What would a hypothetical U.S. baseball Dream Team look like for 2020 Olympics?

Ryan Fagan

What would a hypothetical U.S. baseball Dream Team look like for 2020 Olympics? image

With the news Wednesday that baseball might once again be an official Olympic sport for the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo, we thought it might be fun to look at what a potential Team USA might look like if major leaguers suited up.

That’ll never happen, of course — MLB isn’t going to suspend the season for the Olympics — but that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun playing a game of “What if?" while looking at players who were born in the USA. We're going with almost the same roster setup as the last time the Olympics had baseball, in 2008. Instead of 12 pitchers and 12 hitters on the 24-man roster, we're going with 11 pitchers and 13 hitters, just because we can. 

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In this hypothetical, everybody says yes and everybody’s healthy. If we can dream, we're gonna dream big.

1B Anthony Rizzo

Age when 2020 Olympics start: 30

Why he’s here: Rizzo’s a couple years younger than Paul Goldschmidt or Chris Davis and has a little more power than Eric Hosmer of Freddie Freeman (they were both born in 1989, like Rizzo). Lots of qualified candidates, obviously, but with the way the roster would have to be constructed, only the starter would make the team. 

2B Jason Kipnis 

Age when 2020 Olympics start: 33

Why he’s here: At this point, the choice would probably come down to Kipnis or Colorado’s DJ LeMahieu. We lean Kipnis at the moment (though we’d reserve the right to change our minds a million times between now and 2020). 

SS Corey Seager 

Age when 2020 Olympics start: 26

Why he’s here: If Seager continues his career trajectory, he’ll be an absolute superstar by the time these Olympic Games roll around. Relatively speaking, he’s an easy choice for this spot. 

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3B Nolan Arenado 

Age when 2020 Olympics start: 29

Why he’s here: What would have been a brutal choice between Arenado and Manny Machado is made easier by Machado’s announcement that he’s playing for the Dominican Republic in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, so for these hypothetical purposes we’ll assume he does the same with the Olympics.  

C Buster Posey

Age when 2020 Olympics start: 33

Why he’s here: By the time the 2020 MLB season rolls around, Posey will likely be playing a lot of first base for the Giants, but for our purposes, there aren’t a ton of star catchers born in the USA, so Posey easily gets the starting nod. 

LF Mookie Betts

Age when 2020 Olympics start: 27

Why he’s here: How many All-Star nods will Betts have by the 2020 season? At least three, probably four. Either way, he’s already a star and could be cementing his place in Red Sox history by the time the Olympics roll around. 

CF Mike Trout

Age when 2020 Olympics start: 28

Why he’s here: This is an easy choice, obviously. 

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RF Bryce Harper 

Age when 2020 Olympics start: 27

Why he’s here: This is an easy choice, obviously.

DH Giancarlo Stanton

Age when 2020 Olympics start: 31

Why he’s here: Because it would be fun to watch Stanton take aim at the top of Mount Fuji with his epic home runs during the Olympics, wouldn’t it? 

Bench 

J.T. Realmuto, Addison Russell, Kris Bryant, Byron Buxton

Why they’re here: These won’t be the four best remaining players in baseball when 2020 rolls around, but they all serve a purpose. Realmuto (29 when the Olympics start) is Posey’s backup behind the plate. Russell (26) can play either middle infield position. Bryant (28) can play third or a corner outfield spot, and be an absolutely terrifying pinch hitter. And by 2020, Buxton’s early struggles in the majors will be a distant memory, which makes him a perfect safety outfielder. 

Staff ace: Clayton Kershaw 

Age when 2020 Olympics start: 32

Why he’s here: If he’s healthy, he’s the ace of the Olympic rotation. Zero questions about that. 

Other starters: Noah Syndergaard, Alex Reyes, Taijuan Walker, Madison Bumgarner

Why they’re here: Bumgarner has a 0.25 ERA in 36 career World Series innings, so, yeah, he absolutely makes the rotation (he turns 31 during the Olympics, actually). Syndergaard (27) might be throwing 110-mph fastballs by then, so he’s in. Walker (27) requires a bit of projection, but he’s shown the ability to dominate in the majors. Reyes (25) requires a lot of projection, but the Cardinals’ top prospect has averaged 12.0 strikeouts as a starter in the minors, so why not? 

Closer: Dellin Betances

Age when 2020 Olympics start: 32

Why he’s here: Even if he’s not the Yankees closer by then, the New York native can have the role of closer for this team. You’d feel pretty good with him closing out games for Team USA. 

Other relievers 

Kevin Siegrist, Chris Archer, Chris Sale, Aaron Nola, David Price

Why they’re here: Siegrist (31) is the left-handed specialist. Archer (31) and Nola (27) are the long men (how ridiculous is that?), and Sale (31) and Price (34) are the designated high-leverage veterans who come in whenever they’re needed to snuff out an opponent's rally. 

Ryan Fagan

Ryan Fagan Photo

Ryan Fagan, the national MLB writer for The Sporting News, has been a Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2016. He also dabbles in college hoops and other sports. And, yeah, he has way too many junk wax baseball cards.