Guerrero Jr. honoured to represent Dominican Republic at WBC; 12 Blue Jays in tournament

Toronto Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr. lets out a smile during fielding drills at Spring Training in Dunedin, Fla., on Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero Sr. never got to represent his native Dominican Republic at the World Baseball Classic.

Guerrero had committed to play at the inaugural tournament in 2006 but, after three of his cousins died in a car crash, he withdrew from the event.

He did, however, get to tell his son Toronto Blue Jays superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr., that he would get to suit up for their country at this year’s WBC.

“That’s the main thing for me, that I want to be there so he can see me,” said the younger Guerrero through Blue Jays translator Hector Lebron. “He can be there. He can see me play for the Dominicans.”

Guerrero is one of 12 players from the Blue Jays organization that will be playing in the international tournament that starts on Thursday. That includes Toronto’s entire major league infield with Guerrero playing first base for the D.R.

Shortstop Andres Gimenez (Venezuela), shortstop Leo Jimenez (Panama), utility man Ernie Clement (United States), catcher Alejandro Kirk (Mexico), and third baseman Kazuma Okamoto (Japan) are also playing.

Pitcher Yariel Rodriguez (Cuba) is the seventh player on the Blue Jays’ major league roster playing in the WBC.

Having a large chunk of Toronto’s roster leave for their international teams’ camps is a wrinkle that Guerrero and his teammates have never had to tackle before.

“I don’t have any idea about the challenges of leaving the team for the very first time that I go to the WBC,” said Guerrero on Feb. 16 when position players officially reported to the Blue Jays’ Player Development Complex in Dunedin, Fla. “But I worked very hard those seven weeks (after his father told him he’d play for the Dominican Republic) to prepare for the WBC and for spring training.”

Five minor leaguers from the organization are going too, including pitchers Adam Macko (Canada), outfielder RJ Schreck and catcher C.J. Stubbs (Israel) catcher Will Cresswell (Britain) and outfielder Ismael Munguia (Nicaragua).

Clement, who will also be playing in the WBC for the first time, said he was thrilled to be named to the U.S.’s roster.

“It’s been a dream of mine, ever since I kept up with the old Olympic hockey,” said Clement in Toronto’s spring training clubhouse. “Just to get a chance to represent the United States is a real honour and I’m so excited.”

Toronto will be one of the most heavily represented teams in the all-star tourney, with only eight teams MLB sending more players. The New York Mets lead the way with 17 participants.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider said that having so many players leaving camp early meant he and his coaching staff had to do some extra planning.

“We spent a lot of time in the off-season trying to figure out what’s right for everyone,” said Schneider when camp opened to pitchers and catchers on Feb. 11. “Really just individualizing it a little bit, trying to stay ahead of any adjustments you have to make, but not using that as a crutch by any means.”

The tournament begins on Thursday — late Wednesday in Canada — as Taiwan plays Australia at Japan’s Tokyo Dome. Canada’s first game of the event is against Colombia on Saturday in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Abraham Toro hit a bases-clearing double in the sixth inning as Canada rallied past the Philadelphia Phillies 5-3 on Wednesday in an exhibition game. Toro drove in Liam Hicks, Denzel Clarke and Edouard Julien to tie the game 3-3.

Jacob Robson then singled to score Toro for Canada’s first lead of the game. Tyler Black tacked on another run in the eighth with an RBI single.

Alec Bohm homered, Johan Rojas had an RBI double and Bryan De La Cruz scored a run with a single as Philadelphia built a 3-0 lead.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 4, 2026.

John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press