For the WBC, players who are eligible for citizenship of a country are eligible to represent it in the tournament, regardless of their actual citizenship status.
By Jacob Gurvis, JTA
A pitcher for the Minnesota Twins whose father-in-law is an Israeli-American pharmaceutical executive and political activist is one of the new additions to Team Israel ahead of next month’s World Baseball Classic.
With the sixth edition of the international tournament exactly one month away, all 20 competing countries have now revealed their 30-man rosters.
Team Israel, which qualified by winning a game in the 2023 Classic, announced its lineup on Thursday.
Those competing for Israel include a number of MLB players as well as some younger newcomers — though perhaps the biggest Jewish star in baseball, Chicago Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman, is instead playing for the U.S. team.
Suited up in blue and white will be San Francisco Giants outfielder Harrison Bader, the highest-profile addition to the roster, as well as Tommy Kahnle and Matt Bowman, MLB veterans who previously had no reported ties to the team.
For the WBC, players who are eligible for citizenship of a country are eligible to represent it in the tournament, regardless of their actual citizenship status.
In Israel’s case, that typically includes mostly American Jews — and occasionally those married to American Jews — who are eligible for Israeli citizenship under the country’s Law of Return.
Bowman’s wife, Eve Levin, is an attorney whose father Jeremy Levin is a prominent businessman who lived in Israel as a young adult and once ran Teva Pharmaceuticals, the country’s largest company.
Jeremy Levin is also a political activist who has lobbied for Democratic candidates and progressive policies in the United States as well as in support of democracy in Israel, running on a slate in last year’s World Zionist Congress elections.
(Eve Levin’s maternal grandfather was also a businessman; he transformed his Jewish family’s hosiery business into the company that operates T.J. Maxx.)
Bowman and Eve Levin — who was on the legal team that exacted a historic judgment against Fox News last year — met at Princeton University, where he played baseball.
He recently signed a minor league contract with the Twins, marking his third stint with the club in a career that has included affiliations with nine different teams.
Most of his play has come in the minor leagues, but he has pitched in at least 16 MLB games.
Brad Ausmus, the New York Yankees bench coach who held that same role for Israel last time, will manage Team Israel next month.
He managed Israel in the 2013 WBC qualifiers, in which Israel narrowly missed out on the tournament. Longtime big leaguers Kevin Youkilis (bench coach), Mark Loretta (third base coach) and Jason Marquis (bullpen coach) will join Ausmus’ staff.
Some previous Team Israel players have forgone affiliation this year — most notably Texas Rangers designated hitter Joc Pederson.
Simon Rosenbaum, who previously played for Team Israel and now serves as its general manager, said building the team is “always a rollercoaster ride.”
“We’re excited about the team we’ve been able to put together, especially because of how much more interest we’ve gotten from players talking to each other about their past experience playing with us,” said Rosenbaum, who also serves as the director of baseball development for the Tampa Bay Rays.
“We look forward to competing in a challenging pool and hope that we’re a team our fans can be proud of.”
Here is the full roster:
Pitchers: Charlie Beilenson, Josh Blum, Matt Bowman, Harrison Cohen, Daniel Federman, Jordan Geber, Tommy Kahnle, Rob Kaminsky, Dean Kremer, Max Lazar, Carlos Lequerica, Josh Mallitz, Eli Morgan, Ryan Prager, Ben Simon, Robert Stock, Zack Weiss
Infielders: Cole Carigg, Jake Gelof, Spencer Horwitz, Assaf Lowengart, Noah Mendlinger, Matt Mervis, Benjamin Rosengard, C.J. Stubbs, Garrett Stubbs
Outfielders: Harrison Bader, Troy Johnston, Zach Levenson, RJ Schreck
Israel is competing in Pool D in Miami. After exhibition games against the Miami Marlins and the New York Mets, here is the team’s schedule for the first round (all times ET):
March 7 (7 p.m.): Israel vs. Venezuela
March 8 (7 p.m.): Nicaragua vs. Israel
March 9 (12 p.m.): Dominican Republic vs. Israel
March 10 (7 p.m.): Israel vs. Netherlands
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