With spring training yet to begin and Opening Day even further away, baseball fans are hungry to see meaningful competition. Luckily, their deliverance is near as the 2026 World Baseball Classic will kick off in just under a month, pitting teams from 20 different nations against each other.
Loads of current Phillies are taking part in the tournament, headlined by Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber for Team USA, as well as Cristopher Sánchez for the Dominican Republic. Perhaps even more interestingly are the out-of-left field former Phillies who are suiting up for teams you wouldn’t expect.
This World Baseball Classic is sure to be an exciting tournament with Team USA featuring its best roster yet and every other country doing their best to keep up. There are heaps of current and future Phillies players taking part in the upcoming tournament that fans can cheer on, but true sickos will take joy in the return of some forgotten former Phillies.
Here are 4 former Phillies suiting up in the World Baseball Classic that'll blow fans’ minds
Vance Worley
Most Phillies fans remember right-hander Vance Worley for his meteoric rise from little-known prospect to Rookie of the Year candidate back in 2011 alongside the four aces. After three seasons in Philly, The Vanimal was shipped out in a deal for rebuild legend Ben Revere, and bounced around a handful of clubs before finding himself out of MLB after 2017.
That’s not quite the end of Worley’s story, however, as the 38-year-old finds himself a member of Team Great Britain in the upcoming WBC. A native Californian, Worley gained eligibility through his mother, a Chinese national who was born in Hong Kong which was a British colony at the time. A tortured connection to be sure, but evidently enough to get him on the squad. An MLB comeback is most likely out of the picture, but it’ll be good to see a Phillies hero from 15 years ago lace them up one more time.
Philippe Aumont
While seeing Worley will surely jog fond memories for Philadelphians, the same can’t be said for Team Canada’s Philippe Aumont, a crucial piece in the disastrous trade that sent Cliff Lee to Seattle. A former first-round pick, Aumont was considered an elite prospect, but never panned out for the Phils, posting an atrocious 6.80 ERA over parts of four seasons with the team.
The now-37-year-old has been out of MLB since 2015 and has embarked upon a new vocation as a farmer in his native Québec. However, the Canadians seems to think he’s got a bit more juice left to give, and it should give Phillies fans quite the laugh to see him pitch once again.
JC Ramírez
Speaking of that ill-fated Cliff Lee trade, right-hander JC Ramírez, another piece of the Phillies’ underwhelming return will be suiting up for Team Nicaragua. Ramírez only appeared in one season as a Phillie, getting torched to the tune of a 7.50 ERA in 18 games.
He saw action with four more teams after that, but never made it past journeyman reliever status. At 37 years old Ramírez is still going strong in various winter leagues, but will stir up some bad memories for Phillies fans next month.
Didi Gregorius
Shortstop Didi Gregorius made a name for himself as Derek Jeter’s successor in the Bronx, and signed a one-year, $14 million pact with the Phillies ahead of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. The Dutchman balled out during the truncated campaign and earned himself another $28 million over two more years.
Unfortunately, injuries and ineffectiveness caught up with Gregorius, and rookie Bryson Stott supplanted him halfway through the 2022 season. While Sir Didi’s big league tenure ended in Philadelphia, his international career is still alive and well, as he’ll suit up for the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the upcoming tournament.