The German Baseball and Softball Federation (DBV) announced a 28-man roster and their coaching staff for the upcoming World Baseball Classic Qualifier in Mexicali, Mexico. From March 17 to 20, Mexico, Nicaragua, Germany and Czech Republic will be competing for one spot in the main event of the World Baseball Classic in March 2017.
Most of the German players are currently playing in the German Baseball-Bundesliga. Additionally a couple of MLB-affiliated players have made the team. Max Kepler, who is competing for a spot on the opening day roster of the Minnesota Twins, is not on the roster. Also newly signed Pascal Amon (Los Angeles Dodgers) isn’t on the squad.
Meanwhile Donald Lutz (Cincinnati Reds), Markus Solbach (Arizona Diamondbacks), Sven Schueller (Los Angeles Dodgers) and Nadir Ljatifi (Cincinnati Reds) are on the roster. Catcher Bruce Maxwell (Oakland Athletics) and outfielders Dominique Taylor (Kansas City Royals) and Ken Matthes (Lancaster Barnstormers) will make their German national team. Former Major League reliever Will Ohman returns for a second time after debuting at the WBC Qualifier 2012 in Regensburg.
Germany gets managed by former Toronto Blue Jay Garth Iorg. He will be supported by fellow Ex-big leaguers Willy Upshaw and Dennis Cook, as well as Martin Helmig and Troy Williams from Germany. Cook is well known in European Baseball after coaching the Swedish National Team a couple of years ago.
All MLB affiliated players will join the team directly in Mexicali next week. The rest of the team traveled to Tucson, Arizona at the beginning of the week for a short training camp, which includes a couple of exhibition games against Mexican pro teams and a squad of the Milwaukee Brewers. The first game will be played on Wednesday.
Roster:
| Nr. | Surname | Name | Club |
| 1 | Boldt | Max | Mainz Athletics |
| 2 | Brenk | Eric | Bonn Capitals |
| 3 | Dewald | Martin | Heidenheim Heideköpfe |
| 4 | Dickman | Lucas | Mainz Athletics |
| 5 | Glaser | Ludwig | Buchbinder Legionäre Regensburg |
| 6 | Gühring | Simon | Heidenheim Heideköpfe |
| 7 | Howard | Christopher | Buchbinder Legionäre Regensburg |
| 8 | Hinz | Daniel | Untouchables Paderborn |
| 9 | Jahn | Lukas | Buchbinder Legionäre Regensburg |
| 10 | Koch | Sascha | Bonn Capitals |
| 11 | Kotowski | Kevin | Mainz Athletics |
| 12 | Ljatifi | Nadir | Cincinnati Reds |
| 13 | Lutz | Donald | Cincinnati Reds |
| 14 | Lutz | Sascha | Heidenheim Heideköpfe |
| 15 | Marquez-Ramirez | Enorbel | Berlin Flamingos |
| 16 | Matthes | Kent | Lancaster Barnstormers |
| 17 | Maxwell | Bruce | Oakland Athletics |
| 18 | Ohman | Will | |
| 19 | Schüller | Sven | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| 20 | Solbach | Markus | Arizona Diamondbacks |
| 21 | Sommer | Luke | Heidenheim Heideköpfe |
| 22 | Steinlein | Lukas | München-Haar Disciples |
| 23 | Stöcklin | Jan-Niclas | Mainz Athletics |
| 24 | Taylor | Dominique | Kansas City Royals |
| 25 | Thieben | Daniel | Untouchables Paderborn |
| 26 | Trisl | Kevin | München-Haar Disciples |
| 27 | Wilhelm | Maurice | Bonn Capitals |
| 28 | Ziegler | Christoph | München-Haar Disciples |
Coaching Staff:
| Surname | Name | Function |
| Iorg | Garth | Manager |
| Upshaw | Willy | Bench/Hitting Coach |
| Cook | Dennis | Pitching Coach |
| Helmig | Martin | Third Base Coach |
| Williams | Troy | First Base Coach |