White Sox WBC Update: Murakami's slam, Italy's success, Mead headed back to Arizona

With only two weeks until the 2026 MLB season gets underway, all eyes have turned to the World Baseball Classic, which is soon to wrap up pool play and begin its quarterfinals. The White Sox, of course, sent five players to compete on four different teams in this year’s tournament. Kyle Teel and Sam Antonacci are representing Team Italy, Curtis Mead for Australia, newly signed star Munetaka Murakami is playing for Team Japan, and closer Seranthony Dominguez represents Team Dominican Republic. Now nearly a week into the tournament, here’s an update on how each of the White Sox players have performed. 

Murakami’s grand slam lifts Japan

To the surprise of nobody, Team Japan wrapped up an undefeated Pool Play with a win over Czechia early Tuesday morning. The defending champs are powered by bats of MLBers Shohei Ohtani, Munetaka Murakami, Kazuma Okamoto, and Masataka Yoshida. With World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto anchoring the pitching staff, Japan is once again considered a top contender for the title. Murakami got off to a slow start for Japan before his 8th inning grand slam put away the victory for Japan. Overall, Murakami is hitting .200 with a homer and two walks, good for a .694 OPS. He’ll look to improve on that mark as Japan awaits their opponent in the quarterfinals. 

Mead’s strong performance not enough for Team Australia

Sharing a pool with Japan was a tough draw for Team Australia, but the boys from down under started off strong with wins over Czechia and Chinese Taipei. Unfortunately, a late rally wasn’t enough against Japan, and the fatal blow came in a 7-2 loss to Korea, eliminating Australia from the tournament. White Sox infielder Curtis Mead was among the standout performers, finishing 5-for-14 with a homer and a walk in four games, good for a 1.009 OPS. Mead will now head back to Arizona and rejoin the White Sox as he competes for a spot on the Opening Day roster. Prior to leaving, Mead was hitting .308 with an .846 OPS in the Cactus League, so he continued his strong spring in the WBC. His performance will be worth paying attention to over the next couple weeks as the White Sox make some tough decisions with their roster. 

Teel and Antonacci fuel Team Italy’s early success

Team Italy opened pool play with an impressive 8-0 victory over Brazil on Saturday. White Sox catcher Kyle Teel got the nod behind the plate and finished 2-for-4 with a couple of singles. Sam Antonacci didn’t start the game but came in late as a defensive replacement. Teel got the day off in Sunday’s 7-4 win over Great Britain, with Sam Antonacci’s triple scoring two important runs in the ball game. The White Sox 9th ranked prospect continues to open eyes with his talent. Team Italy will resume play Tuesday night for a tough matchup against Team USA, with Team Mexico on the schedule for Wednesday. They’ll likely need to win one of the two games to advance to the quarterfinals. 

Seranthony shuts the door for Team Dominican Republic

The team with perhaps the biggest chance to throw a wrench in the USA-Japan rematch is the Dominican Republic, who have scored at least 10 runs in each of their three wins. White Sox closer Seranthony Dominguez has anchored the bullpen, throwing a pair of scoreless innings and earning the win in Sunday’s dominant win over Team Netherlands. Neither of Dominguez’s outings have had any sort of pressure, however, as Team DR has won each of their games handily thanks to a high-powered offense. They’ll wrap up pool play with their toughest test so far as they take on undefeated Venezuela on Wednesday evening. If their pitching staff can hold up, Team DR could be a serious threat to win the whole tournament. 

With just two weeks to play until the 2026 season kicks off, White Sox fans should see plenty more action from familiar faces on the big stage.