MLB Players' Status For 2028 Los Angeles Olympics Still Undecided, But Hope Remains

The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics are still more than three years out, but Casey Wasserman is wasting no time getting his ducks in a row.

On top of being the CEO of one of the most powerful sports agencies in the world, Wasserman is also serving as the chairman for LA28 – the organizing committee behind the next summer games. The reintroduction of baseball into the Olympics is on his long list of duties, and he took a major step forward in that regard by publicly announcing Dodger Stadium as the host venue last week.

"One thing we're pretty good at is having really important, big baseball games in Los Angeles, whether it's the Olympics or World Series or World Baseball Classic games or All-Star Games," Wasserman said. "Dodger Stadium hosts the biggest games on Earth and it's gonna do a great job and will be great for the players and fans when we do that in 2028."

There will be additional ballparks across Los Angeles used for practice and training during the Olympics, but determining availability for those depends on who actually gets to compete come 2028.

Wasserman said the next action item for Olympic baseball is hashing out the player participation process. Specifically, MLB and the MLBPA need to decide whether or not big league players will be allowed to join in on the games.

The Opening Ceremony is scheduled for July 14 – right around when MLB typically starts its All-Star break. Modifying and extending the All-Star break could be one way to build an Olympic break into the schedule, as the NHL has done with the winter Olympics in the past. Starting the regular season earlier or letting the playoffs run later may not work given the climates that some teams play in, however, so it isn't a cut-and-dry dilemma.

For as intricate of an issue as it may be, Wasserman made it clear that the end goal was to have MLB's biggest stars represent their countries in Los Angeles.

"We've had extensive conversations – the commissioner has talked about it quite publicly – with both the league and the MLBPA," Wasserman said. "I think they both realize this is a unique opportunity, not without its complexities, but something we're all working together to see if we can get to the right place, which obviously would be to have Major League players playing."

Plenty of big leaguers have been outspoken about wanting to represent their countries in the Olympics. Wasserman admitted he was relieved that the biggest public figureheads pushing for participation were not his company's clients, so that he could keep his Olympic and agency worlds as separate as possible.

"The best part was the two first people to really come out when we put baseball in the Olympics were Bryce Harper and Shohei (Ohtani) – neither of whom we represent," Wasserman said. "The players have the strongest voice and if they want to play, that's gonna be a big influence over the process."

MLB players did not compete in the COVID-delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics, instead leaving roster spots open to minor leaguers and independent players. Nippon Professional Baseball let its stars take part, though, which is part of the reason why Japan ran away with the gold medal.

Baseball was not a part of the 2024 Paris Olympics, as had been the case in 2012 and 2016.

Beyond securing the venue and deciding the pool of players who will be eligible to participate, there are still a few more hoops to jump through to get Olympic baseball squared away again.

Wasserman said there have been discussions with the World Baseball Softball Confederation about making the 2026 World Baseball Classic one of the first qualifying mechanisms for the Olympics themselves. It likely wouldn't decide the entire Olympic field, and the structure it could take would be up to the Confederation and International Olympic Committee rather than Wasserman and his team, but piggybacking off of an established and burgeoning tournament might be just what Olympic baseball needs.

"Baseball deserves a ton of credit for the World Baseball Classic," Wasserman said. "Every cycle has continued to get more meaningful, more important to the players, more important to the fans, more successful. It just showcases the global talent that exists in baseball, what a great format to share that."

If the WBC is going to serve as a qualifier, MLB players' status for the Olympics would have to be locked in before it gets underway in March 2026. A decision on player eligibility could be made after the WBC, just at the cost of including it as a qualifying event.

New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge has already been revealed as Team USA's captain for the 2026 World Baseball Classic. As a California native, it would only be fitting if he got to reprise that role in Los Angeles in 2028.