’26 WBC to coincide with spring training

MIAMI — The World Baseball Classic will return for its sixth edition in March 2026, with organizers concluding spring training remains a better time than after the World Series or in the middle of the major league season.

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said MLB owners and general managers have to be pursuaded to make more star pitchers available to national teams.

Since its launch in 2006, the WBC has been played in March, ahead of club opening day in MLB, Japan and South Korea.

Mets: The New York Mets announced Tuesday that a membership-only speakeasy will be opened behind Citi Field’s right field fence this season. It will becalled The Cadillac Club at Payson’s, in honor of founding owner Joan Whitney

Payson. Memberships in the first row will cost $24,999 per seat, team spokeswoman Katie Agostin said.

Phillies: The Philadelphia Phillies are leaving open the possibility for Bryce Harper to return to their lineup much sooner than the All-star break, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a quicker-than-expected return for the slugger from reconstructive right elbow surgery. While Harper will begin the season on the injured list, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Tuesday that the two-time National League MVP will not, for now, be placed on the longer 60-day IL that would mean he couldn’t be activated before the end of May.

Braves: Michael Soroka is set to make his Grapefruit League debut for Atlanta Braves on Wednesday, though the 25year-old right-hander won’t be ready to be in their rotation at the start of the season. Soroka hasn’t pitched in the majors since tearing his right Achilles in August 2020 and having three different surgeries. He then had hamstring tightness at the start of spring training.