In March, Jonathan Aranda, Joey Ortiz, and JoJo Romero were teammates — wearing Mexico’s green, white, and red at the 2026 World Baseball Classic. This Friday, all three will be in the World Series. Aranda with the Tampa Bay Rays, Ortiz and Romero with the Milwaukee Brewers. Same year, same group, the biggest stage in professional baseball.
From March to October: A Run Few Saw Coming
The WBC doesn’t usually connect in a straight line to the postseason. Rosters shift, players come and go, and the guys who shine in March with their national teams often aren’t around when October matters. This year was different.
Aranda, Ortiz, and Romero aren’t three random names. They shared a dugout with Mexico just seven months ago, and now they’re split between the two teams playing for the championship. It’s a rare thing: players from the same national team on opposite sides of the World Series, in the very same year they represented their country.
Aranda: The Slugger Statcast Explains Better Than His Batting Average
Jonathan Aranda finished the 2026 regular season with 22 home runs and 92 RBI in 155 games. His .274 AVG is solid, but the Statcast numbers tell a more interesting story.
- 668 plate appearances in 2026
- OPS: .792
- xwOBA: .343 — what his quality of contact says he should be producing
- Average exit velocity: 91.1 mph — 83rd percentile in MLB (hits it harder than 8 out of 10 big leaguers)
- Hard-hit rate: 46% — 80th percentile (nearly half his balls in play travel above 95 mph)
- Barrel rate: 9.9%
- Average bat speed: 70.3 mph
- Sprint speed: 12th percentile — one of the slowest in the league
He’s not beating anyone down the line. His value lives entirely in what he does at the plate — and the contact data backs it up.
Ortiz and Romero: A Different Kind of Contributor
Joey Ortiz brings his glove and bat to Milwaukee’s infield, while JoJo Romero has already been a factor as a left-handed reliever in the Brewers’ postseason run. Both know what it means to perform under pressure — they did it representing Mexico this spring. Now they’re bringing that same mentality to the World Series.
Why This Is Bigger Than a Feel-Good Story
Mexico hasn’t won the World Baseball Classic, but the country is consistently sending players to the game’s highest level in a way that would have seemed ambitious a decade ago. Three players from the same national team reaching the World Series in the same year isn’t just a nice storyline — it’s a sign that Mexican talent is arriving at the game’s defining stage on a regular basis.
The World Series starts Friday. Two of these three players are going to win a ring. The third is going to try to stop them. All three will do it carrying something they built — at least in part — wearing Mexico’s colors.
