As the Major League Baseball season rapidly approaches, players around the world get set for the 2026 World Baseball Classic. The 2023 version of the event was a massive hit, with Japan defeating the United States 3-2 in a classic championship game. With just about a month until the event gets underway, each team recently announced their rosters. The White Sox have five current players representing four countries for the tournament. Kyle Teel and Sam Antonacci will play for Team Italy, Curtis Mead will play for Team Australia, and new White Sox signees Seranthony Dominguez and Munetaka Murakami will play for Dominican Republic and Japan, respectively. But in the most stunning announcement of the evening, White Sox fans got a blast from the past when Alexei Ramirez was named to Team Cuba.
44-year-old Alexei Ramirez will play for Cuba in the World Baseball Classic
— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) February 6, 2026
The infielder played for Cuba in the first WBC in 2006. He last played in MLB in 2016 pic.twitter.com/1ifoyvgprt
Yes, you’re reading that correctly. 44 year-old Alexei Ramirez, who played for the White Sox from 2008-2015, will be lacing up the spikes and taking the field in the World Baseball Classic.
Ramirez originally signed with the White Sox out of Cuba and made his big league debut in 2008, where he slugged 21 home runs and finished second in the AL Rookie of the Year voting. Ramirez stuck as the White Sox starting shortstop for the next several years, winning silver slugger awards in 2010 and 2014 and making the AL all-star team in 2014. Perhaps his most memorable moment happened during his rookie season, where Ramirez hit a go ahead Grand Slam during the final game of the regular season, forcing a Game 163 against the Twins. The White Sox ultimately won that game and took the division crown. After departing the White Sox following the 2015 season, Ramirez signed with the San Diego Padres, but posted a career-low .610 OPS and was released in September before finishing the season with the Tampa Bay Rays. Ramirez hasn’t played in Major League Baseball since 2016.
Ramirez's return to baseball is stunning and exciting
Since the end of his big league career, Ramirez has largely been out of baseball. He played for one season in the Mexican Baseball League in 2018, and played in the Cuban National Series in 2024, but hasn’t played much professional baseball, making his appearance on the WBC roster even more surprising. It’s unclear how large of a role Ramirez will have on a roster that also includes former White Sox player Yoan Moncada and prospect Josimar Cousin, but his presence will certainly be something to keep an eye on for White Sox fans.
With Spring Training beginning next week and the World Baseball Classic not far behind, excitement is starting to build in White Sox circles about the young and exciting team. 2026 should be a fun season, and watching past, present, and future White Sox players battle it out on the big stage will be a heck of an opening act.