New Dodgers Infielder Changes WBC Decision

Logo for the World Baseball Classic international tournament. | WBC

Prior to the Los Angeles Dodgers making another splash in free agency in the form of Kyle Tucker, they addressed their bench by signing Andy Ibáñez to a one-year, $1.2 million contract.

Ibáñez became a free agent this offseason when he was non-tendered by the Detroit Tigers. That came after spending the last three seasons with the Tigers, during which he hit a combined .251/.304/.392 with 20 home runs, 94 RBI and 93 wRC+ while appearing in 304 games.

His MLB experience also includes playing in 116 games for the Texas Rangers over the 2021-22 seasons.

Ibáñez doesn't have Minor League options remaining, which suggests he is in line to be part of the Dodgers' bench this season. He would need to be designated for assignment and placed on waivers if the team sought to remove the 32-year-old from their roster at any point.

With a desire to make a strong first impression on his new team, Ibáñez decided to remove himself from the Team Cuba roster for the 2026 World Baseball Classic, per international reporter Francys Romero.

Andy Ibáñez will not be with Cuba for the 2026 World Baseball Classic, according to sources.

Although Ibáñez was included on Cuba’s preliminary roster, he has chosen to focus on Spring Training and properly prepare with his new team, the Los Angeles Dodgers.

— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) January 27, 2026

Ibáñez previously competed with the Cuban national team in the 2013 and 2023 iterations of the WBC. After being born in Havana in 1993, Ibáñez remained in Cuba until defecting in 2014.

The 2023 World Baseball Classic was the first time MLB players were permitted to represent Cuba in the tournament. Ibáñez appeared in just one game that year, collecting one hit and an RBI in four at-bats.

Looking ahead to his Dodgers season, Ibáñez has experience at first base, second base, third base and left field. He also has spent minimal time at shortstop and right field. The Dodgers figure to primarily utilize Ibáñez at second base and the corner infield positions.

Dodgers withdrawing from World Baseball Classic

Teoscar Hernández (Dominican Republic), Freddie Freeman (Canada) and Andy Pages (Cuba) previously made respective decisions to skip the 2026 WBC in the interest of focusing on the Dodgers' upcoming season as well.

Roki Sasaki also is not going to be with Samurai Japan after his rookie season included a right shoulder impingement that amounted to a lengty stay on the injured list.

It's resulted in Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Team Japan), and Will Smith (Team USA) being the Dodgers' only representatives in this year's international tournament. Clayton Kershaw is playing for the United States as well, but is otherwise remaining retired.