MLB rosters showcase talent from across the globe, with players hailing from Japan, the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, and countless other nations. In 2028, many of these international stars could find themselves competing for Olympic gold on home soil when the Games come to Los Angeles. During meetings in Atlanta ahead of Tuesday’s All-Star Game, MLB officials sat down with representatives from the upcoming 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics to discuss this exciting possibility.
How Will MLB Players Participate in the 2028 Olympics?
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and MLBPA executive director Tony Clark are actively exploring ways to get major league players into the Olympic tournament. The timing couldn’t be better, with the Games taking place in baseball-crazy Los Angeles.
“I think that the idea of playing in L.A. in ’28, regardless of the merits of the possibility of ongoing Olympic participation in another location, that there’s some merit to it,” Manfred said Tuesday during a Q&A session with the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, according to MLB.com. “I think it is an opportunity to market the game on a really global stage.”
The key to making this work would be extending the All-Star break to accommodate Olympic play. This approach would allow MLB’s biggest stars to represent their countries without completely disrupting the regular season.
Commissioner Rob Manfred says ‘it’s possible’’ to have MLB players play in the 2028 Olympics if it was in conjunction for a long All Star break. Yet, there would have to be major concessions to assure the full 162-game schedule can still be played.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) July 15, 2025
However, maintaining the full 162-game schedule would require significant adjustments to the calendar. Manfred emphasized that Olympic organizers are also meeting with the MLB Players Association to iron out these logistical challenges.
What Do Players Think About Olympic Participation?
The appetite among current MLB players for international competition is strong. During his session with the BBWAA on Tuesday, Clark made it clear that players are eager to wear their national colors on the world’s biggest stage.
“We do know players are interested in playing, whether it’s for Team USA or for any number of other teams around the world,” Clark said. “We’ve got the WBC, which players are telling us they’re interested in playing in, as well. There’s just a lot of conversation that needs to be had sooner rather than later to see how viable this is, but we’re hopeful that we can figure out a way to do it.”
The World Baseball Classic has already shown how much players value representing their countries. That tournament’s success has laid the groundwork for potential Olympic participation, proving that MLB stars are willing to pause their regular season commitments for international competition.
Still, turning this Olympic dream into reality will require extensive negotiations between MLB and the MLBPA. The league must balance player safety, competitive integrity, and the business realities of a 162-game season with the unique opportunity to showcase baseball to a global audience.
How Does This Compare to Previous Olympic Baseball?
Baseball’s Olympic history provides important context for these current discussions. When baseball first appeared as an official part of the Olympic program in the 1992 Games in Barcelona, only amateur players were eligible to compete.
The landscape looked very different during the most recent Olympic baseball tournament. MLB did not allow players on 40-man rosters to participate in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, when Nippon Professional Baseball interrupted its season and Japan beat the U.S. 2-0 in the game for the gold medal.
This time around, the circumstances are more favorable. The 2028 Games will take place in Los Angeles, eliminating travel concerns and time zone issues that complicate international tournaments. Plus, the growing popularity of international baseball competitions like the World Baseball Classic has shown that fans are hungry for this type of high-level competition.
The conversations happening now between MLB, the MLBPA, and Olympic organizers could reshape how the sport approaches international competition. With three years to work out the details, there’s genuine optimism that 2028 could mark the first time MLB’s biggest stars compete for Olympic gold.
