TORONTO – As he made leverage-filled outing after leverage-filled outing during the post-season with the Cleveland Guardians, Cade Smith grew increasingly comfortable in the October pressure cooker. A dominant regular season out of the bullpen — he posted a 1.91 ERA in 75.1 innings over 74 games with 103 strikeouts — certainly helped build trust in his work and process, but so too did pitching for Canada at the World Baseball Classic in 2023.
“That experience was really helpful for being in that kind of atmosphere and seeing that I could pitch in that kind of atmosphere, not have nerves or anxiety or anything, but just really enjoy it. So when the post-season came, it was very much a similar thing,” says the 25-year-old right-hander from Abbotsford, B.C. “It was incredible how every single pitch matters. Every single seat was taken. The fans were so invested. It is such a special, special atmosphere and so much fun. I was to the point where there weren’t any nerves because of the stage we were playing on, that it was just fun because of it.”
Smith was only 23 and had just clawed his way up to double-A when he pitched twice in the last Classic, which turned out to be a major career springboard for him and others on the national team. And as he, Guardians teammate Bo Naylor, Chicago Cubs slugging prospect Owen Caissie, Texas Rangers lefty prospect Mitch Bratt and Oakland Athletics outfield prospect Denzel Clarke were among those gathered Saturday for Baseball Canada’s annual awards banquet, it was easy to imagine how much more of an impact they and other emergent players from that squad, like infielders Edouard Julien of the Twins and Otto Lopez of the Marlins, can make when the tournament returns next spring.
“It’s super exciting,” says Naylor, the Mississauga, Ont., native who has grown into the Guardians’ regular catcher since the tournament. “In the last one you saw a lot of glimpses of the type of talent the national team is producing and with all the years of experience that each player has gotten … that will make a better team that has that much more drive to get further than last time. And it really puts into perspective how much Canadian baseball is improving.”
The talent pool certainly runs deeper now than it did in 2023, when the Canadians went 2-2 to finish third behind the United States and Mexico. And in a change for the 2026 event, they won’t be pitted against their North American rivals, instead playing out of Pool A in San Juan against host Puerto Rica, Cuba, Panama and a qualifier to be determined.
As always, however, the trick is in having all their available talent, since Canada lacks the enviable depth of baseball powerhouses like the U.S., Japan and Dominican Republic.
If everyone is healthy and freed up by their clubs, the Canadians could feature a rotation with Nick Pivetta, Michael Soroka, Cal Quantrill, Bratt and Jameson Taillon; a bullpen that includes Smith, Jordan Romano (who has played for Italy in the past), Matt Brash, Erik Sabrowski, Zach Pop and Rowan Wick; an infield featuring Bo Naylor and slugging brother Josh, Freddie Freeman, Julien, Lopez, Abraham Toro, Charles Leblanc, Tyler Black and Damiano Palmegiani; and an outfield fronted by Tyler O’Neill plus Caissie, Jared Young, Clarke and Dasan Brown.
“You don’t always get the chance to field a major-league roster but I think we’ve got a pretty good chance to do that,” says Greg Hamilton, Baseball Canada’s director of national teams. “The pitching depth is there if we can get them all. We could potentially run out four big-league starters and back it up with some strength in the bullpen.”
That would give Canada its best chance of advancing beyond the first round for the first time at the event. But as Ernie Whitt, who’ll again manage the national team, notes, “the timing of it is, as we’ve said many times over, terrible.”
“You have to get the rights from the organization, how much this guy can play, how can he pitch? Those are all restrictions that are handed to us and people understand that it is spring training for most of these guys,” Whitt continues. “Our job is get them out there and not ask them to do more than what their bodies are ready for yet.”
There are other factors, too.
Caissie, the 22-year-old from Burlington, Ont., is on the cusp of the big-leagues and even next spring, might be in a position where the Cubs would prefer him to remain in camp as they evaluate him for the roster.
The same goes for Bratt, the 21-year-old from Newmarket, Ont., who reached double-A last season and is mature beyond his age.
“The Rangers in ’23 were great, like go do your thing,” says Bratt. “Obviously I wasn’t at big-league camp yet at that point, so we’ll see going forward. Hopefully they do give me the opportunity because it’s always special to represent your country and have the country on your chest.”
Players do have the right to participate in the tournament but team officials can sometimes nudge those on the bubble against going.
“The Cubs were good last time,” says Caissie. “I wasn’t in big-league camp so I don’t know how that will affect it. I’m now on the 40-man roster, so I don’t know. But I’m going to play, I’m too patriotic not to go.”
Pitchers face additional scrutiny due to concerns about their usage, although Smith, thanks to his small role on the 2023 club, will argue for the benefits of participation.
“Pitching the one in 2023 was such a valuable experience as far as being in those kind of atmospheres, to be with guys who’ve done it before and and had that vast wealth of wisdom to share. That was super, super valuable to me,” he says. “I’m looking forward to the next one. I would love to play, it was so much fun. And having a sense that last time, there was a really young group that was kind of on the cusp of growing up and just to see what a couple of years to do for the guys who, like myself, got the first taste of it, to see what we can bring to the table would be really fun, too.”
