Key Dutch national team player out of World Baseball squad following Curaçao arrest

Professional baseball player Jonathan Schoop will miss the World Baseball Classic in Miami next month as he will not be included in the Kingdom team’s roster, Major League Baseball announced on Friday. The 34-year-old has been detained in Curaçao since January 29 after authorities conducted a house search linked to an illegal firearms investigation. He is set to appear before the examining magistrate on Friday.

Coach Andruw Jones, 48, has named all eligible Dutch passport holders among the country’s top baseball talent for the unofficial World Championship open to professional players. Ozzie Albies (Atlanta Braves) and Ceddanne Rafaela (Boston Red Sox) will join the Netherlands team for the first time, alongside stars such as Xander Bogaerts (San Diego Padres), Kenley Jansen (Detroit Tigers), and Jurickson Profar (Braves).

Also included are Didi Gregorius (formerly of the New York Yankees), Chadwick Tromp, Antwone Kelly, and Sharlon Schoop, Jonathan Schoop’s older brother, all of whom currently play or have played professionally in the United States.

Jones is taking several first-time participants from the U.S. minor leagues, including pitchers Jamdrick Cornelia, Shawndrick Oduber, Ryjeteri Merite, Jatoine Kelly, and Dylan Wilson.

He has also added his son, Druw Jones, as a debuting position player. Four players from the Dutch Hoofdklasse, Lars Huijer (Pirates), Juan Carlos Sulbaran (Neptunus), Delano Selassa (Pirates), and Sharon Martis (Neptunus), will also join the squad. Meanwhile, professional players Richie and Josh Palacios and Jurrangelo Cijntje were not selected for various reasons.

A total of 20 nations have qualified for the 2026 World Baseball Classic, which runs from March 5 to March 17 with pool play hosted in Tokyo, San Juan, Houston, and Miami. The Netherlands is drawn in Group D with Venezuela, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, and Israel. The Dutch squad will open its tournament in Miami on March 6, facing Venezuela at 6 p.m. Dutch time.

The first two teams in Group D will move on to the quarterfinals. Should the Kingdom team advance, Miami will remain the venue for the Dutch squad, including a potential final at the Miami Marlins’ stadium. Ahead of the tournament, the Netherlands will play warm-up matches on March 3 and 4 against the Baltimore Orioles and the Tampa Bay Rays.

This will be the Netherlands’ sixth appearance in the World Baseball Classic. The team made it to the semifinals in both 2013 and 2017, but in 2023, the Dutch squad was eliminated in the opening round.