TORONTO — Featuring a lineup anchored by Josh Naylor, Tyler O’Neill and Owen Caissie and a pitching staff fronted by Michael Soroka, Jameson Taillon and Cal Quantrill, Canada unveiled a promising 30-man roster for this spring’s World Baseball Classic on Thursday.
Most of the Canadians’ top choices from the provisional rosters submitted Dec. 3 have so far held, although power-armed Seattle Mariners reliever Matt Brash was a notable recent withdrawal.
All-star Freddie Freeman, the son of Canadian parents who wore the Maple Leaf at the past two tournaments, starter Nick Pivetta, relievers Cade Smith, Eric Sabrowski and Jordan Romano and pitching prospects Jonah Tong and Mitch Bratt are also among the notable players who either withdrew or turned down invitations.
But the Canadians have thus far sidestepped the insurance issues that have plagued other countries and this edition of the national team is marked more by who will be there, rather than who won’t.
Bo Naylor, Edouard Julien, Otto Lopez, Abraham Toro, Denzel Clarke and Jared Young are among the 14 other position players on the squad that will play out of Pool A in San Juan against host Puerto Rico, Colombia, Cuba and Panama.
Veterans James Paxton and Phillippe Aumont, prospects Adam Macko and Eric Cerantola and experienced arms like Rob Zastryzny, Jordan Balazovic and Logan Allen help fill out the pitching staff.
The top two teams advance from each pool and, separated from the powerhouse United States for the first time at the Classic, Canada has a real pathway to its first appearance in the quarterfinals.
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“We feel in this pool every night we have a chance to go out and compete with whoever we’re playing and we don’t have to make some tough choices,” said Greg Hamilton, Baseball Canada’s director of national team programs. “You had to make tough choices every time you’re dealing with the U.S. in your pool and especially if you had the U.S. and Venezuela or the U.S. and Mexico. There wasn’t much room.”
That was the case in 2023, when Canada finished 2-2 and lost a win-and-advance game against Mexico, just as they did in the inaugural edition of the event. The Americans knocked them out in 2013.
There is more room this time and if Canada moves on, a lineup Hamilton described as “a clear strength,” will likely do the heavy lifting.
“It’s pretty much a major-league lineup, with impact in it,” he continued. “And we’re going to have options to have guys that are experienced major-league players that add depth and can certainly play roles and have impact. So the depth of our starting lineup is definitely going to be a strength.”
Soroka, Taillon and Quantrill give the Canadians three legitimate starters and Balazovic is a candidate to be the fourth if they don’t go piecemeal with the final slot, depending on how the tournament plays out.
Paxton, Aumont, Allen and righty Noah Skirrow give manager Ernie Whitt more flexibility as their usage will be less strict since they aren’t part of a big-league system.
“The ability to run out, by and large, round-by-round major-league starters that have impact at the big-league level is very important,” said Hamilton. “That’s certainly a strength and we’ve got experience in the bullpen around it. Do we have Brash? No. Do we have Cade Smith? No. You’d love to have those guys but we do have guys with upper-level experience and some depth and we have right-left balance.”
Catchers: Liam Hicks, Bo Naylor
Infielders: Tyler Black, Matt Davidson, Adam Hall, Edouard Julien, Otto Lopez, Josh Naylor, Abraham Toro
Outfielders: Owen Caissie, Denzel Clarke, Tyler O’Neill, Jacob Robson, Jared Young
Pitchers: Logan Allen, Micah Ashman, Phillippe Aumont, Jordan Balazovic, Eric Cerantola, Indigo Diaz, Antoine Jean, Carter Loewen, Adam Macko, James Paxton, Cal Quantrill, Noah Skirrow, Michael Soroka, Jameson Taillon, Matt Wilkinson, Rob Zastryzny
