Opening Day Rosters Feature 230 Players Born Outside the U.S.

Press Release Major League Baseball

26.5 Percent of Players Born Outside the U.S., Spanning 17 Countries and Territories

Two-hundred and thirty players on 2015 Opening Day 25-man rosters and inactive lists were born outside the 50 United States, Major League Baseball announced today.

The 230 players born outside the U.S. (26.5 percent) come from the pool of 868 players (750 active 25-man roster players and 118 disabled or restricted Major League players) on April 5th rosters and represent 17 countries and territories outside the U.S., the most since 2001, when there were also 17 represented. Opening Day rosters also featured 17 countries and territories in 1997 and 1999, and a record 18 in 1998.

As it has each year since MLB began releasing this annual data in 1995, the Dominican Republic again leads the Major Leagues with 83 players born outside the United States. Venezuela ranks second with 65 players, marking its second-highest total of all-time behind 2012 (66). Cuba places third with 18 players, also marking its second-highest total of all-time behind 2014 (19). Rounding out the totals are Puerto Rico (13); Canada (9); Japan (9); Mexico (9); Colombia (4, matching its previous high set in 2013 and 2014); Curaçao (4); Panama (4); South Korea (3); Australia (2); Brazil (2, surpassing its previous high of one set in 2014); Nicaragua (2); Aruba (1); the Netherlands (1, matching its previous high set in 1996, 1998, 2008, 2009 and 2013); and Taiwan (1). Cleveland Indians catcher Yan Gomes, who became the first Brazilian-born player to make an Opening Day roster in 2014, is joined on the 2015 Opening Day rosters by fellow countryman and Kansas City Royals outfielder Paulo Orlando, giving Brazil multiple players on Opening Day rosters for the first time in Major League history. New York Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius is the first player from the Netherlands to appear on an Opening Day roster since Florida’s Rick Vandenhurk in 2009.

For the second consecutive season, the Texas Rangers have the most foreign-born players with a total of 15 on a roster that spans a Major League-best eight different countries and territories outside the U.S. – Cuba, Curaçao, Dominican Republic, Japan, Mexico, Puerto Rico, South Korea and Venezuela. The Toronto Blue Jays have the next highest at 12, followed by the Boston Red Sox (11), Detroit Tigers (10), Kansas City Royals (10), Los Angeles Dodgers (10) and Milwaukee Brewers (10). The Pittsburgh Pirates have the most players from one nation outside the U.S. with seven Dominican players. The Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies have six Venezuelan players apiece, while the Brewers have six Dominican players.

Please see below for the complete list of foreign-born players on 2015 Opening Day rosters.