Sydney WBC Qualifier Rosters Set
The schedule for the World Baseball Classic qualifying tournament in Sydney, Australia, next month is set.
Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the Philippines will face off Feb. 11-14 with the winner advancing to the 2017 World Baseball Classic.
The complete schedule of games is as follows:
Feb. 11—South Africa vs. New Zealand, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN Pac-Rim)
Feb. 11—Philippines vs. Australia, 3:30 a.m. ET (MLB Network and ESPN Pac-Rim)
Feb. 12—Philippines vs. TBD, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN Pac-Rim)
Feb. 12—Australia vs. TBD, 3:30 a.m. ET (MLB Network and ESPN Pac-Rim)
Feb. 13—TBD vs. TBD, 2:30 a.m. ET (MLB Network)
Feb. 14—Finalist 2 vs. Finalist 1, 10 p.m. ET (MLB Network)
The host team Australia—just 1-8 in the WBC, with its lone win over Mexico in 2009—will be managed by Jon Deeble, his fourth time leading the team. The full roster is below and has by far the most players in affiliated ball with nine, as well as former major leaguers Peter Moylan, Travis Blackley, Trent Oeltjen and Ryan Rowland-Smith and former Cubs righthander Ryan Searle. Team Australia is also loaded with players from the Australian Baseball League such as Trent D’Antonio, Allan De San Miguel, Matt Kennelly, Wayne Lundgren, Mitch Nilsson, Logan Wade, Aaron Whitefield and Josh Tols.
| AUSTRALIA | ||||
| Name | Pos. | MLB Org. | Current Club | |
| James Beresford | INF | MIN | Rochester Red Wings (AAA) | |
| Travis Blackley | LHP | FA | – | |
| Steven Chambers | RHP | FA | – | |
| Trent D’Antonio | C | FA | – | |
| Allan De San Miguel | C | FA | – | |
| Mitchell Dening | OF | FA | – | |
| Justin Erasmus | RHP | FA | – | |
| Sam Gibbons | RHP | MIN | Cedar Rapids Kernels (A) | |
| Brad Harman | 2B | FA | – | |
| Luke Hughes | INF | FA | – | |
| David Kandilas | OF | FA | – | |
| Matt Kennelly | C | ATL | Mississippi Braves (AA) | |
| Steven Kent | LHP | ATL | Mississippi Braves (AA) | |
| Wayne Lundgren | RHP | FA | – | |
| Peter Moylan | RHP | KC | Omaha Storm Chasers (AAA) | |
| Mitchell Nilsson | C | FA | – | |
| Trent Oeltjen | OF | FA | – | |
| Ryan Rowland-Smith | LHP | FA | – | |
| Warwick Saupold | RHP | DET | Toledo Mud Hens (AAA) | |
| Ryan Searle | RHP | FA | – | |
| David Sutherland | 1B | FA | – | |
| Matt Timms | RHP | FA | – | |
| Josh Tols | LHP | FA | – | |
| Todd Van Steensel | RHP | MIN | Rochester Red Wings (AAA) | |
| Logan Wade | SS | MIN | Fort Myers Miracle (A) | |
| Stefan Welch | INF | FA | — | |
| Aaron Whitefield | OF | MIN | GCL Twins (R) | |
| Matthew Williams | RHP | FA | – | |
New Zealand will be managed by former major leaguer Chris Woodward, who served as a base coach for the team during the qualifying round of the 2013 Classic. New Zealand went 2-2 during the 2013 qualifier— its debut in the WBC, and was defeated by Taiwan in the pool’s final game. The full roster is below and includes two players in affiliated ball in Max Brown of the Diamondbacks and Indians lefthander Nick Maronde. Other players include former Red Sox farmhands Boss and Moko Moanaroa and former Blue Jays infielder Scott Campbell, who played college ball at Gonzaga.
| NEW ZEALAND | ||||
| Name | Pos. | MLB Org. | Current Club | |
| Tim Auty | OF | FA | – | |
| Tyron Bartorillo | INF | FA | – | |
| Beau Bishop | C | FA | – | |
| Jimmy Boyce | RHP | FA | – | |
| Joe Boyce | RHP | FA | – | |
| Daniel Bradley | OF | FA | – | |
| Max Brown | OF | ARI | AZL Diamondbacks (R) | |
| Scott Campbell | INF | FA | – | |
| Ben Cone | RHP | FA | – | |
| Scott Cone | LHP | FA | – | |
| Jacob Curry | LHP | FA | – | |
| Dewald De Klerk | C | FA | – | |
| Kyle Glogoski | RHP | FA | – | |
| Benjamin Hughlon | RHP | FA | – | |
| Blair Johnstone | RHP | FA | – | |
| Daniel Lamb-Hunt | OF | FA | – | |
| John Lee | RHP | FA | – | |
| Andrew Marck | RHP | FA | – | |
| Nick Maronde | LHP | CLE | Columbus Clippers (AAA) | |
| Jason Matthews | SS | FA | – | |
| Boss Moanaroa | 1B | FA | – | |
| Moko Moanaroa | OF | FA | – | |
| Connar O’Gorman | C | FA | – | |
| Riki Paewai | RHP | FA | – | |
| Alan Schoenberger | SS | FA | – | |
| Ben Thompson | RHP | FA | – | |
| Jamie Wilson | RHP | FA | – | |
| Randy Yard | RHP | FA | – | |
Tim Hulett, the manager of the Rangers’ short-season affiliate Spokane of the Northwest League, will manage the Philippines, which made its Classic debut during the 2013 qualifying round and went 1-2 with the victory over Thailand.
The full roster is below and includes current affiliated players Marlins catcher Brad Haynal and Dodgers first baseman Angelo Songco. Among the more notable members of the roster are lefthander Clay Rapada, who pitched for the Tigers, Yankees, Orioles, Cubs and Rangers and made 70 appearances for the Yankees in 2012, though he pitched just 38 innings. Rapada was born in the United States, but his father is a full-blooded Filipino from Cabangan, Zambales. Rapada, 35, has said he’ll retire after the qualifier; Chris Aguila, a third-round pick of the Marlins in 1997, got 230 major league at bats and batted .230. Aguila’s father is Filipino; Kevin Vance ranked as high as No. 19 for the White Sox entering the 2013 season and pitched in the Diamondbacks organization in 2015, but was released in October. His brother, Matt, plays professionally in Germany after attending Harvard. Matt played for Germany—where he resides—in the WBC in 2012, but the Vances have family from the Philippines.
| PHILIPPINES | ||||
| First | Last | Pos. | MLB Org. | Current Club |
| Chris | Aguila | OF | FA | – |
| Adriane Ros | Bernardo | 2B | FA | – |
| Ernesto | Binarao | LHP | FA | – |
| J.R. | Bunda | RHP | FA | – |
| Leslie | Cabiling | RHP | FA | – |
| Brady | Conlan | 3B | FA | – |
| Edmer | Del Socorro | C | FA | – |
| Vladimir | Eguia | LHP | FA | – |
| Eric | Farris | OF | FA | – |
| Taylor | Garrison | RHP | FA | – |
| Austin | Haynal | RHP | FA | – |
| Brad | Haynal | C | MIA | Batavia Muckdogs (A) |
| Romeo | Jasmin | RHP | FA | – |
| Ryan | Juarez | RHP | FA | – |
| Ferdinand | Liguayan | OF | FA | – |
| Juan Paulo | Macasaet | OF | FA | – |
| Alfredo | Olivares | C | FA | – |
| Jennald | Pareja | SS | FA | – |
| Ronel | Peralta | RHP | FA | – |
| Jonash | Ponce | OF | FA | – |
| Devon | Ramirez | LHP | FA | – |
| Clay | Rapada | LHP | FA | – |
| Jon Jon | Robles | LHP | FA | – |
| Angelo | Songco | 1B | LAD | Tulsa Drillers (AA) |
| Kevin | Vance | RHP | FA | – |
| Matt | Vance | SS | FA | – |
| Diaz | Vermon | OF | FA | – |
| Joshua | Wong | INF | FA | – |
South Africa will be led by Alan Phillips, who was the team’s bench coach during the 2013 qualifier. The full roster is below and feature three affiliated players, righthanders Callan Pearce of the Twins and Dylan Unsworth of the Mariners and Twins outfielder Rowan Ebersohn. Ebersohn signed with the Twins after taking part in an MLB youth baseball clinic in South Africa. Shannon Ekermans is a veteran of international play, having started against the U.S. in the quarterfinals of the World Cup in 2007. Jared Elario pitched a scoreless inning against the U.S. in the inaugural WBC in 2006, escaping unscathed in a 17-0 loss to the Americans; Robert Lewis-Walker was signed by the Reds in 2011 and lasted two seasons in the organization, going 0-2, 4.87 in 33 appearances. He was released in 2013; Carl Michaels was part of South Africa’s 2008 Olympic team, the most recent Games appearance for baseball, which might be back in play for the 2020 Games in Tokyo; Anthony Phillips, son of manager Alan, was signed as an international free agent by the Mariners in 2006 and spent seven years in the organization, reaching Triple-A before he becoming a free agent and signing with the Phillies in 2013. He was released in 2014 and posted a .639 OPS in affiliated pro ball; Jonathan Phillips is also the son of manager Alan; Lefthander Hein Robb spent four years with the Twins organization, going 6-11, 4.12 before being released in June 2014; Brett Willemburg first entered pro ball in 2002 when he signed with the Royals and then played in Europe until 2009 before returning to affiliated pro ball with the Pirates in 2009. He was released at the end of that season. A recent addition is Gift Ngoepe, the slick-fielding shortstop who reached Triple-A in 2015. Ngoepe was voted best defensive shortstop in the Eastern League in 2015, but his bat has trailed his glove to this point.
| SOUTH AFRICA | ||||
| Name |
Pos. | MLB Org. | Current Club | |
| Kyron Bibis | OF | FA | – | |
| Kyle Botha | C | FA | – | |
| Brandon Bouillon | OF | FA | – | |
| Garth Cahill | RHP | FA | – | |
| Kieran Cree | RHP | FA | – | |
| Rowan Ebersohn | OF | MIN | GCL Twins (R) | |
| Shannon Ekermans | 1B | FA | – | |
| Jared Elario | RHP | FA | – | |
| Kyle Ettisch | C | FA | – | |
| Kyle Gaddin | RHP | FA | – | |
| Wesley Hoskins | INF | FA | – | |
| Dean Jacobs | RHP | FA | – | |
| Robert Lewis-Walker | RHP | FA | – | |
| Carl Michaels | RHP | FA | – | |
| Gift Ngoepe | SS | PIT | Indianapolis (AAA) | |
| Russel Olivier | RHP | FA | – | |
| Callan Pearce | RHP | MIN | GCL Twins (R) | |
| Anthony Phillips | SS | FA | – | |
| Jonathan Phillips | 3B | FA | – | |
| Allan Randall | INF | FA | – | |
| Hein Robb | LHP | FA | – | |
| Benjamin Smith | OF | FA | – | |
| Lloyd Stevens | RHP | FA | – | |
| Keegan Swanepoel | 1B | FA | – | |
| Dylan Unsworth | RHP | SEA | Tacoma Rainiers (AAA) | |
| Liam Vincent | RHP | FA | – | |
| Brett Willemburg | INF | FA | – | |
| Damian Wood | RHP | FA | – | |
Following the Sydney qualifier, additional qualifiers will be held at Estadio B Air in Mexicali, Mexico on March 17-20 (Mexico, Czech Republic, Germany, Nicaragua); Rod Carew Stadium in Panama City, Panama on March 17-20 (Colombia, France, Panama, Spain); and MCU Park in Brooklyn, New York on Sept. 22-25 (Brazil, Great Britain, Israel, Pakistan).
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