How World Baseball Classic could help kick-start SF Giants 2026 Season

SF Giants outfielder Heliot Ramos announced this morning that he will be playing for team Puerto Rico in the 2026 World Baseball Classic. It will be the first WBC appearance for the 26 year old outfielder.

Ramos is now the fourth SF Giant to commit to the WBC following Logan Webb who will pitch for Team USA, Tristan Beck who will represent Great Britain, and outfielder Jung Hoo Lee who is expected to represent South Korea.

Four SF Giants players have committed to World Baseball Classic

Ramos announced he will be playing for team Puerto Rico through his Instagram story, and it was later confirmed by the official WBC Twitter page.

Many felt that Ramos regressed in 2025 after he had such a promising campaign in 2024. But in each of the last two seasons he managed just over 20 home runs and above a .250 batting average. But his wRC+ did take a significant hit, dropping from 120 to 110. With lots of power potential, Ramos could be a guy who hovers around 30 home runs every year even though he has to clean up his outfield defense. The developing outfielder will get a chance to shine for his country.

The WBC offers a high intensity, playoff-like environment that only Logan Webb has experienced out of the four. It will be interesting to see if the competing Giants players will see any benefit from this type of play going in to the regular season. Maybe the high-intensity environment will give them a boost going in to the 2026 campaign.

It also is a great opportunity for these players to expand their game. Webb will be alongside two of the most dominant pitchers in the league with Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal who are both on Team USA. Hopefully Ramos can get some defensive tips from Javier Baez and Nolan Arenado, and maybe Lee finds a leadership role being an established name in the MLB. Oh, and Tristan Beck will be rubbing shoulders with Aroldis Chapman in the Great Britain bullpen. Maybe Beck can pick up a thing or two from Chapman. Wouldn't it be great if Beck came back throwing a 100 mile per hour fastball?

With the WBC just a month away, hopefully it can serve as a running start for Giants players who have played big roles for the team in recent years. Lee and Ramos stand to benefit the most since they have played well at times, but not well enough to consider either of their last two years an outstanding season. In 2024 Ramos was an All-Star, and Lee has definitely shown signs of being a cornerstone player. They just have yet to have that breakout season. Regardless, we will be looking forward to seeing some familiar faces play some playoff-like baseball next month.