2023 Team Israel WBC Roster

With the 2023 World Baseball Classic less than a month away, all 20 rosters were announced by MLB on Thursday. I was able to obtain the full Team Israel roster a few days ago, so I’ve had time to come up with some notes about each team member.

Although I definitely feel this team could’ve been exponentially better had more eligible players participated, I am still super excited to see how these guys perform against some of the world's toughest competition. Israel is starting off in Pool D with the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Puerto Rico.

Below you will find the full roster—both players and coaches—along with some interesting connections, biographical notes, and previous Team Israel appearances in international baseball tournaments (either the WBC or Olympics).

PITCHERS

RHP Jake Bird (Colorado Rockies) - 27 y/o... 1st WBC... Reliever...

LHP Richard Bleier (Boston Red Sox) - 35 y/o... 3rd WBC (2013 & 2017)... 2022 Marlin... Reliever... a friend of the pod... South Florida native...

RHP Daniel Federman (Baltimore Orioles, minors) - 24 y/o... 1st WBC... Starter/Reliever... UM alum... Pembroke Pines, FL Native...

LHP Jake Fishman (Oakland Athletics, minors) - 28 y/o... 2nd WBC (2017)... 2020 Summer Olympics... 2022 Marlin... 2023 NRI... sidewinding reliever... a friend of the pod...

RHP Brandon Gold (free agent) - 28 y/o... 1st WBC... Starter... Previously with Rockies org...

LHP Colton Gordon (Houston Astros, minors) - 24 y/o... 1st WBC... St. Pete native... Starter...

RHP Andrew Gross (Tampa Bay Rays, minors) - 26 y/o... 1st WBC... 2023 NRI... Reliever...

LHP Rob Kaminsky (free agent) - 28 y/o... 1st WBC... Free Agent... Cardinals draft... Starter/Reliever...

LHP Evan Kravetz (Cincinnati Reds, minors) - 26 y/o... 1st WBC... Reds org... Miami Native... Starter/Reliever...

RHP Dean Kremer (Baltimore Orioles) - 27 y/o... 2nd WBC (2017)... Starter...

RHP Kyle Molnar (free agent) - 26 y/o... 1st WBC... Previously with Angels org... Reliever...

RHP Bubby Rossman (free agent) - 30 y/o... 1st WBC... Previously with Phillies org... Played in Australia this offseason... Starter/Reliever...

RHP Jacob Steinmetz (Arizona Diamondbacks, minors) - 19 y/o... 1st WBC... Orthodox Jew... Starter/reliever... Jacob might be the youngest player in the tournament, but I won’t be able to confirm this until all the rosters are out.

RHP Robert Stock (Milwaukee Brewers, minors) - 33 y/o... 1st WBC... Veteran... 2023 NRI... Starter/Reliever...

RHP Joey Wagman (free agent) - 31 y/o... 2nd WBC (2017)... 2020 Summer Olympics... Free Agent... Reliever...

RHP Zack Weiss (Los Angeles Angels) - 30 y/o... 1st WBC... 2020 Summer Olympics... Reliever...

RHP Josh Wolf (Cleveland Guardians, minors) - 22 y/o... 1st WBC... YOUNG... Starter/Reliever...

HITTERS

LF Alex Dickerson (free agent) - L/L... 32 y/o... 1st WBC... Played for the Braves last year...

INF Zack Gelof (Oakland Athletics, minors) - R/R... 23 y/o... 1st WBC... 2023 NRI...

C/UTIL Jakob Goldfarb (free agent) - L/R... 26 y/o... 1st WBC... D-Backs org last year...

1B/UTIL Spencer Horwitz (Toronto Blue Jays) - L/R... 25 y/o... 1st WBC...

UTIL Ty Kelly (free agent) - S/R... 34 y/o... 2nd WBC (2017)... 2020 Summer Olympics... Veteran Utility Player...

C Ryan Lavarnway (free agent) - R/R... 35 y/o... 2nd WBC (2017)... 2020 Summer Olympics... LEGEND... One of the funniest people to follow on Instagram... Played for the Marlins in 2020...

SS/UTIL Assaf Lowengart (free agent) - R/R... 24 y/o... 1st WBC... 2020 Summer Olympics... Israel Native...

3B Noah Mendlinger (St. Louis Cardinals, minors) - L/R... 22 y/o... 1st WBC... Big fan of his first name...

1B Matt Mervis (Chicago Cubs, minors) - L/R... 24 y/o... 1st WBC... 2023 NRI...

OF Joc Pederson (San Francisco Giants) - L/L... 30 y/o... 2nd WBC (2013)... Stud... Tyger’s brother...

C Garrett Stubbs (Philadelphia Phillies) - L/R... 29 y/o... 1st WBC... Folk Hero... Tanner Scott’s Nightmare

3B Danny Valencia (free agent) - R/R... 38 y/o... 1st WBC... 2020 Summer Olympics... Veteran... Miami Native

SS Michael Wielansky (free agent) - R/R... 25 y/o... Just played for Panama in the Caribbean Series... 1st WBC...

COACHING STAFF

Photo by Yuichi Masuda/Getty Images

Manager Ian Kinsler - In 14 seasons in the Major Leagues, Ian Kinsler racked up All-Star selections, Gold Glove awards and down-ballot MVP votes. One of the top second basemen of his generation.

Bench Coach Brad Ausmus - Managed Team Israel in the 2013 WBC Qualifiers.

Hitting Coach Kevin Youkilis - World Series champ with the 2004 and 2007 Red Sox... First WBC

Pitching Coach Josh Zeid - Pitched for Team Israel in the 2013 WBC Qualifiers, 2017 WBC, and 2020 Summer Olympics.

Nate Fish - Bullpen catcher for Team Israel in the 2013 WBC Qualifiers. First Base Coach in 2017 WBC. Third Base Coach in 2020 Summer Olympics. Played for the Tel Aviv Lightning in the only season of the Israel Baseball League in 2007, hitting .347 and winning the league's Gold Glove award. (Now would probably be a good time to mention that my father was the president of the IBL.)

Blake Gailen - Played for Team Israel in the 2017 WBC and 2020 Summer Olympics... He was signed by the Angels in 2011 and 2015 and spent some time with both the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers organizations, bouncing around in their minor league systems. In 2022 he became the hitting coach for the Arizona League Dodgers.

Jerry Narron - Played in the Major Leagues for eight seasons with the Yankees, Mariners, and Angels between 1979 and 1987. Managed the Texas Rangers from 2001 to 2002 and the Cincinnati Reds from 2005 to 2007. Most recently, he was hired by the Chicago White Sox in 2021 and has been part of their coaching staff since. Jerry was the third base coach for Team Israel in the 2017 WBC Qualifiers and was replaced by Pat Doyle for the tournament itself.

Tyger Pederson - Joc’s older brother was a 33rd-round draft pick of the Dodgers in 2013 and played professionally until 2016. He’s now the assistant hitting coordinator for the Mariners.