Baseball returns to Olympics in 2028, but what will rosters look like?

The on-again, off-again relationship between the Olympics and baseball is heading toward another reconciliation in 2028.

That leads to the inevitable discussion of what the rosters could look like.

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Commissioner Rob Manfred said last month he was open to the possibility of major leaguers participating, but recent history suggests some obstacles. Baseball was dropped after the 2008 Games, returned in 2021 in Japan, then was left out this year in Paris.

The sport returns for the Los Angeles Games four years from now. At the Tokyo Olympics, Major League Baseball only allowed players not on 40-man rosters to play — and teams additionally blocked many eligible prospects. The potential health risk is real, a point only further driven home by Edwin Díaz’s season-ending injury at the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

So the 2021 U.S. team was led by a few familiar names, such as Todd Frazier and Edwin Jackson, with a couple of intriguing youngsters in Tristan Casas and Shane Baz. The mix created little buzz.

One possible compromise would be for teams to keep active major leaguers out of the Olympics but permit top prospects who haven’t yet reached the majors to go. The event would resemble the All-Star Futures Game, but for a whole tournament.

In 2000, future big leaguer Ben Sheets shut out a powerful Cuban team to secure the gold medal for the U.S. Nowadays it’s far easier for fans to monitor top prospects. Imagine if baseball were in the 2024 Games and the game’s best minor leaguers were largely available. The U.S. lineup could’ve been full of players like Dylan Crews and Marcelo Mayer, two prospects ranked in the top 10 by MLB Pipeline.

Those wouldn’t be household names for casual Olympic watchers, but baseball diehards might recognize — or be glad they were introduced to — some of them. Whether that team could win anything is another matter. Nippon Professional Baseball interrupted its season in 2021, which helped Japan ultimately beat the U.S. for the gold medal.

But with the Americans hosting the Olympics in four years, the baseball tournament is clearly an opportunity for … something. The players, owners and Manfred just need to figure out what.

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