Luinder Avila's WBC role for Venezuela could make him strong Royals bullpen option

The Kansas City Royals already had strong major league representation in this year's World Baseball Classic headlined by Bobby Witt Jr. with Team USA and their Italian duo of Vinnie Pasquantino and Jac Caglianone, as well as several fringe minor league and non-roster invitee names for fans to monitor.

On Saturday though, another intriguing name of theirs got the call to represent their country when tournament action gets underway later this week.

As reported by Anne Rogers of MLB.com, Royals prospect and potential Opening Day roster option, Luinder Avila was named to Team Venezuela's WBC roster.

Rogers also reports that manager Matt Quatraro said that "Avila will be piggybacking out of the bullpen" for the Venezuelan team, which could be the best possible case scenario for him if he hopes to break camp with them in 2026.

Luinder Avila's bullpen role with Team Venezuela at World Baseball Classic could position him well for 2026 Opening Day roster nod with Royals

After Quatraro said that he views Avila as a future front-line starter with the Royals earlier in camp this spring, it seemed as though perhaps an Opening Day role in the bullpen may've been off the table in order to further develop him as a starter.

However, after the debut cameo he had in the big leagues in 2025 with Kansas City as a member of their bullpens, where he threw to a 1.29 ERA and 0.92 WHIP in 14.0 innings, it's easy to see that his stuff plays in a bullpen capacity.

The dream of a starter is certainly valid, as beyond how he looked in relief, he has a devastating 60-grade curveball that can cause hitters fits - according to MLB Pipeline's scouting report on him - a strong 55-grade fastball to headline his complimentary offering and a physically imposing build.

That being said, from a 2026 standpoint, with Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha and Kris Bubic all but guaranteed to occupy a role in the majors and others like Noah Cameron, Ryan Bergert, Stephen Kolek and Bailey Falter all vying for that fifth spot in the rotation with prior major league starting experience already, it's hard to see a world where Avila sneaks in.

But beyond their backend trio of closer Carlos Estévez and set-up men Lucas Erceg and Matt Strahm, there's plenty of question marks.

Having Avila test out this piggybacking role and potentially offering some length to the Venezualan 'pen this month could be the perfect audition for a similar role in the Royals bullpen in 2026.

And with Venezuela being one of the stronger nations in the World Baseball Classic alongside Japan, the USA and the Dominican Republic, you'd have to imagine he'd get quite the extended look in this role against some of the most talented hitters on the planet.

Now, this is all hypothetical as whether it's in the WBC or a Royals camp, Avila still has to perfrom if he's to crack the major league roster. That being said, while some names may be a cause for hesitancy going to the WBC, Avila seems to be great name to send out if they hope to use him this season.