The Atlanta Braves will be well represented in the 2026 World Baseball Classic. One country in particular, Curaçao, has been a real hot spot for Atlanta in recruiting players. This history and connection go all the way back to Andruw Jones. He was quickly deemed the "Curaçao Kid" after debuting with the Braves at 19 years old.
Since then, Atlanta has recruited and signed players from the Caribbean nation. In 2026, Atlanta will send Ozzie Albies and Jurickson Profar as current players for the Netherlands. Curaçao is a territory of the Kingdom and sits just off the coast of Venezuela.
Jones, who was recently elected to the MLB Hall of Fame, will serve as the head coach for the Netherlands in this year's tournament. Current Braves catcher Chadwick Tromp will also represent the country, but he is from Aruba, which is another territory of the Netherlands. Profar and Albies have spent a long time looking up to Jones as an inspiration to play for their own MLB team one day.
“I’ve known Andruw [Jones] since I was a young guy,” Profar said. “That’s the guy that we all followed growing up, and now we’re going to have him as our manager. It’s really exciting.”
Braves set to dominate for Team Netherlands ahead of the World Baseball Classic thanks to lingering Curaçao connections
Atlanta has featured some talented players from Curaçao like Profar and Albies over the years. Other former Atlanta players from the island include Jair Jurrjens, Kenley Jansen, and Andrelton Simmons. It has become a hotbed for professional baseball players. The Netherlands team opens play in Pool D against Ronald Acuña Jr. and the rest of Team Venezuela on March 6 at noon ET. That game is going to be a heck of a lot of fun.
Tromp is very confident in his team's chances of taking down team Venezuela. As Braves insider Mark Bowman reported, “We’re winning, it’s three versus one,” Tromp said. “It’s kind of a mismatch for now, but [Acuña] holds his own.”
Tromp went a step further and said he would just walk Acuña when he bats. This is likely a wise decision because Braves fans know how quickly Ronald can change a game.
Fans won't want to miss out on this match up. It is going to be a lot of fun.