Is Phillies' Trea Turner playing in the World Baseball Classic?

There will be plenty of stars taking the stage in March in the 2026 World Baseball Classic. The Philadelphia Phillies will have 15 participants, but shortstop Trea Turner will not be among that group.

Rosters have already been finalized, with players now heading to spring training camps. The regular season is also right around the corner, but the international tournament will take center stage with the abundance of MLB stars playing this year.

For one reason or another, Turner didn't get the call from Team USA. It's not to say he isn't worthy, but this year's group is worth taking a shot on. With Turner on the outside looking in, the Baltimore Orioles' Gunnar Henderson and Kansas City Royals' Bobby Witt Jr. will be the shortstops sporting USA across their chests this time around.

Phillies' Trea Turner won't get his chance to add to his World Baseball Classic legacy in 2026

Witt is the best all-around shortstop in the game today. In his four MLB seasons, he's finished in the top seven in AL MVP voting three times. In each of his last two seasons, he's also been an All-Star, a Gold Glover, and a Silver Slugger.

In 2024, Witt finished second in the MVP race behind Team USA captain Aaron Judge while racking up a 9.4 bWAR. He followed that up with a cool 7.1 bWAR in 2025 after leading the league with 184 hits and posting an .852 OPS, the best by any shortstop in 2025.

Henderson is also one of the most exciting shortstops in MLB today. At 24, he's a year younger than Witt but debuted in 2022 as well. Henderson won the Rookie of the Year in 2023 after a season in which he hit 28 home runs, with 82 RBIs and a 125 OPS+.

He finished eighth in AL MVP voting in his rookie campaign and then exploded in 2024 with a fourth-place finish, hitting 37 home runs and driving in 92 runs. Henderson had a down year in 2025 with injuries and a .787 OPS, but the hope remains that he still can perform among the best at the position.

That's some good company to compete with if you're Turner. To have the country's best on display each time around is what's best for the game, and that means someone has to sit on the sidelines.

And Turner was no slouch in 2025. He won the NL batting title with a .304 average, posted an .812 OPS, and stole 36 bases, his best mark since 2018.

Team USA fell to Japan in the final in 2023 in a 3-2 thriller. It was a tough ending for the United States, but the event was a massive success with plenty of entertaining games and memorable moments throughout.

Turner was the star that year with an all-time performance. His five home runs tied for the most ever in a single tournament. Phillies fans were hoping he be brought back to try to repeat some of that success this year. Team USA obviously felt otherwise as they look to the future of the game and try to capture gold for the first time since 2017.

Turner's 2023 explosion before his Phillies debut will always be remembered. He helped rejuvenate the international excitement that had been missing from the game of baseball. He made the most of his chance, but now it's time to pass the baton to the next wave of great American shortstops.