Back from World Baseball Classic, Tromp Returns to Gwinnett

In the last calendar year, Chadwick Tromp has worn eight different uniforms.

He’s suited up for two Major League teams – the Atlanta Braves and the Baltimore Orioles – and worn the minor league jerseys of the Delmarva Shorebirds, Aberdeen Ironbirds, Norfolk Tides, Worcester Red Sox, and Gwinnett Stripers during the most well-traveled stretch of his career.

None of those uniforms invoked the same pride as the one he put on this March, the navy-and-orange of Team Netherlands during the World Baseball Classic.

The 31-year-old Tromp, a native of Oranjestad, Aruba – part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands – participated in the WBC for the third time in his career. He was on the club as a young up-and-comer in 2017, returned as an established big-leaguer in 2023, and served as a veteran leader in this year’s tournament.

“It's a different atmosphere,” said Tromp of the WBC experience. “You're in the clubhouse, speaking your native language (Papiamento). All the guys are together. The guys you've known your whole life. The coaching staff you've known your whole life.”

This year, that coaching staff included an Atlanta Braves legend in newly minted Baseball Hall of Famer Andruw Jones. The five-time MLB All-Star and 10-time Rawlings Gold Glove winner served as the manager of the Netherlands for the first time, overseeing a group that included three Gwinnett alums – Tromp, Ozzie Albies, and Hendrik Clementina – as well as his son Druw.

Tromp, like most of his Netherlands teammates that were born in either Aruba or Curacao, grew up idolizing Jones, a native of Willemstad.

“I’ve known Andruw for a long time, I’ve always looked up to him,” said Tromp. “Always watching him on TBS and now seeing him next to me pretty much every day there was special to me. Off the field, I have a really good relationship with him also. I consider him more of my friend than actually my manager. So seeing him in technically his managerial debut was impressive. The way he handled everything, the media, with the way he handled the clubhouse, it was so easy to come in the clubhouse and play for him and be excited to play for him.”

Team Netherlands played in Pool D in Miami, Florida, a veritable gauntlet of five teams that included a star-studded Dominican Republic squad and the eventual WBC champion Venezuela club led by former Striper and Braves superstar Ronald Acuña Jr.

Israel and Nicaragua rounded out the group that played in front of raucous crowds at Miami’s LoanDepot Park, only about a three-hour flight away from Tromp’s home country.

“Everybody in the islands of Aruba and Curacao, they're all getting together to watch the games. We had a lot of fans come out to Miami also to support us and cheer for us. It was a wonderful experience, as always has been,” said Tromp.

Tromp started all four games at catcher for the Netherlands, including a tightly-played 6-2 loss to Venezuela, a 12-1 rout at the hands of the Dominican Republic, and another closely-contested 6-2 loss to Israel. The team’s lone win of the tournament was historic, a 4-3 thriller over Nicaragua on March 7 that was sealed by Albies’ three-run home run in with two outs in the ninth, the first walk-off blast ever in a WBC game.

Tromp had a front-row view for the legendary moment from his Braves teammate.

“It was special,” recalled Tromp of the Albies homer. “I think it was special for Ozzie, too, being his first time playing in the WBC. I think it's one of the highlights of his career. I'm sure if you ask him, he'll say the same. I can't wait for the next one because I know he's going to be part of it. He's going to want to be part of it now. But understanding also that he's probably going to be one of the leaders. So I think for him the experience was, again, phenomenal.”

Ultimately, Tromp’s experience with Team Netherlands didn’t continue past pool play, as the Dominican Republic and Venezuela both advanced to the Quarterfinals and Semifinals. Venezuela, featuring current Stripers reliever Anthony Molina, shocked the United States with a 3-2 triumph in the Final on March 17 in Miami.

“We got boat raced, to be blunt,” admits Tromp. “But everything was good, and it was a good experience for us. We had a lot of young guys. I know the next time will be better, and I know the time after that will be even better because, like I said, we have a lot of young pitchers. We have a good core. I'm very proud of the pitchers, how they threw as well. But overall, it was a wonderful experience to be a part of.”

Tromp returned 200 miles northwest to North Port, Florida in mid-March to finish out Braves Spring Training. After opening 2025 with the Braves and spending time with the Orioles and Boston Red Sox organizations last season, he returned to Atlanta on a minor league deal last November.

Added as a non-roster invitee to MLB camp, Tromp had a strong showing in seven games during Grapefruit League play, batting .300 (3-for-10) with a home run, three RBIs, and a 1.062 OPS.

Still a longshot to make his second straight Opening Day roster with the Braves due to the addition of free agent catcher Jonah Heim to back up reigning National League Rookie of the Year Drake Baldwin, Tromp was assigned to the Gwinnett roster to begin 2026.

As of early April, he’s one of three catchers on the Stripers club, splitting time with 37-year-old eight-year MLB veteran Sandy León and 26-year-old former Minnesota Twin Jair Camargo.

Tromp, one of Gwinnett’s longest tenured players with 202 games dating back to 2021, now puts on the Stripers uniform alongside other 2026 WBC performers like Molina of Team Venezuela, Nacho Alvarez Jr. and Rowdy Tellez of Team Mexico, and Javy Guerra of Team Panama.

His focus has turned from trying to lead his country to glory on the national stage to his own personal goal of returning to the Majors.

“You know, I still believe that I’m a big leaguer, an everyday big leaguer, and that will never change,” said Tromp. “And I’m here to show that I can perform at this level and also at the big-league level.”