World Baseball Classic: Team Panama Roster News, Notes, and Analysis

One of the best things about the World Baseball Classic is that it is a true showing of baseball’s global talent. Panama is a country of just four and a half million people. That makes them the second-smallest country in the tournament. Only Puerto Rico has a smaller population to pull from.

For those unfamiliar with the history of baseball in Panama, here are a couple of quick notes. There is a Winter League in Panama that currently features four teams. There have been over 70 MLB players from Panama. Most famously Hall of Famers Rod Carew and Mariano Rivera are both from Panama.

This will be Panama’s fourth appearance in the WBC. They have yet to make it out of the group stage.

Entering the tournament, Panama is far from a global power. Their roster is made up of just 13 players currently in MLB or MiLB. As stated, this is what makes this tournament special and gives it the potential to be in conversations with tournaments like March Madness and the World Cup.

Similar to both of those tournaments, there are teams in the WBC that everyone knows will not win. Panama is one of those teams. However, there is nothing stopping Panama from being 2023 Princeton or 2022 Australia and shocking some people.

World Baseball Classic: Team Panama Roster

No, this group of position players does not have a Rod Carew among them, but they do present some danger. It would be a mistake to underestimate this group.

One thing that Panama does bring to the table is plenty of MLB experience. Every single position player on this roster has at least made it on an MLB roster at one point (excluding the three current minor leaguers).

Here is a look at how they could line up in the tournament.

Infield

Panama will likely line up with Miguel Amaya behind the dish, Johan Camargo at first, Leo Jiménez at second, José Caballero at short, and Edmundo Sosa at third.

This should set up as a strong infield defensively. Amaya is solid behind the plate. He has played just over 1100 innings the last two seasons and has accumulated +6 defensive runs saved (DRS). By fielding run value (FRV), he has been average over the last three seasons.

Camargo did not play much first base in the majors but was a good defender at third base. He should be able to handle first without a problem.

Jiménez only played 77 innings at second for the Blue Jays last season. However, he graded out well (+1 DRS & +1 FRV). He came up as a short stop and will play a strong second base for Panama.

Caballero logged over 300 innings at shortstop last season and accumulated +4 DRS, +5 outs above average (OAA) and +3 FRV.

Finally, Sosa did not play much third base last season. However, he has played well-above-average defense during his career at second, shortstop, and third.

Some other traits among these players that will help Panama include Caballero’s speed and baserunning. He has led the league in steals the last two seasons and is one of the best baserunners in baseball.

Sosa is coming off of his best offensive season and is going to be the team’s best bat. A .276 batting average and 111 wRC+ will make him the driving force of this offense.

Jiménez possesses elite bat-to-ball skills. He had a zone-contact rate of 91.3% in Triple-A last season and 95.5% in the majors.

Outfield

The Panamanian outfield should set up with Allen Cordoba in left, Enrique Bradfield Jr. in center, and José Ramos in right. This outfield has a lot more questions given the lack of MLB experience, but it does provide some intrigue.

The most interesting name in the bunch is Bradfield. He is not a top 100 prospect at Just Baseball, but his the Orioles’ No. 6 ranked prospect. Bradfield possesses unique tools that will certainly be fun to watch in the WBC.

Outside of Pete Crow-Armstrong of the United States, Bradfield likely has the best combination of speed and glove in the tournament. Just Baseball’s Aram Leighton has him with a 70-grade glove and 80-grade speed. Last season he swiped 36 bags in just 76 games and was caught only four times.

In right field is 25-year-old Ramos. He is not viewed as a top prospect by Just Baseball. Despite his age, Ramos was a free agent this offseason and signed a minor-league deal with the New York Mets. In 2022, he was viewed as a top-15 prospect in the Dodgers’ system by MLB Pipeline as a 21-year-old.

While no one holds him in that regard anymore, he has a chance to prove something in the WBC. He has some pop in the bat with 18 home runs in 102 games last season. He also slugged .557 in Triple-A last year.

Finally, Cordoba, who will play left field, has spent the last two seasons in the Mexican League. His stats from last season are quite impressive. In 150 games he hit .319/.411/.426 with seven home runs. He also had 31 doubles and 70 stolen bases.

Pitching Staff

Looking at this rotation on the surface, it is hard to have a ton of faith in it. The only name that most will recognize is Logan Allen. Allen is the best pitcher on this team and has put together a decent start to his MLB career. A 4.48 ERA in 379 innings is solid and will make him this team’s ace.

Outside of Allen, there are a couple of intriguing arms on this team. One of them is Ariel Jurado, who will likely be one of Panama’s other starters. Jurado is 30 years old and has spent the last three years in the KBO. He has made 90 starts, throwing 571 innings to the tune of a 2.87 ERA. Jurado has been very good in Korea and Panama will lean on him in San Juan.

Jamie Barria is another name who could give Panama some quality innings. He pieced it together for six seasons in the majors, the last of which was 2023. A career 4.38 ERA in the majors shows that he should be able to hold his own in the WBC.

One final name to keep an eye on for Panama is Humberto Mejia. He has been in Japan’s NPB for the last three seasons. He has thrown 165 innings at the top level in Japan with a 3.75 ERA. A track record of success in what is widely regarded as the second-best league in the world will make him an important player for Panama at the WBC.

Coaching Staff

Some quick notes on some of the coaching staff.

Jose Mayorga is currently the manager of the Vancouver Canadians, the High-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. This will be his first WBC as Panama’s Manager.

Julio Mosquera is currently the manager of the Charlotte Knights, the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox.

Most will likely recognize the name of three time All-Star Carlos Lee. Lee will serve as one of Panama’s two hitting coaches. He competed as a player in the 2003 and 2006 WBC.

Julio Rangel is the only current major league coach on staff. He is the bullpen coach for the St. Louis Cardinals.

WBC Schedule: Panama

Exhibition Games

Panama will play two exhibition games against the Yankees and Tigers in Florida.

Pool Play

Panama will play in Pool A which is hosted by Puerto Rico at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Pool A will feature Canada, Colombia, and Cuba along with Panama and host Puerto Rico.

Knockout Rounds

Tournament Outlook

This Panama team could very well be the most underrated team in the tournament. They have not gotten a lot of attention, but in Group A, which lacks the fire power at the top that some of the other groups have, they could play spoiler.

This team is more talented than the team in 2023 that finished in a five-way tie in their group (ultimately ended up fourth after tie breakers). That should put Panama in good shape to improve upon their showing in 2023.

There is no team in this group where Panama is going to be at a large disadvantage. Even when they face Canada and Puerto Rico. They will likely avoid Seth Lugo when they play Puerto Rico. If they have Logan Allen or Ariel Jurado on the mound for their games against Canada and Colombia, they should be able to hold their own.

It is unlikely that Panama makes it out of Group A. However, it is far from a long shot. If you are looking for a Cinderella to get behind in this WBC, look no further than team Panama.