Toronto Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr to play in World Baseball Classic
Photo credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will be making his World Baseball Classic debut as the Toronto Blue Jays slugger will take the field with the Dominican Republic.
According to MLB insider Hector Gomez, Dominican Republic manager Albert Pujols made the announcement in Spanish Monday morning.
Albert Pujols confirmed that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will represent the Dominican Republic in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, per Deportiva Manana
This will be Vladimir Guerrero Jr's World Baseball Classic debut
This will mark Guerrero's first appearance at the World Baseball Classic, after the superstar was forced to pull out of the 2023 edition of the tournament when he suffered a knee injury during Spring Training with the Blue Jays.
Guerrero Jr. could have played for Canada since he was born in Montreal, but instead will follow in the footsteps of his father, Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero Sr., who starred for the Dominican Republic.
The 26-year-old is coming off a strong 2025 where he had a .292 average, 23 home runs, 84 RBIs, and an .848 OPS. In the post-season, Guerrero Jr. led the Blue Jays to their first World Series appearance since 1993.
Guerrero truly shone in the postseason though. Across 18 games, Guerrero helped the Blue Jays to Game 7 of the World Series by hitting .397 with eight home runs and 15 RBI.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s first career #WorldSeries homer put the Blue Jays
ahead for good in Game 4 😤
ahead for good in Game 4 😤
He was named American League Championship Series MVP against the Seattle Mariners and set a club record for home runs in a single postseason.
Guerrero Jr. is likely to join a Dominican roster that could include top players like Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr., Julio Rodriguez, Manny Machado, Elly De La Cruz, Jose Ramirez, Ketel Marte, and Junior Caminero.
The World Baseball Classic is set to be played from March 5 to March 17 in Miami, Houston, Tokyo and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
.
.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 15 | 83 ANSWERS Toronto Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr to play in World Baseball Classic Do you think Vladimir Guerrero Jr will play for team Canada in the WBC one day? | ||
| Yes | 31 | 37.3 % |
| No | 45 | 54.2 % |
| Too early to tell | 7 | 8.4 % |
| List of polls | ||