico is going to be pretty good at some spots. Alejandro Kirk is a terrific pitch blocker, a very good pitch framer and is solid at stopping the stolen base. He ranks second among catchers in Runs Saved over the last three seasons.

Ramón Urías can play both second base and third base well. He had 5 Runs Saved at third base and 7 at second base (in only 26 games) last season. Jarren Duran can handle center field or left field. He ranked third with 11 Runs Saved in left last season and led center fielders with 17 Runs Saved two years ago (though he has -2 there in 2025).

If you're looking for an Adam Jones home run robbery kind of moment, Rodriguez or Crow-Armstrong could provide it. But also look to Canada, which should have Denzel Clarke in center field. Clarke had 2 home run robberies in 47 games in his debut season for the A's in 2025.

Canada's other standout defenders are Otto López, who had 6 Runs Saved at second base and 7 Runs Saved at shortstop for the Marlins last season, and two-time Fielding Bible Award winner Tyler O'Neill, who won in left field in 2020 and 2021. Most of O'Neill's playing time last year came in right field for the Orioles where he totaled -7 Runs Saved.

Japan's roster is highlighted by three players who won NPB Fielding Bible Awards last season. Seishiro Sakamoto is heralded as NPB's best pitch framer and should see time at catcher. Ukyo Shuto won for best defensive center fielder last year and Teruaki Sato took the Award at third base.

There are a lot of excellent defensive center fielders in the tournament. Two others there are on underdog teams, 2025 Fielding Bible Award winner Ceddanne Rafaela (Netherlands) and Harrison Bader (Israel). Another underdog, Panama, has a couple of good defenders in utility men José Caballero and Edmundo Sosa.

South Korea's top defender is Hyeseong Kim, who had 9 Runs Saved in 45 games at second base for the Dodgers, though he could also play shortstop or center field. Kim won our 2023 KBO Defensive Player of the Year and has three KBO Fielding Bible Awards.

Another prospect with good defensive skills is Guardians second baseman Travis Bazzana, who will play for Australia. He had 5 Runs Saved last season. For Panama, there’s a minor league prospect to watch, outfielder Enrique Bradfield of the Orioles, who had 7 Runs Saved as a center fielder two years ago and was heralded as a good defensive player coming out of college. He’s particularly good at coming in to make catches on shallow fly balls.

We'll admit to not having a good handle on Cuba's talent, though the roster does include a couple of players with considerable experience in third baseman Yoan Moncada and Alexei Ramírez. Ramírez is 44 and last played in the major leagues in 2016. In the prime of his career he was an excellent second baseman who totaled as many as 20 Runs Saved in a season (2010). Perhaps he's got a good play or two left in him.

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