The World Baseball Classic is returning. Here’s the San Diego storylines

Baseball’s answer to the World Cup, the World Baseball Classic, returns Thursday for its sixth installment, with 20 national teams taking the field across Tokyo, San Juan, Houston and Miami.

Japan enters as the defending champion and the most successful nation in the tournament’s history with three titles, while the United States has one championship, from 2017, and a runner-up finish in 2023.

The tournament opens with round-robin pool play, where each team faces the other four in its group once. The top two from each pool advance into a single-elimination knockout bracket that culminates in the quarterfinals, semifinals and a winner-take-all championship game on March 17 in Miami.

Here are four stories from the WBC every San Diego baseball fan should follow:

Mason Miller — Bullpen ace or rotation candidate?

Padres closer Mason Miller heads to the WBC joining a Team USA pitching staff that includes Clayton Kershaw, Paul Skenes, Tarik Skubal, Logan Webb and David Bednar. The most sought-after bullpen arm at last year’s trade deadline, Miller came to San Diego with J.P. Sears from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for a package led by top prospect Leo De Vries.

Down the stretch with the Padres, Miller was nearly unhittable — in 22 appearances he posted a 0.77 ERA with 45 strikeouts. With Yu Darvish sidelined for the season and Dylan Cease gone in free agency, some in San Diego have debated whether Miller belongs in the starting rotation.

“I think, just right now, it makes the most sense to stay with that success, stay where I know that I’m going to make an impact on this team,” Miller recently said, seemingly closing the door on a potential change.

Can Mexico build on its 2023 WBC breakout?

The dark horse of the 2023 WBC, Mexico captured hearts with a semifinal run before falling to eventual champion Japan. Randy Arozarena, who defected from Cuba in 2015, became a Mexican citizen and played professionally with the Toros de Tijuana before beginning his Major League career; he was named MVP of Pool C in 2023, batting .450/.607/.900 with six doubles, a home run and nine RBIs. Leading the team is manager Benji Gil, a Chula Vista native who starred at Castle Park High School, posting a 0.52 ERA with 89 strikeouts in 1990.

North County flair on Team Israel

Brothers CJ (’15) and Garrett Stubbs (’12), both Del Mar natives, and Torrey Pines High alumni, will catch for Team Israel in the WBC. CJ plays in the Toronto Blue Jays system, while Garrett is with the Philadelphia Phillies organization. Rancho Santa Fe resident Kevin Youkilis, the former Red Sox third baseman, rounds out the local connection as a bench coach.

Padres stars bring the “Plátano Power”

Padres superstars Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. join a Dominican Republic roster already heavy with household names — Juan Soto, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Wandy Peralta, and Albert Pujols as manager. On paper, the lineup has the firepower – “Plátano Power,” a reference to the very popular plantain, is a point of pride for Dominicans – to push for the island nation’s first WBC gold since 2013.

Here’s the breakdown for 2026 World Baseball Classic Pool Play:

Pool A — San Juan, Puerto Rico

• Puerto Rico
• Canada
• Cuba
• Panama
• Colombia
  

Pool B — Houston, Texas

• United States
• Mexico
• Italy
• Great Britain
• Brazil
  

Pool C — Tokyo, Japan

• Japan
• South Korea
• Chinese Taipei
• Australia
• Czechia

Pool D — Miami, Florida

• Dominican Republic
• Venezuela
• Netherlands
• Israel
• Nicaragua