The Deutscher Baseball Softball Verband under president Jürgen Elsishans, submitted their official roster for the 2025 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers on February 13 to WBCI and Major League Baseball.
The second event of 2025 WBC Qualifiers venue will take place at Veterans Memorial Stadium at Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Ariz. from March 2-6.
China, Brazil, Germany, and Colombia will compete in the second 2025 WBC Qualifiers at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Germany is ranked at No. 17 in the World Baseball Rankings which are published by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. Colombia is ranked at No. 13, Brazil is at No. 23, and China is at No. 20. Nicaragua ranked at No. 16 and Chinese Taipei ranked at No. 2 in the WBR, qualified for the 2026 WBC.
All WBC Qualifier games will stream live on the World Baseball Classic website, as well as on its Facebook page, MLB.TV, and YouTube channel, with coverage running through the final out of the second qualifier in Tucson, Ariz., on March 6.
Germany has never made the WBC in their nation’s history but has played in the last three qualifiers in 2022, 2016, and 2012.
In the 2022 WBCQ at Armin-Wolf-Arena in Regensburg, Germany, the host nation had won one game against South
During the 2016 WBCQ in Qualifier 2, Germany lost two games at Estadio B’Air in Mexicali, Mexico to Nicaragua and the Czech Republic and did not qualify for the 2017 tournament.
Germany went 2-2 in Qualifier 2 at the 2012 WBCQ at Armin-Wolf-Arena and lost to Canada twice, including the final qualifier, which did not allow them to be in the field for the 2013 event.
Germany has never won a gold medal at any major international senior event and has won the silver medal at the European Championship in 1957 and seven bronze medals in 1955, 1958, 1965, 1967, 1971, 1975, and 2010.
Germany also recently lost 5-4 in the bronze medal game to the Netherlands in the bottom of the 10th inning from Dashenko Ricardo’s two run game winning home run in the 2023 European Championship at MBS-Brno in Brno-jih-Komarov, Czech Republic on October 1, 2023.
Key Players for Germany
Markus Solbach will likely start against China and, if Germany advances, in the deciding game to reach the WBC. He has pitched in Triple-A for the Oklahoma City Dodgers and Toledo Mud Hens and in independent leagues with the Rockland Boulders.
The right-hander led the Bonn Capitals in the Baseball-Bundesliga in ERA and WHIP last season and was named league MVP.
In 12 professional seasons across the minors, independent leagues, and international play, Solbach has a career 3.48 ERA over 976 innings with 778 strikeouts, a 1.19 WHIP, and a 7.2 K/9 rate.
Nick Wittgren will be Germany’s top bullpen arm. The right-hander has pitched eight MLB seasons with the Miami Marlins, Cleveland Guardians, St. Louis Cardinals, and Kansas City Royals, making over 300 appearances.
Drafted by Miami in 2012, Wittgren owns a 4.04 ERA over 329.1 innings with 300 strikeouts and a 1.25 WHIP. His best season came in 2019 with Cleveland, when he posted a 2.81 ERA in 57.2 innings.
Donald Lutz brings veteran leadership and power to Germany’s lineup. The former Cincinnati Reds first baseman and outfielder was the first German-developed player to reach MLB, appearing in 62 games from 2013 to 2014.
Lutz has played professionally in the U.S., Australia with the Brisbane Bandits, and Germany with the Regensburg Legionäre. Over two MLB seasons, he hit .211/.239/.284 with one home run and nine RBIs.r
Germany will rely on Lutz as a middle-of-the-order bat in Tucson.
Lou Helmig, Germany’s most dynamic offensive weapon, spent two years in the Philadelphia Phillies’ minor league system before returning to Germany, where he starred for the Regensburg Legionäre.Helmig led the Baseball-Bundesliga last season, slashing .365/.410/.595 with a league-best six triples.
Jaden Agassi will be a key arm in Germany’s pitching staff. The right-hander, son of tennis legends Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, pitched at USC from 2021 to 2023 before breaking out in the MLB Draft League with the Mahoning Valley Scrap20pers.
In 2024, Agassi posted a 2.96 ERA with 9.2 K/9, showing strong command and a solid fastball.
Germany will likely turn to Agassi as a third starter or long-relief option in the WBC Qualifiers.
Understanding Player Eligibility
While Germany’s roster features 15 players born in the country, others qualify through World Baseball Classic eligibility rules, which allow players to represent a nation if they were born there, hold citizenship or permanent residency, or have a parent or grandparent with ties to the country. Players can also qualify if they have previously competed for a country in a WBC event or meet the legal requirements for obtaining citizenship.
Germany’s roster for the 2025 WBCQ is filled with players that have played at the collegiate level in NCAA Division I, the minor leagues in the United States, the Baseball-Bundesliga which is operated by the DBV, the independent leagues in the United States, the MLB Draft League, and the Australian and Caribbean winter leagues.
The stats for the 2024 Baseball-Bundesliga regular season are located on Baseball Bundesliga.
These regulations explain why Brazil-born Christian Pedrol and U.S.-born Jaden Agassi are eligible to represent Germany in the tournament. Agassi, the son of Tennis Hall of Famers Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, qualifies through his mother’s German heritage.
International player eligibility is a key factor for multiple teams in the World Baseball Classic Qualifiers. Brazil, competing in the second WBCQ in Tucson, Arizona, features several non-Brazilian-born players, including Dante Bichette Jr. from Orlando, Florida, Arthur Tsujiguchi from Tokyo, Japan, Hector Villarroel from Anzoátegui, Venezuela, Lucas Ramirez from Weston, Florida, and Yusuke Enzo Sawayama from Hamamatsu, Japan. Bichette Jr. is the son of former MLB slugger Dante Bichette Sr. and the brother of Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette. Ramirez is the son of two-time World Series champion Manny Ramirez.
China, also playing in Tucson, has two foreign-born players on its WBCQ roster with Jeremy Wu-Yelland from Seattle, Washington, and Yanlun Zhang from Singapore.
