Agustín Ramírez contacted by Dominican Republic about 2026 World Baseball Classic participation

MIAMI, FL—Prior to Wednesday's game against the Minnesota Twins, Marlins rookie catcher Agustín Ramírez told Fish On First that he has been contacted by the Dominican Republic's baseball federation (FEDOM) to potentially participate in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

"Yes, I would be interested," Ramírez said in Spanish. "There have already been a couple calls had with them. We are aware and we are in a positive spot right now with them."

Ramírez added that "they are going to the dugout," essentially saying that he will be a lock for the DR roster if everything works out.

The Marlins acquired Ramírez from the New York Yankees a couple days prior to the 2024 trade deadline in a deal that sent Jazz Chisholm Jr. the other way. Ramírez was called up to the major leagues on April 21. Since then, he's slashing .252/.302/.479/.780 with 12 home runs, 33 RBI and a 111 wRC+, ranking among the top NL rookies in those categories despite spending the first few weeks of the season in the minors. He's been splitting time between catcher and designated hitter.

"I'm really happy. This is a dream I've had since I was a kid," said Ramírez regarding his time at the major league level thus far. "To have my name as a possibility for all these awards is extremely important to me, but as I've said, I want to stay up here for a very long time and have a very long career, learn something new every day and give everything I've got for the team and do everything that needs to be done."

Highly regarded entering the 2023 WBC, the Dominican Republic was knocked out early. Their catching tandem in that tournament was Francisco Mejía and Gary Sánchez.

Looking ahead to next year, the likely DR catchers are Yainer Díaz of the Houston Astros and Ramírez as long as the federation is willing to sacrifice some defense for great offense.

The DR team has been placed in Pool D along with Venezuela, Netherlands, Israel and Nicaragua. Those games are taking place at loanDepot park, so if selected, Ramírez would be playing in front of his home crowd throughout the tournament.