KC Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino makes World Baseball Classic commitment

The Kansas City Royals primary focus will surely be on their current hot streak, as they've now won 13 of their last 15 games after a nail-biting victory against Chicago on Tuesday.

However, as next March's 2026 World Baseball Classic inches closer and closer, more and more players will have representing their respective nations on the backs of their minds. And a team as competitive as the Royals are bound to be well represented at this tournament.

They already have one name committed to play when the WBC opens on March 5, as Seth Lugo announced last month that he'd be making his return to the international scene by pitching for Puerto Rico for the first time since 2017.

While Lugo might have been the first, the growing feeling is that he won't be the last, and Wednesday all but confirmed that after Vinnie Pasquantino committed to play for Italy in 2026.

Vinnie Pasquantino commits to play for Italy in 2026 WBC

Pasquantino made the announcement in a video posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday afternoon.

"Proud to say I will be representing Italy again in the 2026 World Baseball Classic," Pasquantino wrote. "Excited for another opportunity to represent my heritage on this stage."

"Let's run it back. We'll see you in Houston," he said in the video.

Pasquantino suited up for Italy in the 2023 WBC. In 22 plate appearances, he didn't look his best, hitting just .200 with a .473 OPS, but despite his shortcomings he was a regular in that Italy lineup that managed to finish as runners up in Pool A that year and qualify for the quarter finals, where they would fall to the eventual champions in Japan.

This season with the Royals, Pasquantino has started slow, slashing just .201/.258/.381 entering play on Wednesday. He does have respectable run production totals of six homers and 22 RBI through his first 36 games, and the Pasquatch is starting to show signs of coming alive at the plate, as since the beginning of May he's slashing .308/.333/.615 with a pair of homers and a well above average 163 wRC+.

The May version Pasquantino, along with the 97 RBI producer he was in 2024, will be the type of player Italy hopes to see when they head to Houston for Pool B action in March. They won't have it easy in their group, as they'll be up against last tournament's runner-up in the United States, along with 2023 semi-finalists in Mexico, with Great Britain and Brazil rounding out the pool.