What Team USA could look like at the 2021 WBC

It took four tries, but the United States is finally back on top of the baseball world.

When the Americans completed their 8-0 thrashing of Puerto Rico to win the World Baseball Classic on Wednesday, it proved once again that while baseball has become the world's game, it will always be America's national pastime. The dominating performance was all the more impressive when you consider the U.S. won this thing with essentially its "B" squad.

Four years from now, when the world gathers for the next WBC, the U.S. will be the defending champion and will have a huge target on its back. The country will need its best and brightest in tow to defend the title, and that team could have a very different and improved look. Here's what we think the best version of Team USA could - and should - be in 2021.

LINEUP

Just look at that top five, which includes this generation's best player in Mike Trout. Then look their ages, and realize none of them - plus a few others in the bottom half - have even reached their peaks in the present. That sound you hear is pitchers from 15 other 2021 WBC teams shaking in their cleats. Three holdovers from this year - Bregman, likely a star infielder by then; Yelich, a star in this year's tournament but pushed to DH duty in four years; and Posey, who'll be padding his Cooperstown resume at age 33 - round out a balanced nine that can beat you in oh so many ways.

BENCH

Here are some of the guys who couldn't crack that lineup. Benintendi, the stud Red Sox prospect who burst onto the big-league scene last August, will be a superstar in four years' time - and he'll have to serve as the first left-handed bat off the bench. Bellinger is the real wild card here; just 21 years old today, his value should rise enough to earn him a spot on the bench as a versatile talent. Turner, another youngster whose star will be much bigger in 2021, earns the final bench spot thanks to his positional versatility.

ROTATION

In 2021, this rotation will be a mix of today's youth in their primes and America's grand old guard. Syndergaard blasted the WBC in February, but you have to think this year's U.S. squad caught his eye enough to change his tune. Stroman announced during Wednesday's celebration that he'll return in 2021, so he's in. And as for those two veteran southpaws already on Hall of Fame paths, they should still be at, or near, the top of their games in four years; if they want in, the U.S. won't turn them away.

Starters on the U.S. provisional roster could include Tyler Glasnow (R, 27), Jon Gray (R, 29), Chris Archer (R, 33), and Chris Sale (L, 32).

BULLPEN

*Indicates closer

Future bullpens are so hard to predict given the lifespan of relievers these days, so this is an educated guess at best. Britton should still be dominating the ninth at age 33, and current youngsters Edwards and Bedrosian will help him form a dominant back end. The variable here will be Kopech, the hard-throwing sensation on track for stardom who'd be the youngest member of the bullpen.

MANAGER: Terry Francona

Earlier this spring, the 57-year-old Francona revealed his health may not let him manage for much longer. That would be bad news for both the Indians and baseball if he did have to step away - but if Francona's not doing anything in 2021, he'd be a perfect fit to take the two-week Team USA job. Players love working with him, and he could help draw the top talent while guiding a star-studded squad to a second title, boosting his own Hall of Fame chances in the process.

(Photos courtesy Action Images)