Few baseball players have had careers as remarkable as Álex Rodríguez, and when one of the greatest of all time speaks, people listen. A-Rod was part of the pre and postgame coverage of Monday night’s World Baseball Classic semifinal matchup between Italy and Venezuela, and the 14-time All-Star heaped praise onto young Philadelphia Phillies prospect Dante Nori.
The 21-year-old Nori burst onto the national scene in this year’s WBC, posting a ridiculous 1.185 OPS across six games for Team Italy. Heading into the tournament, most fans expected Nori to serve as just a bench piece, but the 2024 first-round pick forced his way into a starting job in left field. He made history by smacking two homers in the team’s first contest, and was a sparkplug all the way through to the team’s surprising run to the penultimate game of tournament play.
A-Rod's insight from rival GMs should give Phillies fans hope for Dante Nori's bright future
During his television coverage of last night’s contest, A-Rod stated, “I’ve had two general managers tell me 'I wish he played on our team because he would leadoff and play every single day.' This is a future star. Dante Nori, do not forget the name.” High praise coming from a man with three MVP Awards to his name and close to 700 career home runs.
“I’ve had two general managers tell me I wish he played on our team because he would leadoff and play every single day. This is a future star. Dante Nori, do not forget the name.”
— Cole Weintraub (@WeintraubCole) March 16, 2026
— Alex Rodriguez, via @MLBONFOX
While Nori has opened eyes this month with his bananas WBC performance, he’s still not likely to be up with the big league club to start the upcoming season. The Michigan high school product was aggressively promoted through the minors last season, spending the bulk of the year in Low-A before receiving 11 and five-game cups of coffee and High-A and Double-A, respectively.
All told, the speedster worked to a good-not-great .732 OPS over 577 minor league plate appearances during the 2025 campaign, indicating he may need a bit more seasoning before taking on the best pitchers in the world in the big leagues. For what it’s worth, Nori showed out in the Arizona Fall League a few months ago, posting a solid .822 OPS over 12 contests.
Rodríguez’s comments point not just to a very bright future for the Phillies farmhand, but also to the broader role he may play in the organization’s overall plans. The club’s outfield has been a disaster area for over a decade, and a future tandem of Nori and fellow highly-touted contact machine Justin Crawford could solidify that weak spot for years to come.
On the other hand, if opposing clubs’ general managers really are taking an interest in Dante Nori, then he may be best used as a trade chip to bring in immediate help for a Phillies team that is racing against the clock to win a championship. Time will tell which way Nori’s future will go, but a breakout WBC performance has opened up a lot of doors for both him and the Phillies, and that's good news for both sides.